"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!"
The crowds parted quickly, wide-eyed and whispering. Mitsuki felt her face heating, warm with embarrassment and anger.
"Get your hands off me, hag!" Katsuki shrieked, yanked along by his ear as Mitsuki stormed down the street.
"Don't start with me, damn brat!"
The waking city was bustling with life. Cherry blossoms fluttered carelessly in the breeze as a calling card of spring, citizens ducking away and children dancing in the rain of flower petals flooding the streets. Mitsuki barely had it in her to admire the morning's immense beauty, light streaming through the parted clouds and shimmering against the windows of highrise buildings, over the sounds of vengeful wailing and demon screeches directly in her delicate ears.
And in all honesty, a part of her wasn't even that mad. Any other day and she would have gladly clocked those catcalling assholes herself, image or peace be damned. She just wished that if her son was going to go through the trouble of defending her honor, then he would just tell them off and be done with it and not toss them through a shop window and cost either her or his school property damages out of pocket.
"Just one time!" Mitsuki shrieked. "Just one time, I would like to go out on a normal fucking shopping trip with a normal fucking kid instead of being verbally assaulted by a punk ass prepubescent manchild!"
"Hag, I am sixteen!" Katsuki screamed, successfully yanking himself out of Mitsuki's grip. "I'm not a little brat anymore, just like you aren't getting any younger!"
Her hand rose, palm facing forward, but she barely stopped herself. Less of that. "Fucking hell, I swear to All Might and all that is good in this world, you are the most aggravating little shit on this forsaken planet!"
"I learned from the best!"
That one set her off, her vision a familiar reddish hue as she swatted at him with quick, practiced precision. Katsuki, for his part, smacked her arm back, the meanest snarl on his face that he could manage, and suddenly, the two of them found themselves in the most childish slap fight that one could envision, smacking at each other's arms with accuracy and strength like a game of lumberjack. People around them watched in confusion, likely believing them to be twin siblings having a spat rather than a mother and son fighting like literal children.
And to think, Mitsuki had thought that they'd be able to shop in peace, collecting ingredients for a lovely family meal after Katsuki actually got to spend time at home for the weekend. Masaru had been ecstatic, and Mitsuki thought that perhaps cooking some old-fashioned spicy rice curry for supper would be a perfect family bonding activity.
If only she wasn't raising a devil child, then Mitsuki wouldn't seem so delusional for thinking such a thing.
Katsuki broke away first, giving her a death glare that could outshine the sun as Mitsuki dusted herself off and straightened her clothes. Checking her phone, she could only roll her eyes at Masaru's sweet good morning text and the time plastered on her screen. At this rate, she'd be late for her next appointment, and it would be entirely Katsuki's fault.
"Stupid hag." Katsuki mumbled, stomping ahead. Mitsuki couldn't suppress another eye roll and a middle finger as she followed after him, heels clicking against the pavement and posture tall and confident. Her son's slouch had her grinding her teeth, but she held her tongue, swallowing the complaints she had that were just asking to be ferociously spat and quickly catching up with him.
"Am I too hard on him?" she'd once asked Masaru out of the blue. "On Katsuki, I mean."
Masaru had given her a tired smile and reassurances. Never a straight answer.
It always drove her insane, how wishy-washy that man could be.
There was a flurry of movement, one that had Mitsuki frowning, but she ignored it, even as Katsuki's gaze lingered on the couple running down the street with terror marring their faces. "Let's go, brat." she beckoned.
Katsuki didn't fight her as she tugged on his arm, his sharp eyes razor-focused and brow furrowed. The grocery store was just down the street, a building or two away, and Katsuki was already getting distracted, again, like the brat he was.
His silence pulled at her nerves, though, and not in a way that called for familiar, burning anger. Mitsuki paused, staring back at the boy as his glare continued to linger. The sharpness in his eyes was unnatural, like a mix between a predator and a cornered animal, and something in the back of Mitsuki's mind was suddenly sending alarm bells ringing. Another group of people ran by, and Katsuki's head was like a swivel.
"Is something wrong?" Mitsuki asked, frown deep.
His response was a slow one. His eyes narrowed at the group, then the direction where they'd all come from. His frown was deeper than hers, suspicious and stark against his pale face. It felt like the seconds ticked by agonizingly slow before he turned to face her. "It's nothing."
"There obviously is something." Mitsuki snapped, even as he pushed past her. "Don't ignore me!"
"I hear you, fucking banshee!" he spat back, and Mitsuki had to stop herself from launching her purse at him.
"Don't talk to your mother like that!" she settled on, marching after him with ferocity, and he actually had half a mind to duck into the store and make a break for it, slipping out of sight. Punk ass brat.
