Seiko sat at the small dining table quietly coloring in her "Heroes Ultimate: Jumbo Coloring Book". There were many pictures of different heroes, some made up for the fun of it and some of real people. Plenty were of the top five Pros. There were even special pages dedicated to vintage First Age heroes. Seiko was busy shading in one of them right now, a woman known as Moiya the Bubbler, with a blueberry colored crayon. Moiya was one of Seiko's favorite vintage heroes, the fun, chipper lady that was able to make super chemicalized bubbles with her spit being a leading contributor in some of her designs for a hero costume and extra gadgets.
Around the child the scents of food cooking filled the room. The smells of breakfast-y foods made her mouth water, although it was only a little after seven p.m. and awfully late for such foods to be made. Applewood smoked bacon was the most tantalizing, the rich, strong scent wafting through the air bringing up pleasant memories of crunchy delight. Underneath the sizzling meat she could also catch a whiff of salt and butter melting together and crisping something starchy― potatoes. And, though these were difficult to smell unless she was practically on top of them, she also knew that her sister was making scrambled eggs. It was only a matter of time before the toast would be made as well, as it was always made at the end so it was as warm as the rest of the meal.
This was a regular dinner, in Seiko's opinion; at least two or three times a week her sister would make eggs and other side dishes as opposed to heartier, more dinner like meals. As Chiyuki more often than not came home any time after six then it was also usually too late and too exhausting to make anything more than an easy fix breakfast.
Within the next few minutes Chiyuki began bringing in plates. The smells grew stronger. Seiko looked up from her handiwork, quickly closing the coloring book and setting it off to the side with her crayons. She took a small, plastic kiddie plate that her sister handed her as well as a fork. A larger plate with steaming food was set directly across from her in front of the opposing seat before the young woman disappeared into the kitchen again and re-emerged with two glasses of orange juice. Seconds later Chiyuki was sliding into her own seat and the girls were thanking invisible entities for their meal.
Immediately the young girl began shoveling forkfuls of scrambled egg into her mouth with great gusto, relishing the fluffy texture with delighted little noises. Whenever she tried to make them then they always turned out kind of flat and still a little runny so she was glad her sister knew a little cooking magic. Chiyuki's eggs always turned out perfect, and coupled with the bacon and potatoes then her little taste buds had an idea of what the food in heaven might taste like. Seiko sometimes liked to imagine that, if her big sis were to have a quirk, Chiyuki's specialty would be Cooking Perfection. Everything and anything that was made by the young woman was worthy of being featured in a five star restaurant. It was a shame that not everyone got to taste her sister's food.
As she chewed on the crunchy meat a sudden thought popped into her mind that sent her scrambling from the table with a few strips of bacon in tow.
"Whoa, whoa where's the fire?" Chiyuki chuckled lightly, though a sigh of exasperation could be heard just waiting to be made behind the light hearted words.
The little girl scuttled towards the sliding door that led to her backyard, passing through the familiar scent of incense that usually hung in that area, and which still remained recognizable even through the aromas of breakfast, pausing to look back at her sister with a hand reaching for the handle.
"I gotta feed Taz!"
The sigh escaped and the young woman shook her head disapprovingly. "If you keep feeding that stray then he'll just tell all his buddies that we run a free food buffet. Next thing you know we'll have a dozen cats and dogs and other critters filling our yard and― Hey get back here!"
Ignoring her sister's monologuing― what was the problem anyways? It was just one cat ―Seiko raced barefoot through her backyard, mentally calling for the kitty named Taz as she went. Before she even reached the large picket fence at the end of the yard a black and white speckled feline wound its way around a loose plank, gracefully navigating across the budding lawn in the fading twilight to meet with the child.
Crouching, Seiko dropped the pieces of bacon in the grass and the kitten pounced eagerly upon the meal. The little girl giggled and gently petted the animal, a mental movie of sorts playing in her mind. She saw herself from Taz's point of view, hearts, Taz himself, and the bacon, over and over again as the kitten snarfed his meal down. She laughed a little louder when he turned on her fingers and began to lick the grease off her fingers ravenously.
