Hey there! Hi there! Ho there! So, yeah, I posted a one shot and that delayed this chapter a little bit. I just got the writing bug from a prompt I saw in the Jaded discord and I ended up writing like 11k words...so yeah. I was going to wait until the weekend to post, but I found my stride and banged out chapter 5. Chapter 5 ended up being on shorter end (around 5k-6k words), so that made things a little easier. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy some of the cuter moments in the carnage of this chapter. Happy reading!


The Yaoyorozus and Bakugous come back to the sight of damaged medical equipment and an inconsolable Izumi, clutching for dear life onto the youngest Yaoyorozu. Oddly enough, Katsuki wasn't in the room, which didn't paint the prettiest implications about what might've happened. Mitsuki rushes over to her niece, immediately comforting her with Momo's help, but she needed to know where her own brat was and what the fuck happened. Thankfully, her husband had decided to speak up first.

"Oh, dear. What happened here, Mr. Matsumura? And where is Katsuki?"

Taiki gives an audible sigh, frustrated with himself, and bows deeply, "I must apologize to everyone here; my lax attitude in watching over the three children allowed all this to happen and I will fully explain everything," with a slight pause, he raises his head and takes a small breath, fortifying himself for what's to come, "From the way young Izumi and Katsuki were acting, I thought there was a good chance of young Katsuki abusing young Izumi."

Mitsuki feels her own temper spike from that insulation, knowing that while her brat was a bit abrasive, he'd never intentionally hurt his best friend! The two were thicker than thieves and had known each other for all of their lives, so there was no way Katsuki could do anything like that! She separates from Izumi, feeling confident in Momo's ability to comfort Izumi…I mean, Izumi was practically welded to the poor girl, which would've been cute if not for the fact that Izumi was inconsolable.

She stands up with a sneer on her face, "Oi, Katsuki would never do anything like that. Izumi's his best friend and he's not like that. Yeah, he's fucking aggressive and abrasive, but he'd never…"

Taiki doesn't let the angry tone affect him, cutting her back off and continuing with his explanation, "Mrs. Bakugou, I heard your son verbally abuse both Mistress Momo and young Izumi, threaten Izumi with his quirk, and I saw the aftermath of his shove on Mistress Momo, meaning he was comfortable using physical violence."

That revelation makes shock run through Mitsuki's system, turning her whole world upside down…she has no words as her mind panics from what else she might've missed, but this guy couldn't be telling the truth…could he? Masaru is in a similar state, as he had been careful to teach his son about compassion, about regulating the temper he inherited from his mother, but this was like a slap in the face. He had apparently failed and this might just be the tip of the iceberg.

The Yaoyorozus are quite shocked that their daughter had been assaulted, rushing over to her side to check on her, "Honey, are you alright? That brute didn't hurt you, did he?" Daichi asked, his voice holding a dangerous edge among the worried concern.

Honestly, Momo feels a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Dealing with her worrying parents after being physically assaulted, while trying to console a crying friend had not been at the top of her 'What's Going to Happen to Me' today list, but she soldiers on through, "Yes, I'm quite alright…shh shh shh, it's not your fault, Izumi. It's okay. He was just trying to hurt you. It's not your fault. It's okay."

Taiki continues with his explanation, "Katsuki started out verbally hostile before getting violent, but Izumi did not take kindly to Katsuki's treatment of Mistress Momo. She was more concerned about her than herself and seemed to accept her own abuse from the boy…I was listening outside and came in too late, something I must apologize profusely for. I was too late to stop the physical altercation that took place. Young Izumi rushed to defend Mistress Momo, but her new quirk seemed to have pushed her into more violence than was necessary, even pushing me aside quite easily when I tried to reason with her. Mistress Momo, fortunately, was able to calm her down and show her that she was unharmed, but young Katsuki was injured in the process and is being taken care of by the hospital staff. He is okay, he was not severely injured, from what I could tell. However, there's one more thing he said that I found simply detestable and unforgivable and something I will not repeat in this room for Miss Izumi's sake. It seems like this bad blood runs deeper than just today."