She tried to not think about him and the familiar, boiling anger that came up at the thought of him. Grabbing a shopping basket and browsing the produce, she almost crushed an apple just thinking about it. It would have been so much easier if he was more like his father, quiet, sweet, understanding. Not a rabid animal that had no social skills to speak of and a tongue as sharp as her own. It was hard to believe that he was any worse off than even she was at his age, but that quirk of his did nothing for his planet-sized ego.
And don't even get her started on the number of calls she'd gotten from schools about fights. Even in U.A., he'd been called out for a couple, and no matter the reason, it just meant that she had to reschedule appointments as if her world had to solely revolve around him. The amount of money they'd had to spend on replacing furniture from their spats was astronomical, not to mention poor Masaru, who was bound to have a heart attack one of these days, not only from dealing with their fights, but with Katsuki's constant run-ins with bad luck and near-death, as if he couldn't give less of a damn about how they felt whenever they got those calls-
Bits of apple dripped onto the floor. Fuck, she supposed she'd be paying for that.
"Ugh, what else do we need?" she growled to herself, recounting the recipe by heart. "Chicken, carrots, curry powder..."
The commotion was back. Mitsuki did her best to ignore it as she scanned the store for familiar, irritating blonde. A crowd was building around the entrance of the store, peering out with phones flashing or just pacing nervously. Alarm bells were ringing in Mitsuki's head, a small voice in the back of her mind arguing with the part of her saying everything was just hunky dory.
And where was Katsuki?
Mitsuki bit her lip, wiping off her hands and leaving her basket behind as she approached the crowd. Store clerks were now ushering people in, concern painting their faces as more people ran past the storefront. A woman carrying her crying toddler ducked into the store as an older gentleman stared down the street in awe.
"What's happening?" Mitsuki demanded, scanning the shop for her son. Anxiety crept into her heart the longer he was out of her sight.
And it shouldn't be that way, because he was a strong punk. He would be the number one hero someday, after all.
The problem was that he was such a trouble magnet.
"It's the bank down the street." the man responded gruffly. "Some group of thugs have gone and robbed it."
Where was Katsuki?
Mitsuki wasn't gonna lie. She panicked.
She slipped out the door before anyone could stop her, heart in her throat as she turned the corner and fought the crowd, racing towards where she could only assume her son had gone. It was difficult to focus on much else, tripping over her own high heels and her hands sticky with crushed apple. She could see smoke rising in the distance, billowing in the sky like a thundercloud, with screaming people and flashing cameras and news helicopters flying overhead.
And then-
BOOM!
It rang in her ears like church bells, and it did nothing but spur her on. She didn't care how many people she shoved aside, how many she knocked over in her haste. She could see the flashing lights, the sounds of boom, boom, boom reverberating through the city like the continuous beat of a taiko drum. She knew her brat was strong, the kid was a monster, but his track record of bad luck and attracting the wrong crowd was nagging at her in the back of her mind, like an itch that one couldn't quite reach.
The fight was in full swing by the time she got there, Mitsuki breaking through the crowd just in time to see Katsuki whiz by, explosions lighting his path, as a woman with machine guns for arms attempted to shower him with bullets. A flurry of other heroes and villains were fighting alongside them, several of the villains taken out in precise, fluid movements that Katsuki had no doubt practiced religiously for hours on end.
"He's knocking out too many of us!" a man in a flashy pink suit shrieked. "Ma'am, we gotta go!"
"I know!" the machine gun woman yelled over the sound of approaching sirens. "Get in the truck! We're going!"
"But we don't have all th-!" The villain speaking was promptly sent flying by a well-placed AP shot.
"You're not going anywhere!" Katsuki's voice bellowed over the battlefield, even as police vehicles and firetrucks screeched around the corner. With a curse, the woman, pink suit, and a small group of escapees surged into a large black truck waiting for them, duffel bags of cash piled inside, as the heroes quickly converged on them.
"LET'S GO!" the woman screamed, and with faster reflexes than Mitsuki could follow, she spun around and shot one last barrage at Katsuki.
And like slow-motion, her aim seemed true.
He jerked in the air, and something in Mitsuki's chest stopped altogether. With a wide-eyed look, caught completely off-guard, he lost his balance, corkscrewing downward like a struck fighter jet and into a line of bushes surrounding the ravaged bank.
"Katsuki!"
She broke from the crowd in a dead sprint, blood pounding in her ears and drowning out the cries of officers and emergency personnel. Images of gory scenes and the worst-case scenario danced in her head like an old film reel, and her stomach dropped so fast that she stumbled. She caught herself with ease, even as the villains nearby shouted orders and tires squealed in a desperate attempt to escape, the only coherent thought in her muddled mind the realization that she hadn't seen blood.
She'd blame her wavering senses or her tunnel-like focus, or perhaps the damn brat himself for throwing himself into this situation in the first place, but she wasn't aware of the incoming danger until there was pink ribbon tied around her torso.