A throat cleared behind her and Seiko glanced over her shoulder to see Chiyuki at the door with her hands on her hips and a pointed look on her face.
"You gonna let your dinner get cold or what?"
The young woman threw her head over her shoulder, gesturing for the little girl to get her butt back inside, and Seiko hurriedly jumped up with soft goodbyes to her feline friend. Seiko trooped into the house, receiving a light knock on the head as she passed her sister and instructions to go wash her hands.
When Seiko disappeared from sight Chiyuki immediately sank back into her seat and slowly worked her fingers along her temples. She knew children were a handful when it came to raising them, and also knew that there was something ten times more exhausting when it came to one's own siblings, but sometimes that little girl was just too much for her to handle. Whether it was just normal six year old tendencies or Seiko's unique disposition and mindset, or even her own inability to properly parent the girl, it frustrated Chiyuki to no end how the child just wouldn't listen to her! It was bad enough that she couldn't always supervise that adventurous spirit and curb her compulsory wanderings― the recent near-drowning was still a black cloud hanging above her ―nor did it help that Seiko had a knack for attracting trouble in the most inconvenient ways possible.
Her choice in friends was possibly the greatest example, if Chiyuki were to name one.
Zeke and Lau were innocent enough a good majority of the time, true, but it didn't stop them from using her sister as a test subject when it suited them― though Seiko would deny any accusations directed at them and say it was all just part of their game. Because of that it almost felt like there was nothing she could do to stop her sister from interacting with them. Then there was that stray cat that showed up the day after Seiko got out of the hospital; she wouldn't have had so much of a problem with it if it hadn't shown any signs of developing a quirk. It was rare for animals to do such a thing, and though there were a few known animals with such gifts it didn't stop Chiyuki from being suspicious and protective of her kid sister. And then there was that boy that had been around at just the right place and time when Seiko had apparently taken a dip in the lazy community river.
When she had first met him in the hospital her mind was in a frantic mess, her main thoughts and concerns revolving around the well being of her little sister more than anything else. But even through that chaos it hadn't failed to escape her notice the odd confliction that was somehow strikingly clear through a sullen expression. Chiyuki didn't know what to think of it at the time, but every time she thought about it afterwards she found that something just didn't sit right with her; while in the meantime Seiko seemed to take on meeting up with the boy and befriending him as a personal mission.
Before Chiyuki could continue analyzing the mystery that was her own sibling Seiko returned from the bathroom. The two resumed eating dinner in a comfortable silence, the short haired young woman in particular pretending that there wasn't a pair of blue eyes and a furry nose with whiskers pressed against the window watching their every move. ('That damn cat,' she couldn't help but think as he tracked the movement of bacon from her fork to her mouth.)
After a while though she decided to chance a conversation. "So… Anything fun happen today?"
Seiko perked up and before Chiyuki could regret her choice in topic the little girl was off, rambling about the details of her day in her near non-linear way. She talked about the random facts she learned in school, the conquests she, Zeke, and Lau made in their battles against Melon Lord during recess, and of course, about her new favorite hero.
"And so, I've decided that I don't want to be the number one hero anymore!" Seiko declared loudly, thumping the table once for extra emphasis. Unable to keep up with the chatter, Chiyuki had zoned out somewhere between Lau accidentally getting himself tangled around a pole and something about a red haired boy, missing the transition that had led to this sudden development in her sister. A thin eyebrow slowly rose up the young woman's faces as she processed the declaration, until the other one joined it in surprise.
"And why's that?" she asked, hoping that Seiko wouldn't catch on that she hadn't been paying attention. She was also in need of an explanation to the child's own logic, but even that did little to stem the relief building up within her. There had always been some form of opposition in her when it had come to the words 'Seiko' and 'Pro Hero', and for many good reasons on her part as well. Perhaps Seiko had learned something about being a hero that didn't appeal to her― although that was a stretch of a hope on her part.
"'Cause big bro's gonna be the number one hero instead," the child said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And I'm gonna be his number one sidekick!"
At that moment Chiyuki had chosen to grab her glass of orange juice and take a drink; the cool glass paused at the edge of her lips while slightly chillier orange juice tickled her now and then from the unsteadiness of her hand. Chiyuki slowly lowered her cup and studied the child as she continued prattling on.