Once more, the Yaoyorozus found themselves thankful for Izumi's actions of protectiveness, but found themselves rather concerned for her mental health. They did their best to join in with their daughter in soothing Izumi, but the tears didn't stop and she couldn't look at anyone in the room. She could only cling to her greatest source of comfort and cry into the crook of her neck.

The Bakugous, however, find themselves in a bit of a pickle, as they want to check on their son and what exactly he had said to Izumi…but they need to be here for Izumi, even if there isn't a whole lot they could do. Beyond that Mitsuki is feeling quite angry and isn't sure she could deal with her brat in her current emotional state. Masaru isn't the type to be angry quite often, he balances out his wife quite well, but if everything that Taiki said is true…well, he can already feel his anger begin to simmer over. Beyond that, he needs to make sure his son is okay and to look after his mental health, so something is clearly not alright here. He never should've done anything close to what happened today. Masaru looks at his wife, the pair silently communicating with just a gaze before Masaru nods and sighs deeply.

"As much as I'd like to support Izumi right now, I don't want to overwhelm her more than she already is and we need answers from our son. I'll check on him and get some answers from him in the meantime…and I'm sure my wife will know what to ask Izumi when she calms down, as I'm sure some of you want answers too,," he gives a deep bow, "I'm sorry for my son's actions…this should never have happened."

Masaru makes his exit to go check on his son, leaving his wife to deal with the Yaoyorozus…and probably their incredibly justified anger. Izumi's sobs slowly began to sputter out, leaving behind occasional low whimpers as Izumi struggles to get a hold of herself. Her thoughts were like a raging storm, Katsuki's words playing over and over again in her mind, clashing against Momo's whispered reassurances and comforting touches. Even as she grows more and more silent, she never looks up or lets go of Momo, but her grip loosens quite considerably. Sporadic sniffles came from the draconic girl, the odd tear occasionally escaping her eyes. Momo herself simply holds onto her friend, running her fingers through her messy green curls like her Mother had done for her whenever she was upset.

Mitsuki is the one to break the silence first, needing to know just how deep all of this shit ran between the two, "Izumi…I'm so sorry for whatever my brat said to you….Fuck, I'm sorry for not even noticing something was wrong between you two. I'd understand if you fucking hate me and…

In perhaps the most Izumi like fashion, Izumi picks her head up from Momo's shoulder, fierce spirit showing in her eyes, "I could never hate you, Auntie! You're the best auntie ever!"

Momo winces from the volume and Izumi blushes and recognizes that she was a bit too forceful and loud, burying her face back into the crook of Momo's neck and mumbling a sorry to the girl. While her voice is a little muffled, it carries enough for everyone to hear, "I know it's not you or Uncle Masaru's fault."

Guilt weighs heavily on Mitsuki and it shows on her face, wondering just how sweet this damn girl could be. I mean, here she was, suffering from multiple sources of trauma, and she makes the time to comfort her aunt and uncle. Mitsuki's smile turns a little bitter as she looks away in shame, trying to think of where exactly all this went wrong.

Asami was the next one to speak up, her voice full of concern and caution, "Izumi dear, what did you mean by that? Do you think it's someone else's fault?"

Izumi stiffens slightly, her grip on her friend tightening as she feels the lump return to her throat. The words couldn't escape from her throat as those bubbling emotions threaten to return, so she simply averts her gaze again.

That's when it dawns fully on Mitsuki; it's that damn school! Over the years, Katsuki had gotten into a few scraps with some other school boys that the school had tried brushing under the rug, spouting some nonsense about not wanting to ruin his promising future…and she was pretty sure they were downplaying some of the details as her brat had been oddly silent at the time. She was pretty sure the only reason why they called was because Katsuki had a few visible bruises and scrapes…could they have been holding back more from her? Could they have been providing a consequence free environment for her kid to terrorize? Every little interaction she had with the school was playing and replaying in her mind, trying to pick up every little fucking anamoly that she could, nitpicking the tiniest of details that she can remember..

"The fucking school…Aldera…you're talking about Aldera aren't you?" Mitsuki's voice was a little desperate, despite not wanting to put any pressure on the young girl to answer.

Izumi could only tense, that lump in her throat tightening further, imprisoning her words like a constricting snake. Not being able to trust her own voice, Izumi nods while hiding in the crook of Momo's neck.