Voices roared as she was suddenly yanked through the air, pulled violently to the side so fast that the world was spinning. Something slammed into her head, everything graying out as she found herself rolling to a stop inside a moving vehicle. There was shouting around her, a woman's irate screaming rising above all else.
Except one voice, one in the distance that pierced the noise like an arrow and battled her fading consciousness with vigor.
"MOM!"
"What did I say about hostages!? What did I say!?"
Consciousness came back slowly, her body stiff and aching. Mitsuki breathed slowly, forcing her throbbing head to stop spinning, even in the darkness behind her eyelids. The carpet was rough as it scratched against her skin.
"I'm sorry! We needed a plan of escape and I thought it'd be a good idea! I-I panicked!"
"You're gonna be panicking a lot more when I gun you down-!"
"Now, now, calm down." someone else said. "Let's think about this rationally. So we've been set up with a hostage. We can use this to our benefit."
"I say we just toss her out!" a husky, booming voice shouted. "More trouble than it's worth!"
"Aww, but she's so pretty! I wanna keep her!"
Mitsuki couldn't help her wince as the carpet rubbed painfully against her face. The chatter around her paused as she searched for her bearings, forcing her tilting world to stay steady at least for a moment. The barest of movements was impossible, her arms immobilized and a strong pressure crushing her torso. Looking down at herself, she nearly groaned at the sight of pink ribbon entangling her body and likely holding her arms behind her back in the process.
Fantastic. Her brat was never letting her live this one down.
"She's awake!" a high-pitched voice squealed, thick pumps appearing in front of Mitsuki's face. "Here, I'll help you up."
She was unceremoniously pulled into a seated position, allowed to rest against the wall behind her as what appeared to be a teenage girl with a bright smile stepped back to view her handiwork. Her large pink eyes sent a shiver down Mitsuki's spine, wide and bright, yet disconcertingly vacant.
In the corner, a man with a sickly green bob cut and perfectly round glasses fiddled with some kind of device on his wrist, the security cameras flicking around and copying the movement of his eyes. He hummed, unimpressed, an annoyed frown on his face. Near the girl, A hulk of a man stood over her, his tanned skin covered in what looked like barbs encircling his massive arms.
Light filtered through the one window in the room, bathing the machine gun girl and Pink Suit in shadow. Machine Gun leaned against the wall, arms crossed and face hidden behind her hair, while Pink Suit squirmed where he stood, radiating discomfort. Now that Mitsuki was paying attention, all five of them were wearing some kind of well-tailored suit, even if Pink Suit's was tacky as all hell.
In fact, Machine Gun's suit looked like one of Masaru's originals. At least she could say that she had good taste.
"How do you feel?" asked Pink Suit. "I want to apologize for getting you in this situation. I-"
"You what? Panicked?" Mitsuki hissed, teeth bared. "Fuck off."
The girl clapped with glee. "Ooooh, she's feisty! I like her a lot!"
Pink Suit had the nerve to be sheepish, backing away with his hands raised in defense. Machine Gun, meanwhile, was watching her closely, her eyes narrowed in scrutiny. Mitsuki felt naked under her glare, looking her up and down as if deciphering a puzzle.
"Makes sense." was all she said.
Mitsuki seethed in her corner, but kept her mouth shut in fear of being gagged. The last thing she needed was to lose the ability to call for help. That, and she'd rather her makeup not be smeared.
"You all see it, right?" Machine Gun suddenly said.
The room looked around in apparent confusion, the villains eying each other as if interpreting some kind of code. "See what?" the barbed man snapped.
Machine Gun gestured lazily at Mitsuki. "Doesn't she look familiar? She's like a female U.A. psycho kid."
Katsuki.
Mitsuki blanched.
"The kid from Kamino?" Pink Suit blurted, slightly pale. He looked between his apparent boss and Mitsuki with widening eyes. "Now that you mention it..."
The girl was suddenly in her face. "Are you his twin sister?"
"I- No!" Mitsuki yelled. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about! What's some random brat got to do with me?!"
They shouldn't know. They couldn't know. They-
"Bakugou Mitsuki." Four eyes suddenly announced, and Mitsuki's blood ran cold. "Ah, a fashion model, in her late thirties, no less."
The girl perked up in surprise, skittering over to look over the nerdy man's shoulder at his equipment. She gasped. "You're forty!?"
"THIRTY NINE, BITCH!"
"That's enough! All of you!" Machine Gun's voice boomed. "We're getting off-topic! We might have an opportunity here."
She was pacing now, pent-up frustration written all over her face. "The boss has mentioned that boy in the past. A serious player in the next generation of heroes," she said the word with such distaste that Mitsuki thought she might want to throw up. "And apparently, a certain madman has had his eyes on him for months."
It took a moment for her words to register, but the entire room seemed to drop to freezing as the group all shivered in terror. Mitsuki didn't know if this was an underground thing or what, but she felt something in the pit of her stomach leap.