Seiko had always been enamored by the idea of being a hero― just like any other kid her age ―even long before the boy known as Bakugo Katsuki had made his appearance. But after such a fateful meeting it had only seemed to increase the little girl's determination and inspiration alike. Her room, already littered with posters and her own drawings of pro heroes, had only accumulated with the newest addition, and becoming a hero just as cool as that boy was probably ranked within the top five of her most talked about subjects. In so many ways possible, in such little time, that stranger that had saved her little sister's life had left quite an impact on the child, and Chiyuki didn't know how to feel about that.
The young woman frowned. Seiko's recent travels to that hero school were starting to concern her. She didn't really know much about the spiky haired blonde other than his name and the fact that he'd saved her sister. For all she knew, despite the fact that he had done something heroic, he himself may not actually be a good person. And if he was already influencing Seiko to such a degree… What if this boy were to start giving Seiko the wrong ideas? What then? How could she prevent her sister from following a dark path?
The possibility of banning the child from having any contact with the boy was the first and most tempting idea Chiyuki had. Yet Seiko was utterly convinced that heroes could do no wrong, and by default that would include Mr. Bakugo. Even with knowing how some of her sister's tantrums worked she didn't know the kind of backlash that would result from such a ban as this. There were too many things to consider when it came to Seiko, too much responsibility to properly bear on her own.
Coppery eyes darted towards a small stand that stood next to the sliding doors, between the semi-dining room and the living room, focusing on two pictures with black frames and small swathes of fabric. Not for the first time Chiyuki wondered how her parents would handle such a tough decision like this.
'They'd probably stage some sort of intervention,' she reflected, 'then they'd be able to figure out what kind of a person he is, and if he should be allowed anywhere near Seiko. And since he's just a high schooler meeting his parents is a good idea as well.'
Sitting upright, Chiyuki cut through Seiko's ramblings, bringing the attention back down to earth and on her as well. "I think I'd like to get to know this boy and his family. How about we invite them over for dinner?"
The child instantly brightened at the suggestion, and Chiyuki almost felt like she needed to shield her eyes from the pure delight that lit up her face.
"That's an awesome idea sis! Can I make an invite card?" Without waiting for an answer she carried on, listing the supplies she'd need and the design of the invite. A tiny sigh slipped past Chiyuki's lips and the young woman stood up, collecting empty dishes as she went, slipping into the kitchen without a word.
'Hopefully this doesn't end up backfiring,' she couldn't help but think. It would be a pity to break her sister's heart, but if it meant keeping her safe and protecting her well being then so be it. All she could do was hope that the foreboding feelings she felt whenever she thought about the boy would turn out to be nothing.
But if it did turn out to be something… Gritting her teeth and shouldering her way through it, all she would have to say was that it was for the best. It would be the only thing she could say.
And that's how it would be, for better or worse.
Bakugo only saw Seiko for about a minute, tops, before she was sprinting away from him giggling in that dorky way of hers.
He eyed the folded piece of notebook paper he now held in his hand― the means in which it had been delivered to him came by the cheerful, underage postgirl that only knew how to say, "Delivery! Delivery!" over and over again. Big, blocky letters, shakily written yet neatly colored in, stared up at him with a premonition of foreboding tagging along.
"You're invited!" it said.
'What could go wrong?' One part of logic lazily proffered for him as he flipped the card open.
'Everything. Everything can go wrong,' his cynical counterpart sneered upon reading the details.
He and his parents were invited to have dinner at the Yoshida's. Underneath the suspicious looking invite was an address and a phone number, the writing much more legible than the child's. He recognized it as the older sister's handwriting, having stared at the phone number that was still tacked onto his bulletin board several times over the past few days. Yet the only thing he could bring himself to care about, the only thing he wanted to question at this very moment, was why his parents had been invited as well.