Asami shoots Mitsuki a withering look for the way she questioned Izumi and Mitsuki had the decency to look guilty and grimace from how aggressive she came off towards a traumatized child. She wishes that Masaru was still here to help regulate her, but he isn't and she can only take a step back from the conversation in shame.

Asami decides to take over for Mitsuki, her voice becoming as gentle as she could make it, "Izumi dear, you don't have to answer any of our questions if you don't want to. You've been through quite a lot today, so we can revisit this at a later date, should that be comfortable for you.

Izumi can only shake her head, trying to show what willingness she has to help alleviate her auntie's anxiety about this whole situation. As exhausted as she was, as much as she doesn't want to deal with this…maybe this would finally change something. Maybe this would finally get Katsuki back to his old self…maybe he wouldn't be such a bully if she was finally able to talk to them about all this.

"Okay…Alright, Izumi, but please don't push yourself, okay?" Asami's concern is rather comforting for Izumi, so she can only nod in agreement.

"Alright…well, let's start with Katsuki then. Has he done something like this before?"

Izumi nods.

"How long has this been going on? A year?"

Izumi nods.

"Two years?"

Izumi nods again.

"Three?"

Nods.

Deep seeded dread blooms with every nod they take in, the extent of her abuse becoming more bone-chilling by the second.

"Four?"

A nod.

"Five?"

Another nod.

"...Six?"

Finally, Izumi shook her head, but none of the people in the room with her could take solace in that…Izumi had been abused since the time she was in pre-k, since she was four years old, and that is simply unacceptable; it was over half of her damn life! Momo was rather indignant about all of this; how could someone as compassionate and smart as Izumi be bullied, let alone for so long? Shouldn't the adults in the school be able to handle this? They couldn't possibly be so ignorant of what happened to their students!

Despite the disturbing revelation, Asami continues gently asking her questions, "Alright, how often do they hurt you? Weekly?"

Izumi nods.

"Every other day?"

That question itself made everyone's blood run cold; everyone would think that kind of frequency would be unlikely, or it should've been. However, Izumi's nod made everyone gain a grave look on their face, but this was nowhere near the end of it.

"Every day?"

"And do others physically hurt you too?" Mitsuki throws in.

Izumi nods, feeling her chest starting to tighten from the thoughts forcing her to relive some of the acts that her classmates had put her through…Every smack, every harsh word, every shove, every belittling remark swirled in her head as she clung on to her newest friend, the only thing making it able to keep it together.

"And the teachers do nothing to stop it? Do they encourage it?"

She nods.

That nod seals Aldera Primary's fate. Both the Yaoyorozu patriarch and matriarch make a mental promise to systematically and completely eviscerate that school and all those involved with it. No adult should be responsible for children if they enable the kind of behavior that made Izumi suffer the way she did. They will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and spend the rest of their days with a lack of agency and freedom. That is their promise to the young girl, to the person who had saved their lives.

Momo is rather upset at the moment; her newest friend had been left to the wolves by the people who should've protected her the most. She can't fathom why someone would ever do something like this, so she blurted out the first thought that came to her head, "But why would someone do this? It's barbaric!"

Despite Momo's refinement and maturity, she is still naive to quite a few things about the world. People didn't need a reason why they do something horrific; some people just took enjoyment in the dehumanization of others. However, it's Taiki's revelation that shakes everyone to their core.

"People don't really need a reason to hurt someone, young Mistress, but I believe I might be able to shed some light on part of the why. Young Katsuki had addressed young Izumi as quirkless in a derogatory way. I believe her previous quirkless status could've been the catalyst, seeing as how the length of her abuse aligns with the age where most children find out their quirk status."

Momo could barely comprehend what her butler was saying, that people would harm others for things outside of their control, that such hate could be spread that way, that people had some sort of need to crush what was different. Concepts like that were on the periphery of many of her history textbooks, but she had never been confronted with the reality of bigotry in such an overt way. Despite these shocking revelations, her brain makes the connection of how Izumi flinched when Katsuki used his quirk, unintentionally steering the conversation back to Katsuki.

"Izumi…did Katsuki ever use his quirk on you?"