"But wait." Pink Suit thought aloud. "I thought the boss wanted nothing to do with that guy. You do realize how many people have been killed or have disappeared because of him, right?"
"Well, I'm second-in-command of this damn syndicate and I think we can turn this in our favor. Either we sell him back to U.A. or to...whoever the highest bidder is."
"Like a bargaining chip?"
"Exactly."
Mitsuki felt sick, nausea clawing at her throat. The days during Kamino danced in her head, like a tolling bell reminding her of her grief. She didn't care how angry the brat could make her, because he was still her brat and hers alone. The fact that anyone else was so privy to take him from her made her feel sick to her stomach.
"And if we can't capture him?"
"Yeah." Barbed Guy groaned. "What if I end up killing him?"
Machine Gun frowned. "...Fuck it. It'd be a statement."
Something in Mitsuki snapped. "You can't!"
The room stilled at her outburst, the villains unnerved at the rage that painted her face and burned in her eyes like an inferno. "I won't let you lay a finger on my son."
The tension could have been cut with a knife. The villains looked her up and down, some bored while others found her declaration humorous. The younger girl clapped happily. "So determined!"
"And what are you gonna do about it, little woman?" Barbed Guy growled. His footsteps seemed to shake the Earth as he leaned down to meet her eyes. "Even if you weren't bound, you would be of little threat to us."
"Do we know her quirk?" Pink Suit questioned.
"It's harmless." Glasses drawled nonchalantly, as if he'd rather be anywhere else.
Mitsuki seethed, fighting back the tears of frustration building in her eyes. It took all of her might not to lunge forward and bite the man wherever she could reach, clamping down and tearing him to shreds. Her hands shook behind her, teeth grinding so hard that she was sure her perfect smile would be ruined.
Because it was always her brat. For whatever reason, it seemed that villains flocked to him, whether it be for fame or fortune or some twisted idea of who he was. Mitsuki knew going into this hero business that villains would be after him. Whether it be revenge or to make a 'statement', once he was number one, he would have a target permanently painted on his back.
But he was only sixteen.
He was a sixteen-year-old boy, who had villains tripping over themselves to make his life a living hell.
And it wasn't fair.
"Bastards..." she gritted out, swallowing down and fighting her rising emotions as the man stomped away, clearly no longer interested in her.
"So, what's the plan?" Girl asked, twirling her hair playfully.
"I'm thinking." Machine Gun huffed, glaring at Pink Suit. "I didn't exactly get a chance to think this through."
"Luring him into some kind of trap would be our best bet." Glasses yapped. "It would be difficult with heroes on the case, especially if they ban him from working with them due to personal involvement."
"Ugh, this is too complicated." Machine Gun whined. She whipped around to meet Pink Suit's gaze. "You're an idiot."
"I said I was sorry!"
"Sorry doesn't fix this!"
"We could just let her go." Glasses shrugged.
"Or kill her." Barbed Guy grinned.
"Aww, I still wanna keep her!" Girl giggled. "She's so pretty!"
Something vile coiled around Mitsuki's heart, her stomach doing backflips and somersaults as she pressed herself against the wall. It was only now that she began to fear for her own safety, her life left in the hands of five psychopaths who dragged her into their business without even asking. She hadn't exactly wanted to be held hostage today, after all.
"So now you realize your situation." Barbed Guy said in amusement as he lumbered towards her. "Where'd the tough girl act go?"
Her life flashed before her eyes as a large, barbed hand reached down towards her. She could see her husband in her mind's eye, smiling warmly as she returned from her latest appointment. She could see him beaming when she complimented his sketches or cooking, as if her very words were what kept him alive and happy. She could see her son screaming good morning at her like an insult, ducking his head in embarrassment as she carded her fingers through his hair, his hands shaking with suppressed emotion. She could see him trying to hide a smile as she taped another headline to the wall.
She could see Masaru cowering away at her sharp words. She could see Katsuki storming off with a scratch on his cheek from a wedding ring.
She still owed them so much for her shitty attitude. She still wanted to hold them, to let them know that she loved them and that she would do better.
She wanted to live.
CRASH!
It was so fast that Mitsuki barely even saw what happened, the villains turning with shock written across their faces as the single window in the room exploded inward. A boot was slamming into Glasses's face before anyone could react, Mitsuki watching in slow motion as his stunned face twisted and warped with the strike. If her eyes weren't deceiving her, she thought she saw a tooth shoot across the room.
Even from behind Barbed Guy, she could see ash blonde gleaming under the sunlight. She could smell the scent of soot and smoke billowing into the room. She could hear the telltale bang, feel the heat that washed over her face, taste the ash in the air.
Time restarted.
Glasses smashed into the opposite wall headfirst, falling to the ground in a heap as Katsuki's sharp red eyes locked onto Barbed Guy. "ALREADY?!" somebody shouted, but it fell on deaf ears as Barbed Guy spun around, barbed wire flying out of his skin as Pink Suit shot his hands forward, pink ribbon firing out of his palms.