Bakugo quickly tucked the letter in his backpack and carried on as if if nothing were out of the ordinary, though beneath the surface he was struggling to come to terms with the whole idea of the invite. He didn't particularly want to go over for dinner at Seiko's― partly because this was an out of the blue invite, but mostly because he had to bring his parents along. Maybe with just his dad around things wouldn't wind up being so bad. Boring, certainly, but at least he didn't hold civil wars with his old man like he did with his crone for a mother.
Cringing, Katsuki's hands buried themselves deeper into his pockets and the boy slouched even lower than usual as he walked along, brooding.
Too rude to decline, yet unwilling to go because of the embarrassment his family was, Katsuki was in a bind. Maybe he could just use the phone number he had been given― twice now ―and say that his parents were unavailable and that his schedule was too busy?
It was a good idea until a quiet, calm voice shot it down with one question.
'What about Seiko?'
'What about her?' he shot back even as his traitorous mind recalled the look on the little girl's face when she handed him the letter. Already knowing the contents of the letter her consistently happy round face held a look of absolute surety and confidence that he would accept the invite. Having dinner with her "hero" would probably be like a dream come true for her. He knew that when he was her age he had allowed himself to imagine such ridiculously hopeful things like that; having dinner with All Might would have been the equivalent of winning the jackpot in his child-mind. Would it be the same way for Seiko, too?
Strangely, a part of him wanted to smile at the idea. It was a funny feeling, he realized, to find something endearing in just a single child.
He sighed in mild frustration and ran a hand through his hair. It seemed like he was going to have to figure out how to bring something like this up with his parents― they didn't even know he had saved the little girl ―and do it in a way that they didn't make a big deal about it. Unfortunately that was easier said than done.
Sighing once more, Bakugo mentally readied himself for the inevitable and picked up the pace. He had a dinner to go to.
Crimson eyes stared at the faded beige door with a tamed, sullen expression, the back of his head mildly throbbing from his mother's warning to behave himself.
The moment he had left his bag unattended on a chair in the kitchen, and apparently unzipped, his mother had pounced on the strange yet cute looking letter she had seen poking out. From there it had only delved into chaos, head swatting, and awkwardly aggressive crab dances while his dad phoned the number on the paper and assured the Yoshida's that they would be more than happy to attend, and to not mind the explosions in the background, it was just mother-son bonding time.
And now all three Bakugo's were waiting on the front stoop of the small two story home that belonged to the Yoshida family.
There came the muffled sound of a mini stampede from the other side of the door, and then a curly haired little girl poked her nose outside. Seiko gave him a wide, beaming grin, and Katsuki could practically hear the silent chanting and cheering going on in her head just from seeing the light in her eyes brighten.
"Well are you just going to stand there or are you going to let them in?" demanded a voice from further inside the house. The little girl jumped slightly, whatever enchantment she had placed herself under dispelling, and she moved aside to welcome everyone inside.
"Welcome to our humble abode! Come in, come in!" she chirped excitedly. Ever since her sister had begun making dinner Seiko had been nothing but a ball of pure ball of joy and jitters. She had imagined, played pretend even, having pro hero after pro hero step into her home and sharing a meal together time and time again, but nothing quite beat the actuality of the moment her favorite hero set foot inside her house. She felt happy enough to explode!
The second both of Bakugo's feet were firmly planted in the entryway the child latched onto the sleeve of his coat and began to tug him forwards, all boundaries of politeness forgotten on her part.
"Come on! Come on! I wanna show you my secret base! And you gotta see Taz too!"
Behind him Katsuki heard his mother stifle a squeal, which he ignored in favor of raising a questioning brow at the child. At this point he didn't quite trust himself to allow any decent words to come out of his mouth― the previous experience in saying all the wrong things the day before was still busy rubbing his face in the muck, so for the moment he decided his best option was to say nothing until he was certain it wouldn't rebound on him. (Although he got the feeling that he could say almost anything and the little girl would be able to find a positive way around it.)
From down the hall a young woman popped around a wall and waved. He recognized her as the older sister, Chiyuki. She brushed some of her short, choppy hair back before tossing her thumb over her shoulder.
"Her 'secret base' is just the empty lot behind our house," she said with a shrug. "You can go look if you want since dinner's not ready yet, but you also don't have to indulge her. It's not much anyways."