The fear in Momo's voice causes Izumi to hesitate, sensing part of her world crumbling and changing to something darker…she didn't want to make her feel sad, but she didn't want to lie to her either. Izumi nods and Momo could feel it more than she could see it, but the revelation was no less earth shattering, even for adults in the room.

"Did your other classmates do the same, young Miss?"

Izumi nods again, feeling her eyes begin to leak again as this all starts to become more than she can bare. She wants to just curl up under some blankets and hide away from the world, but her desire to stay in contact with Momo is the only thing that keeps her hooked in reality…her warmth was all consuming in the most pleasant way, like all of her problems lighten because of her. Momo feels the fresh tears on her neck and how her friend tried to hug Momo deeper, trying to sink into her like she was the softest pillow in the world, desperately trying to hide away from the world.

Momo decides to speak up, gaining a small glare on her face as she looks up at all the adults, "No more questions, Izumi's done."

Despite the unparalleled adorableness of her glare, everyone takes her seriously and notices that Izumi is indeed done for now, but there was one burning question left to ask, but that could easily be answered by Taiki.

Momo taps Izumi on her shoulder, trying to gain her attention, "Izumi, you need to get back in your bed so the doctors can recast your arms and so you can rest."

Izumi doesn't verbally respond, only tightening her hug on the one lifeline that's keeping her grounded. Momo, despite her friend's pain, felt good that Izumi trusted her this much and found so much comfort in her presence.

These two are destined to be best friends.

"Okay, but just a little more. I promise I'll at least hold your hand, okay? I know casts are going to make it hard to hug, but I promise I'll hug you as much as you want," Momo tries to bargain with her friend and it seems to work, gaining a hesitant nod from the dragon girl.

It took every bit of strength for Asami not to coo at how cute the children are being, but they have a few more questions and concerns to take care of, "Momo honey, we're going to step back out with Taiki and talk about a few things, I assume you'll be able to keep her company for a little bit?"

While Asami didn't coo, she couldn't keep the teasing look on her face, making her daughter blush and look away, "I-I'll be fine, mother."

Before the adults step out, Mitsuki shows a bit of courage, still feeling a cacophony of raging feelings thrashing around inside of her. She had failed as a mother, as an aunt, and as a best friend, but she is going to fix every part of this she can. Mitsuki steps forward, kneeling down and placing a hesitant hand on Izumi's shoulder. Izumi's face is still buried in Momo's neck, so Izumi couldn't see her aunt.

To keep from startling the girl too much, she keeps her voice low and gentle, "Izumi…I…I'm so sorry you had to deal with this crap. I'm so sorry that I never noticed, I should've noticed," Mitsuki takes a silent breath, thankful that her favorite niece isn't looking at her…Mitsuki is barely keeping it together and she doesn't want for the emotionally exhausted child to have to try and help her feel better, "I'm going to fix this, whatever it takes. I promise I'll do right by you."

As Mitsuki goes to stand up and leave, she feels a firm hand grasp out and catch her wrist. She looks back to see Izumi's vibrant green eyes, still as beautiful as ever, even if they have quite a different shape to them now. Izumi could still barely look at Mitsuki, she gives a shy smile and says, "Thank you, Auntie…I'm glad you're my auntie"

With those parting words, Izumi proceeds to curl back into Momo, leaving Mitsuki to rush out of the room with tears in her eyes…that girl thought the world of her and she had systematically failed her at every single step. She curses her own ineptitude, vowing to stop sitting idly by; Mitsuki gets her shit together and wipes away her tears, gearing herself up for the conversation that needed to be had. The adult Yaoyorozus (including Taiki) and Mitsuki walked out of the room to find somewhere they could speak without interruption.

On the way to find someplace more private, each of the adults recover from the deluge of trauma that was just dumped on them by a nine-year-old child. Barely restrained rage bubbles under the surface, only kept at bay for promises for justice. The tension was quite thick between the group and Mitsuki understands that she has a lot to make up for; she made a lot of mistakes when it came to her kid, but Izumi is the one who paid the price for it. She has a lot more to apologize for, so she wastes no time when they find a small corner they could have a semi-private conversation in.