Katsuki leaped from wall to wall as barbed wire and ribbons followed after him, Machine Gun raising her transformed arm before stopping herself, a thoughtful look on her face. The barbed wire clattered uselessly against the wall as a blur shot through the room. Pink Suit shouted as his ribbons got tangled in his effort to capture the punk.
"Over here!" Girl shouted, her vacant eyes glowing a neon pink. "Look at me! Look at me!"
Mitsuki felt her world tilt on its axis just from a mere glance at her eyes, everything spinning and making her feel impossibly dizzy. She fought back that dizziness, forcing her gaze to focus as the blur that was her son appeared crouched under Girl, his foot shooting up and uppercutting her right in the chin. Her head shot back on impact, a stunned look on her face before she was sent flying across the room with an ear-splitting bang.
Somehow, in the cloud of smoke rising in the room, Barbed Guy found his chance, barbed wire swirling through the air and catching Katsuki's arm. The yelp it ripped out of him had Mitsuki's hair standing on end, her hands shaking as another wire caught his other arm, the boy practically playing tug-of-war with the giant of a man. Behind Katsuki, Pink Suit got his ribbons untangled, but the explosive teen ignored as the ribbon wrapped around his torso in favor of forcing his bleeding arms together, firing consecutive explosions into Barbed Guy's face.
It was only somewhat effective, freeing one of his bloodied arms when Barbed Guy went to cover his face. He barely glanced to the side, where Machine Gun stood, a more resolute frown on her face as she aimed her transformed arm at Mitsuki's son.
Heart caught in her throat, Mitsuki screamed.
And Katsuki ducked.
It was a split second, where the wall behind him was sprayed with a barrage of bullets, that Katsuki reached back with his free arm and grabbed the pink ribbon, burning it enough to snap, and shot forward, slamming into Barbed Guy with all of his strength and sending them both toppling over. The momentum sent them both crashing into the wall, just a few feet away from Mitsuki's trembling form.
Not very often had she ever experienced this kind of terror.
And it always seemed to be Katsuki, didn't it?
Another explosion left her ears ringing, Barbed Guy's wheeze her only warning before he collapsed at her side. Within the next moment, Katsuki had his back to her, his shirt stained in red as Machine Gun and Pink Suit stood before them, rage painting Machine Gun's face as she held her arm steady. "I should have expected as much from the infamous U.A. psycho kid."
Mitsuki bit her lip, nausea coursing through her body as she fought back tears. In front of her, Katsuki stood tall, even as blood soaked his clothes. Machine Gun frowned. "Last time my team was scattered like this, they were dead, and you heroes were to blame. But nobody cares for the little guys, right? They want the glory!"
Katsuki stood frozen, arms raised and ready to fire. Mitsuki wanted to scream. Machine Gun aimed. "I can see it in your eyes, kid. You want that glory."
The tension was back, and it was drowning them where they stood. Mitsuki couldn't stop her shaking, restlessness tainting her raging anger and wallowing sorrow as this bitch dared to point a gun at her son directly in front of her. For once, Mitsuki wished she'd been gifted with a different quirk, something that could protect her and her son from the certain death that was currently staring them down.
Something that could allow her to do her job as a mother for once and protect her only child.
"You're wrong." said Katsuki, deceptively calm. "I want to earn that glory."
He fired.
Mitsuki visibly startled as Pink Suit went flying, slamming into the wall with a resounding crash. The effect was immediate, the pink ribbon around Mitsuki's body and Katsuki's torso falling away like a puppet's cut strings. Machine Gun roared as Katsuki whirled around, sending a wall of crates in front of Mitsuki as he charged, leaving her blinded to the fight as bullets sprayed the walls around her. She curled into a ball, screaming as the noise grew impossibly loud, unbearable.
A hulking form inched forward. "YOU BRAT!"
Barbed wire shot out, and Mitsuki's blood froze over as a scream tore through the air. Her heart in her throat, she scrambled up, just in time to see blood splatter the walls where Katsuki's midsection was wrapped in barbs. Not wasting her one opportunity, Machine Gun leaped forward, slamming into him and sending him toppling to the floor and knocking the wind out of him.
He barely had a chance to move before her gun arm was in his face, the barrel staring him down like a harbinger of death. Machine Gun growled. "It's people like you that make this society such an evil place." she spat.
Katsuki stared at her for a long moment, defiance radiating off of him as he had the audacity to scoff. "This ain't a place for the fucking blind like you, bitch." he shot back, the gun pressing against his forehead.
"Blind!" she laughed humorlessly. "The blind one is you for trusting heroes, let alone wanting to be like them! They're all bastards!"
"At least they don't kidnap innocent people for no reason."