Seiko whipped around and shot her sister a stink-eyed glare. What was she trying to do? Thwart her plans? The little girl quickly turned on Bakugo again with wide, pleading eyes.
'Well it's either the base or listening to my parents gossip about me while I'm there,' he grumbled. In hindsight the answer was an obvious one. With a shrug he gestured for the child to lead the way. Seiko jumped around as she led him down the hall, ducking past Chiyuki and into what appeared to be a joint living room and dining room, with the kitchen just beyond that. As they moved along Bakugo casually observed his surroundings.
The room as a whole was small, but not overly so that it felt stifling or cramped; with one medium sized couch and a regular sitting chair surrounding and overlooking an old tv, the scene was complimented by the little wooden dining table with its slightly larger chairs. A few pictures of Seiko and Chiyuki hung on the walls, and there was a fake tree by a corner near the kitchen. But as they traveled, crimson eyes fell on a modest looking stand that resembled an incomplete bookshelf. It rested in the space between the living room and dining room, next to a set of sliding glass doors, acting almost like a divider.
Bakugo's breath caught in his throat. He didn't see these kinds of stands all that often, having been the kind of person that was not regularly invited to another's house, nor did his family have one set up in their own home. It was as he stared at the two picture frames resting on two small, well tailored pillows that he remembered Chiyuki happened to be Seiko's legal guardian, a fact that had slipped his mind.
He caught the faint scent of clover coming from the Butsudan, the shrine for the dead, as he passed it on his way outside. A chill ran down his spine, and it didn't come from the evening air.
Following behind at a leisurely pace, settling themselves into seats at the dining table instead, Mitsuki and Masaru watched as their usually bullheaded son willfully allow the small child to drag him around until they disappeared from sight by ducking around a loose plank in the fence. To say that they were shocked was the understatement of the century.
"Is he always so obliging?" Chiyuki could help but chuckle as she asked, already guessing the answer based on their thunderstruck expressions. She slid into her seat opposing the couple. Since dinner, beef sukiyaki, was safely cooking away in a pot then the young woman felt no qualms about having a nice chat with the boy's parents in the meantime.
"No." Mitsuki was the first to snap out of it, rolling her eyes with a snort. "The little punk generally makes it a point to lead the way himself. He can be so mulish at times― so to say the least this is kind of… baffling."
She shrugged a little helplessly and turned to her husband. "He never even told us about saving your little girl. Sure we wondered what was going on when he showed up later than usual, but he was adamant in not telling us a thing. And lately he's seemed to have a lot on his mind."
Chiyuki absorbed the information bit by bit, only pausing in her analysis to correct one little detail. "Seiko isn't my daughter, she's my sister," she said with another little chuckle. "I've been taking care of her since she was four though, so it almost does seem like I've taken on that role."
Before Mitsuki could apologize for the mistake Chiyuki jutted her chin over their heads, towards the Butsudan, which the couple finally took notice of.
"I was a year out of high school and already moved out, so I wasn't there when it happened." Her voice quieted and her eyes softened. "But Seiko was.
"Our parents were scientists― true nerds that liked to study ecosystems and the likes. They had been invited to a wildlife convention in Hosu City, and because Seiko couldn't be left at home alone they took her with them."
Mitsuki and Masaru shifted in their seats, entwining their hands in each other's laps. Something nagged at them in the back of their minds, something that said they should know what was coming next, about what had happened two years ago in Hosu City, but they couldn't remember for the life of themselves. So they sat together silently and waited with a rising sense of dread for the rest of the story to be revealed.
"Do you remember hearing about the earthquake that hit Hosu and several other cities?" Chiyuki asked. The couple nodded, holding onto each other a little tighter. The young woman bowed her head. "From what I was told they were all found beneath the rubble of their hotel building, both of my parents forming a shield over Seiko. My dad―"
She choked, snapping her jaw shut with an audible click. It hurt just to remember, and even though she had been doing fine until now, it was overwhelming to talk about it. When she'd been awoken from sleep by her roommate, every news channel blasting information and speculations about the sudden severity of nature, her world had been tilted on its axis. When the rescue teams had finally managed to unearth her family from beneath the rocks her father had been declared dead on the spot; a broken neck had been what done him in. Her mother, though still alive but unconscious, died before they could reach the hospital; too much internal bleeding in her brain, they had said.