"Okay, first off, I need to apologize for my brat manhandling your daughter," she gives a deep bow, holding it as she continues, "I'll get him to apologize too, even if he hates every second it…scratch that, he'll definitely hate it, which is why I'll make him do it."

Daichi and Asami were a little surprised by the strength of Mitsuki's resolve, as her first impression hadn't been the best. However, Mitsuki had shown a consistent care for Izumi, for the most part, and a good sense of mortality and honor, even if she was quite vulgar at times.

"Please, pick your head up…Izumi doesn't blame you, so we won't either, at least for now," Asami gives a small warning with a bit of understanding and the message is clear: 'Don't mess up the faith that Izumi has put into you.'.

Daichi adds his own two cents, keeping his voice neutral, "Seeing as our daughter is unharmed, we will let this go for now. It would seem outside influences might be degrading the lessons you've taught your son, but we'll find out in due time…but we have other things to discuss."

Mitsuki breathes a sigh of relief from the leeway she's given, picking her head up to continue their conversation, "Thanks…though I'm not sure I deserve any sort of chance…it's been a pretty shit day, all things considered. At least Izumi is still alive and we have time to fix this…speaking of which, what the hell did my brat do to get Izumi so distraught?"

Daichi is the next one to speak up, a bit of sterness leaking into his tone, "And why did you leave them alone, Taiki. Usually, you are more attentive than that, especially considering you were able to deduce part of their relationship beforehand."

Taiki kneels down on the floor, touching his forehead to the tile as a show of intense, sincere regret, "Master, Mistress, I have let harm fall onto your precious daughter and I ask for a chance to explain, but not for forgiveness. My meddling and carelessness has brought this about and I will make no excuse."

Daichi's voice turns softer as he takes a knee in front of his long-time butler, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Please, none of that Taiki, just tell us what happened."

Taiki hesitantly picks his head up and gives a short bow with it, "Of course, thank you Master Daichi." Daichi and Taiki both stand back up, letting Taiki begin explaining what exactly happened, "Yes, I believed that their relationship might've been antagonistic, as the young Miss showed hesitance when calling young Katsuki her friend. The young Miss also displayed a few behaviors typically found in people who suffer abuse and her previous quirkless status helped to put more pieces into place. I thought I'd leave them alone to see what happens, as I doubted young Katsuki would've done anything like this with myself in the room. However, I stayed close by and listened in, but was caught off-guard by how quickly the situation devolved…I also felt Izumi show a sizable killer intent. After young Katsuki shoved the young Mistress, young Izumi's quirk went haywire and her killer intent caused me to hesitate. I had not expected her to be able to muster something like that. I must apologize once more for my weakness and will endeavor to never make the same mistake."

Killer intent…had Izumi intended to kill Katsuki?

That thought sends a shiver down Mitsuki's spine, counting her lucky stars that Katsuki hadn't been hurt worse.

Taiki gives another deep bow before continuing, "As for what your son said…It pains me to even repeat it…but he said that Izumi should've been the one to die and if it weren't for her, Ms. Midoriya would still be alive."

The sound of background noise took over the conversation as those cruel words washed over them, but Mitsuki was the first one to outwardly react, "That son of a bitch…that little monster…I'm going to…ugh! That little shit is going to be grounded for till college! As if Izumi didn't have enough to deal with!"

Mitsuki drags her hands across her face in frustration as her thoughts begin to spiral to dark places, but, surprisingly, it's Taiki that sounds the most understanding about this "Well, that's the thing, Mrs. Bakugou, I believe your son also needs a bit of understanding when it comes to this. While his actions today and previously are abhorrent and detestable, he seemed quite sorrowful when talking about his Ms. Midoriya, his aunt. I believe he might be more affected by her death than he lets on. It'll be tough navigating what he's done, as well as any grief he might feel."

The assessment catches Mitsuki off-guard…few people truly understand Katsuki; for all his jackass tendencies, he showed a surprising amount of loyalty, care, and hard-work. Katsuki is driven like no one else, but was always super talented in whatever he tried to do. He has a big ego, something that Mitsuki and her husband were trying to work out of him, but it seems that it had been buried under whatever hot air his school had been blowing into him. It just feels like Taiki understands a great deal of what makes Katsuki tick and that earns quite a bit of trust and respect from Mitsuki.