Machine Gun was silent for a moment. Mitsuki thought she was gonna throw up as a click sounded. "Any last words?"
In that moment, a lifetime flashed before her eyes, from Katsuki cradled in her arms as a newborn to the day he took his first steps and said his first words. He'd always been a quick learner, and had grown mentally a lot faster than many of his peers. She could see him in his arms, proudly reading his books to her and drinking up every ounce of praise that she and Masaru offered him, even after the days when he would start to talk back and Mitsuki would scare him so bad that he wouldn't come out of his room unless it was in Masaru's arms.
He was only sixteen. He was only sixteen.
I can't lose him!
Katsuki's hands slowly pressed down against the floor, turning a telltale bright orange and yellow as they began to glow. Mitsuki understood what was about to happen before she could even comprehend her own desperation.
The last think she heard was her brat's shriek. "HAG, RUN!"
"KATSUKI!"
BOOM!
She woke up to an impossible heat.
Mitsuki blinked into the fire blearily, coughing into her armpit as she pushed herself up. It was amazing how a hellscape could be so unbearably bright and dark at the same time, shrouding the world in nothing but flames and noxious smoke.
She pulled herself to her knees, scanning the room where the floor used to be. The one window was well and truly busted in, Glasses, Pink Suit, and Girl scattered around the rickety, unstable floor. In the center of the room, there was a deep hole, going down several floors into the abyss where Machine Gun and Katsuki once were.
Her heart squeezed painfully.
"Katsuki...!" she shouted into the void. "Katsuki!"
The roaring flames were her only answer. Mitsuki suddenly found it hard to breathe.
"Shrieking banshee..." a voice that she did not want to hear sneered, and Mitsuki found herself face to face with an injured Barbed Guy as he rose from beneath the rubble that was once a pile of crates. He clawed his way towards her as she shakily got to her feet, breath heavy and searching the room for some kind of weapon to defend herself. He must have not been in his right mind, or else she would have been strangled by his quirk right about now.
She stared back defiantly. In the end, she got creative.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" he screeched as he lunged at her, only to be met with the high heel of Mitsuki's shoe piercing into his collarbone. The strength behind the strike alone was enough to sink into his skin, the hulking man shrieking in agony as he stumbled back, the heel lodged in his body. Mitsuki scrambled back, nearly tripping over a loose piece of rebar. Just her luck, her purse was nearby as well.
Maybe the universe didn't hate them so much, after all.
Looping her purse over her shoulder, she grabbed the rebar in one hand and her other shoe in the other, rushing Barbed Guy and striking him over the head as hard as she could with a warcry. She may be small in stature compared to others, but if she could snap a coffee table in half with a single fist, then she could knock out a second-rate villain on a good day.
That, and she'd cowered in fear enough as it was. Now that she had the means of fighting back, she was gonna show these assholes exactly where Katsuki got it from.
Barbed Guy crashed to the ground, unmoving, and Mitsuki continued to force contaminated air into her lungs as she stood over him. Around them, the fire burned on, and if Mitsuki was a good person, she might have thought to help the villains around her, left completely helpless in their unconsciousness.
But she wasn't a good person. She was a desperate mother searching for her missing son.
So she stumbled out the door, shoe and pole in hand as her bare feet trudged down the stairwell. The metal stairs were hot against her soles, but she ignored it as she shoved her shoe and pole under her arm and searched her purse. She found her phone, a flurry of missed calls and unread messages greeting her as soon as the screen lit up. In her haste, she only thought to dial one.
The phone clicked. "Mitsuki!?"
"Masaru." Mitsuki breathed. "Yes, it's me."
"Oh my-" Masaru's loud sobs broke something in Mitsuki. She hardened her glare, almost tripping over her own feet as she descended the stairs. "I heard- I-I thought-"
"Chin up, dear." she chastised, but she mentally kicked herself a moment later. "Listen, I don't quite know where I am or where you are or- or what's going on outside, but I'm gonna need you to come to me, okay?"
"What-?" Masaru swallowed, tears and emotion clear in his voice. "I- O-O-Okay. Okay. I'm on my way. And what about Katsuki?"
"I don't know." she admitted. "I don't know, but I'll find him. He's a strong brat and I'll find him. We'll both be okay, honey."
"Mitsu-"
"I promise!"
The line was silent. It stretched on forever as Mitsuki made it to the bottom of the stairwell, and it took her an embarrassingly long time to realize that her call had disconnected. She cursed under her breath, shoving her phone back into her purse and zipping it up with more ferocity than necessary. It was a miracle that it had survived for this long in the first place.
Mitsuki shuffled towards the doorway, heat radiating from the crumbling building around her. There were openings to the outside, if the breeze in the stairwell was anything to go by, which meant the entire building was gonna come down at any moment. Staring up at the steps she'd just descended, she couldn't help the eery sense of dread that coiled around her being like a snake choking the life out of its prey.