But Seiko had miraculously survived. Though she had cracked the back of her skull on a rock and caused slow bleeding between the bone plating and the sack that protected the brain, she had survived. The bleeding had caused a bit of memory loss, and altered her emotional development to a certain degree, but ultimately she was saved by the fact that the bleeding had not actually been in her brain.
Chiyuki quickly rubbed at her eyes, and stood from her seat, offering a crooked smile to the worried looking couple. "Ha, sorry for suddenly making things all gloomy. I'm just gonna go check on dinner and then I'll get you guys something to drink."
Without waiting for them to respond the young woman quickly disappeared into the kitchen. She rubbed her eyes a couple more times, the blurriness becoming more like a fine film over her eyes and if anything more irritating than not. As she checked on the sukiyaki and prepared some tea, Chiyuki glanced out the little window that sat above the sink, looking towards the far fence. Idly she wondered what those two kids might possibly be up to.
Outside Bakugo observed the dump that was supposedly something akin to a secret base. The lot itself was fairly large, and filled with what almost resembled poorly plotted patches of weeds and dead ground. Trash was piled haphazardously at the far end; broken appliances, shredded sofas, beds with the springs poking out of them― the list of items only went on the longer he stared at the mountain of garbage. There was a barren, scraggly looking tree in the middle and an even sadder looking shed. He supposed the only cool thing about it was that it almost resembled a fort, with large rocks stacked up indicating an entrance, and a couple turrets surrounding it. There was even one of those little orange flags, the kind that indicated conduits or cable lines were beneath them, carefully stuck on the roof. (The building itself was probably only about as tall as himself.)
As he observed the conditions of the lot Seiko scampered away, looking around as if she had lost something. When she didn't find whatever she was looking for outside she ducked inside the shed. Bakugo tucked his hands into his coat pocket and waited for what felt like was an eternity. He wasn't good at waiting. Never had been and it seemed highly unlikely that he ever would be.
Just as he was about to ditch his patience and invade the little shed, Seiko popped out with something wriggling in her arms. The child grinned at him and held up a kitten, Lion King style. "Big bro, say hello to Taz! Taz, that's big bro!"
The kitten gave a loud meow as it struggled against the child's awkward grip until it managed to kick its way to the ground. It ran towards him and reflexively he took a step backwards. The kitten clambered up his shoe― it was small enough that it could sit down comfortably on his foot, wrapping its fuzzy tail over tiny paws ―and practically yelled at him. There was a mix of thoughts, well, more like images, that flooded through his mind as he glared down at the animal. Food was one of them, the memory of smells― like greasy Applewood bacon for instance ―bombarded his senses and for a moment he almost thought that someone was actually cooking some. Another was an image of himself, lying in the middle of the road curled on his side, soaking and dazed as he looked over his shoulder.
"You're that damn cat that started this whole mess," he muttered under his breath, slightly reeling from the perspective of the image. His frown deepened as he realized that the scene was viewed from the cat's eyes, and that the memory was being shared directly into his head.
"Taz's got a mind quirk," Seiko jabbered on happily while making an attempt to grab the cat. "He only got it recently so everything he sends is just pictures, but when he gets bigger he might actually be able to use words 'n stuff. Sis says that that's called Telele― Tellapa―Teleleapa―"
"Telepathy," he supplied, putting an end to her struggle even though it was amusing to watch the faces she made as she attempted to say the big word.
Seiko beamed brightly and continued. "Yeah! So because he's got that I decided that he could be the lookout for my base and warn me about Melon Lord and his army. Taz does a good job too. Not a single bad guy has breached our defenses!"
She squatted and scratched the kitten behind his ear, to which the animal began purring. The animal promptly left his shoe and demanded more attention.
That was the second time the kid had brought up the imaginary villain, he noted. She talked about it so seriously though and he couldn't help but wonder― definitely not for the first time since they'd met ―if this kid was even all there. Half the time he could have sworn he was talking to a tiny nutcase!
'But,' he thought to himself, 'every kid makes up a villain for their own hero stories. So… what's the story behind her villain?'
"You keep mentioning a Melon Lord. Who the hell is that?" There was no point in beating around the bush; subtlety wasn't his forte and he'd never given a thought to curbing his tongue, and as it was this kid had some sort of unique selective hearing. As he'd suspected earlier, it probably wouldn't matter what he said to her― she'd find a way to respond with the point going clear over her head.
The little girl looked up, brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes, and stared at him with an utterly serious expression. Katsuki shifted in place, suddenly not sure if he actually wanted the answer to this question. The weirdo she normally acted like was more tolerable than this disconcerting seriousness to say the least.
"Melon Lord is the bad man that's holding Ma and Pa's souls captive." The words rolled off her tongue slowly, almost as if this was the first time she were saying them out loud. "A-and I'm the hero that's gonna set 'em free so they can rest in peace!"
It was like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over his head; his body froze in place and his heart leapt into his throat, choking him. He had not been expecting such a deep answer, let alone one that would make him feel things. It hurt him. It hurt him because it was so pure and genuine and there wasn't a damn thing about it that was selfish. It made him him think of the two pictures in the Butsudan, about how this little girl used an imaginary villain to cope with their deaths, and god did it make him pity her. For once he felt an urge to comfort, though he didn't understand how to― and more than anything he was confused as to just how to deal with these emotions.
Seiko looked down again, twiddling with her fingers. "Hey big bro, I've been meaning to ask you, but… um… Would you be my second in command a-against Melon Lord?"
Her pudgy cheeks reddened considerably and she snuck shy glances at him from between the curtain of her dark bangs. She really, really, really wanted Bakugo to join her team. He was strong, and fearless, and undeniably cool. With him, the future number one hero, on her side, Melon Lord wouldn't stand a chance! But she was also nervous because this was the first time she had ever admitted who Melon Lord was. Not even Zeke and Lau knew. What if he said no? What if he told her she was just being a dumb little kid and to quit making things up? There were just as many bad scenarios as there were good, and even she knew that not everything could go her way.
"What do I have to do as second in command?"
Head shooting up, amber eyes widened ever so slightly. Bakugo looked off to the side, carefully keeping his eyes trained on a patch of dirt. A part of him screamed at him that this was incredibly stupid, that this child needed to grow up and face reality with its real villains, that he shouldn't agree to be second anything. But another part of him (violently) shut those thoughts down with the simple understanding that this was just another part of being a hero. And as a hero he had to fight the villains to protect the civilians, no matter how real or imaginary they may be.
"You get to command our army and help defeat Melon Lord!" Seiko declared enthusiastically. She quickly looked around before grabbing the sleeve of his coat and tugged on it. "But whenever you're outside you have to be super duper careful because Melon Lord's spies are everywhere always watching. That's why I usually have an umbrella, but I forgot to grab it before leaving. Hurry, to the base!"
The child began to drag him towards the dilapidated shed before abruptly stopping (he nearly tripped over her).
"Oh yeah," she said, as if a light bulb had just gone off in her head. "What's your hero name?"
Bakugo blinked. He'd thought about a hero name before, but it was also something that he didn't exactly think about either. There were a few options he toyed around with, but he couldn't decide which he liked best, and he also knew that if he ever revealed them then he'd meet a ton of resistance. Still, Seiko had asked, and he needed to give her something.
The young man grinned sharply, though he still couldn't help but feel apprehensive. "I'm King Explodo-Kills."
She thought about it for a second before nodding her head in satisfaction. "That's a strong name― even Melon Lord will shake when he hears it! But it's pretty long. Do you mind if I just call you King?"
He was beginning to think that he shouldn't be shocked by the things that came out of her mouth anymore, but it didn't stop the feeling from flooding him anyways. Even if she had shortened the name down she hadn't dismissed it, saying that it was too scary or villainy to be a hero name. His grin became a little more smug, and he said, "Whatever floats your boat."
She smiled back at him. And then they were both running towards the little shed in attempt to beat Melon Lord's prying eyes.