Barefoot and armed, Mitsuki slowly pushed the door to the ground floor open. The breeze sent a wave of heat and fire at her, forcing her to step back lest she be burned alive. She coughed, the smoke burning her lungs and eyes. Through the haze, deep in the fire, she could see a form rising from the ashes.
"Katsuki..." she whispered. Her heart skipped a beat as she climbed over debris and maneuvered around flames licking at her soot-covered clothes. The figure appeared to be coughing, hunched over in the fogginess of the smoke and ash in the air as they gasped for breath.
And then they arched their back to stretch, and Mitsuki froze as long hair cascaded behind them.
That wasn't Katsuki.
She quickly crouched down, slowly creeping her way over as the floor grew warmer. She hissed in pain, but carried on, ignoring the way her feet seemed to cook in the heat. Her fingers drummed against her rebar, begging for action as her heart hammered in her chest, frustration building up behind her eyes.
"Just like you heroes." Machine Gun's voice rang through the room above the crackling fire. "Thought you could kill me with such a pitiful blast."
Mitsuki swallowed thickly, peering over a toppled-over table at the scene before her. She could make out Machine Gun's limp, stumbling over the heated floor and coughing hoarsely in the fire as blood trailed down her face like a veil. She lumbered through the rubble, making her way towards a pile of debris not too far from where Mitsuki stood.
And in that debris was Katsuki, splayed out and unmoving, coated in soot and with blood in his hair. She couldn't see his eyes from where she was, but from what she could see, she didn't need to.
"I commend your efforts, though." Machine Gun mused. "However, there's enough of you as it is. Too many, in fact."
She raised her transformed arm. "Might as well take out the virus before it multiplies."
It was fascinating, how one's life could flash before your eyes twice in only a few minutes. Mitsuki could see the day that Katsuki had discovered that he could learn to fly, sending himself careening backwards while trying to use his quirk on a swingset. She'd told him that heroes don't cry, that they could handle anything, and he'd sucked it up and rubbed his face like the brave little boy he was.
She could see the first time that she'd almost lost Katsuki, running after Izuku's balloon after he'd lost hold of it and bolting right out into the street in front of an oncoming car. The vehicle had stopped just in time, and Mitsuki had rushed out to grab him with tears in her eyes. It had startled him, seeing his mother cry like that, and he quickly vowed never to do it again even before she could scream at him. Somehow, in the end, he did save Izuku's balloon, and he didn't dare to touch the asphalt for weeks afterward.
She could see the day that Katsuki got a B on a test, and Mitsuki had been so sure that he could do better. Despite her best efforts, a screaming match had erupted. He'd threatened her with his quirk, and Mitsuki had been so enraged that she'd swatted him as hard as she could. He'd been bruised badly, and though he never did it again, it had weighed on her.
That was the first time she'd hit him.
And it certainly wasn't the last.
"Am I too hard on him?"
It took everything in her not to scream.
Machine Gun gasped as a thrown shoe smacked her right in the face, sending her stumbling back. She cringed as her back leg twisted, but she regained her balance just in time to see Mitsuki barreling towards her like a demon from the ninth circle of hell. Machine Gun barely parried her strike with her transformed arm, Mitsuki swinging her rebar so fast and so violently that Machine Gun didn't have a chance to fire, only to block the onslaught.
Machine Gun parried her attack, pushing back with all of her strength as Mitsuki fought to not twist her arm into releasing her only weapon. Her wrists ached, her shoulders screaming from exertion, but she grit her teeth and pushed.
Heroes don't cry, but she was no hero. That's what she told herself as tears once again built up behind her eyes. She ducked under a swing, clashing over and over and over again as Machine Gun nearly ripped the rebar right out of Mitsuki's hands with every collision. Mitsuki roared with anger, crackling rage in the pit of her stomach as her bare feet slid along the hot floor.
"You're stubborn," Machine Gun chuckled. "I'll give you that."
"Yeah, well, you know what they say about mama bears." Mitsuki's smile was manic, her eyes wild. "Never mess with their cubs."
With a shout, Machine Gun ripped Mitsuki's pole out of her hands, the blonde watching as it spun in the air. It was like slow-motion as Machine Gun went to swing at her, only for Mitsuki to duck under it. Clenching her fist and digging her foot against the burning floor, she reared forward and threw the strongest punch she could muster. Her form was unbreakable and her aim was true, her fist connecting solidly with Machine Gun's face. She twirled and writhed as she stumbled away, clutching her face as her nose began to bleed heavily.
Mitsuki couldn't help but grin, her knuckles dusted with specks of blood. She repositioned her purse and brushed back her hair, marching over to where Machine Gun stood, curled inwards as blood dripped from her face.
"You dare...?" Machine Gun seethed, her own eyes murderous. Without warning, before Mitsuki could even think to react, she lunged. "YOU DARE-?!"
BOOM!