"I let you go outside for a little bit and this is how you come back?" Chiyuki shook her head with a click of her tongue. "What on earth were you two even doing? Scavenging in a dumpster?"
The two in question studied the ground with the intent to look uninterested and definitely not guilty. They were covered in dirt from head to toe and there were stray pieces of the weeds from the empty lot tangled in Seiko's hair (if one were to actually look hard enough they would find exactly the same thing in Katsuki's as well). The little girl rubbed her cheek as if she were just wiping away a little dirt smudge, as if that would make a difference and appease her sister.
It, in fact, did no such thing.
"Well, explain yourself."
Seiko snuck a glance at Bakugo, whom was busy acting like he couldn't care less about the fact that he was a complete mess, and also ignoring the silent accusations coming from his parents. He peeked at her from the corner of his eye and in a split second they seemed to connect all over again. Their time at the secret base hadn't been long, but she knew that her hero had had fun fighting against her villain, and had even seemed to relax. She wouldn't ever regret getting dirty for that.
She looked up and met her sister's stern gaze, the woman's eyes constantly reminding her of burnt honey. And all she said was, "Melon Lord."
Chiyuki squinted at the little girl suspiciously before turning to the boy hoping he'd at least give a better explanation for their state, even if it was half-assed.
Katsuki paid her no heed as he just shrugged and repeated the little girl. "Melon Lord."
For a split second a smile cracked across his face, as if he had just found something amusing, but it disappeared just as quickly and Chiyuki couldn't be sure if she had seen it or not. Seiko giggled and pushed her way inside to go wash up. The spiky haired boy followed close behind, only briefly pausing to glance once more at the small shrine.
With a small dip of his head he made a promise to his future. 'I will become a better hero― for this kid, and for myself.'
But before he could so much as take another step further his mother jumped him, pinching his cheeks tightly and screeching like a bat from hell in his face. "Who are you and what have you done with my son?!"
Whatever air of tranquility Katsuki had been under vanished and he snapped in retaliation. "What the fuck get off of me you damn hag!"
"Don't you talk to me that way ya little punk or I'll kick your ass from one end of Japan and back again!"
"That's as far as you can go? Hah! Weakling― I'll blast you sky high before you can even fucking try."
As mother and son continued to bicker, the latter having gotten out of the woman's grasp and beginning to perform an extremely awkward dance of defense, Chiyuki with a rising confliction. On one hand she had been beginning to think that perhaps the boy wasn't so bad after all; he seemed to be able to maintain some semblance of calm around Seiko, and he willingly went along with the odd things that she did, and his parents weren't horrible people either. But on the other hand…
She cringed as Mitsuki landed a powerful blow on the back of the boy's head and then quickly trapped him in a headlock.
'These people are insane!' was all she could think.
Masaru sidled closer and gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's a weird way of showing it, but they really do love each other. They never actually mean each other harm," was all he said.
She could beg to differ on that just by watching the two interact. Yet, upon looking closer, she could see that there was a lot of self control on both parties parts. Even if it looked like they were going overboard they were still mindful enough to not do any lasting damage to the other.
It was strange, certainly, but…
'If he can control himself like this around his mother then he must really love her,' she concluded. 'Perhaps he really is a good guy."
There was still something about the young man that made her uncomfortable― though that might have just been his foul mouth at this point ―Chiyuki couldn't help but silently grant the boy a passing grade.
Now she could only wait for time to tell if he was actually worth it.
First off I'd like to thank y'all for your suggestions and opinions! They were extremely helpful and I know what I'm going to do now in regards to Seiko and whether she'll remain quirkless or not. As for one-shot suggestions y'all can keep suggesting if you want, there were quite a few great ideas that I'll definitely be using in the future ;) Hopefully this chapter also cleared up a few of your guys's concerns for those of you that brought up Seiko's parents.
Another question for you guys! Which characters do you want to see interact with Seiko in some of the future chapters? Other characters outside of class 1-A can be included in this. (Can't vote for Deku because let's face it, at this point their meeting is an absolute must and will happen pretty soon XD)
Next chapter get ready for some quality Big Bro Bakugo content in: Sunny
See you next time!