Machine Gun was gone in an instant, rocketed into the wall and sent crumbling to the ground. The building shook from the impact, groaning as it fought valiantly against gravity trying to pull it down and crush them. The world stilled, fire licking at their frozen forms, not waiting for everything to restart.
Mitsuki blinked, the breeze whipping her hair, and she slowly turned to meet Katsuki's eyes.
They were hazy and sharp all at once, tired but prepared, predatory. He took a step from where he stood atop the mound of rubble he'd been buried in, and then another, and another, and Mitsuki was running to catch him, pulling his falling body into her waiting arms and hugging him tightly to her chest as if he was still a little boy running out in front of cars.
"You're so stupid." she sobbed. "Stupid, stupid brat. I thought you were going to die."
Katsuki was quiet, his weight pressed against her as he allowed her to hold him up amidst the flames. It was a long moment that felt like eons, but then, she felt him lightly knock his fist against her head. "You're the stupid one." he rasped. "For thinking that."
She laughed, her own voice hoarse. "Let's get out of here before we die."
Click.
Mitsuki froze, her veins icy cold. She didn't bother to turn around, fully aware of the gun aiming at her back. Machine Gun sighed, coughing into the thick smoke. Katsuki tried to move, but Mitsuki clutched him to her chest, holding him still in a vain attempt to somehow shield him despite his weak but desperate struggling.
She could at least try.
"Ain't you two adorable." she growled. "See you in hell, bitches."
And then it was cold.
Mitsuki startled, watching in awe as ice exploded into the room, freezing Machine Gun where she sat. Machine Gun, in turn, looked alarmed, shaking from the cold and staring down at herself in stunned disbelief.
"Bakugou?" a voice called from further out, the faint colors of red and white just barely visible from the outside. They were running, tripping over themselves to get into the burning building.
"Bakugou!" Another voice, and this one, Mitsuki knew. Bright red burst through the wall, revealing the form of Kirishima. His toothy grin was a welcome sight as he approached them. "Hey, are you guys alright?! You gotta get out of here!"
"We can get out ourselves!" Katsuki snapped.
"Katsuki, be nice to your friend!"
"Shut up, hag! Not the time!"
"Don't 'not the time' me, brat!"
He ignored her. "There's four more people trapped a few floors up. They're unconscious and need more help than us."
Kirishima nodded, simply taking his word for it and motioning for Katsuki's other classmate to follow. A moment later, a flurry of other heroes that Mitsuki couldn't possibly name arrived, pouring in to help firefighters fight back the flames and help the two of them out of the building. Mitsuki's feet burned, but it was nothing compared to the overwhelming relief that made her feel as if she was melting.
They were led outside, and suddenly, fresh, crisp air was burning Mitsuki's lungs. She realized how filthy she was, coated in soot that would take forever to wash out, but that was nothing compared to getting the blood out of Katsuki's clothes. And then there were the nightmares that she was sure would be haunting her for many nights to come.
Just one step at a time, Mitsuki.
Sirens wailed and people shouted all around her, but she was deaf to it, her son's arm draped over her shoulder as they stumbled along. They must have been quite the pair, waddling out of a burning building covered in ash and blood like a couple of zombies. Ambulances were waiting for them as they continued their march. At this point, Mitsuki's feet were killing her, so she couldn't wait to get off of them and get cleaned up.
"Mitsuki!"
She wanted to cry upon hearing such a sweet voice. She smiled warmly as he appeared, glasses askew as he refrained from barreling into them. Mitsuki melted into Masaru's grip, Katsuki allowing himself to be held up as the older man wailed into their ears, tears flowing freely down his face.
"I saw the news!" he cried. "I was so scared! You two can't keep doing this to me! You can't!"
He'd never sounded so broken before.
Mitsuki shushed him gently, carding her free hand through his disheveled hair. "We're okay, dear." she said. "It'll take a lot worse to get us out of your hair."
"Stupid old man." Katsuki mumbled into Masaru's shoulder. "You're both stupid."
The small family of three huddled together for as long as they were allowed, for all the time in the world and no time at all, before paramedics pulled them aside, pushing them towards an ambulance for treatment. Masaru hovered the whole way, rambling about how he'd bolted from the house when he'd seen the news in a hopeless mad dash to rescue his dear family. After all, it was his worst nightmare that his wife and kid would be killed so suddenly.
And this wouldn't be the last time. Katsuki was a hero, after all. Villains would come after him. Catastrophes would take place. It was his job to risk his life to save as many people as possible, to protect people from evil and disasters and other things that could one day get him killed. Trouble would follow them wherever they went.
But for now, everything was okay, because they were safe now, here with him in the open air. The sun was still shining, the ground was still under their feet, and the world was still turning through space, as if nothing had ever been wrong in the first place.
Perhaps their meal plans would be ruined, but for once, Mitsuki found that she didn't mind so much.