"Fuckin…alright," Mistuki pinches the bridge of her nose, scolding herself for immediately labeling her own kid a monster…even if it might be true, "I'll talk about it with Masaru, he's a lot better at this emotional stuff than I am, so he'll know how to deal with this better than I can…thank you."

"You are most welcome, Mrs. Bakugou."

"Just Mitsuki, Jeeves, you've all earned at least that much from the way my brat caused trouble for you…but back to the topic of Izumi…I know I said I wanted her to stay with us, but after…all this shit that just happened, I don't think that'll be possible, even if Masaru and I are her godparents," Mitsuki slumps against the wall, giving a tired sigh; she wasn't able to take in Izumi and the girl really needs a win.

Taiki raises his eyebrow at the name 'Jeeves', finding himself rather amused and nostalgic about this woman's mannerisms.

Asami speaks up next, "Yes, it would be in poor taste to make her live with her abuser. Do you have any other options that you could explore?"

Mitsuki thinks for a short while before answering, trying to ignore the bitter taste in her mouth from the accurate label of 'abuser' for her brat, "I might have a few relatives that could take her in until we get Katsuki sorted, but I don't think that'd be the most comfortable for Izumi, even if we can get him sorted out…it's at least better than foster care. I could also rent her an apartment of her own, but I really don't want her to be by herself; she needs someone to help deal with her mom's death."

Daichi runs his hand through his hair, giving a small sigh before speaking, "Well, none of that sounds ideal for her. She'll need your support to get through this; it's obvious that she loves you quite deeply."

That felt like a stab to the gut for Mitsuki, smacking her in the face with her own failure…it felt like she was choosing her fuck up of a son over the girl who had done nothing wrong, a girl that her best friend had trusted her to take in if anything happened to her and she is already failing at that.

"Well, at the very least, she seems to have latched on to your daughter rather quickly. I don't think I've ever seen her like that, not even with Katsuki. Judging by what she told us about the school, your daughter is probably a godsend for her."

Now that got Asami thinking; Momo and Izumi are on the fast track to becoming best friends and Izumi found quite a bit of comfort in her daughter. It would probably be good for them both if they could see each other as much as possible. If her family takes the girl in, at least on a temporary basis, they could spend quite a bit of time together…The idea seems quite a bit more sound than the others that are on the table. Her family has the means, the emotional support, and the space to house Izumi, but she doesn't know if everyone involved would go for the idea…well, except for Momo, her daughter seems quite crazy about little Izumi!

"Now, that's a great point you've made; Izumi is rather attached to our daughter. Do you think she'd be averse to us taking her in, at least temporarily?"

The silence is palpable as the rest of the group is a bit caught off-guard, Mitsuki in particular. The Yaoyorozus barely know Izumi, they haven't even interacted for a full day yet, but Asami had still offered to take the dragon girl in.

Showing a bit of hesitance, Daichi spoke up with a cautious tone, "My love, that is quite sudden, don't you think? Despite our daughter's attachment, we are perfect strangers to both Izumi and Mitsuki here. I also have some reservations about this…but I must admit I'm not entirely against it; I fear Momo hasn't had any close friends she's been able to bond with," Daichi sighs at his wife's meddling, but it was one of the reasons why he had fallen in love with her, "Just logically speaking, it benefits Momo and provides quite a bit in turn for Izumi, including someone she can trust and find comfort in. I'd also like to bring up that if we house Izumi, it has a chance of being permanent; depending on how her friendship with my daughter develops, she might not want to leave."

Mitsuki is flabbergasted by the suggestion, instinctively wanting to say no to the Yaoyorozus; Mitsuki is her godmother, dammit, and it's her own responsibility to look over Izumi! How could she trust these strangers to nurture and look after Izumi? They don't know Izumi like she did…but that's what ultimately makes her stop, makes her anger dissipate just as quickly as it formed. Mitsuki was supposed to look after her niece and she had already failed her niece on all fronts. How can she dare think she has the right to take in Izumi? Mitsuki immediately bites her lip from the frustration running through her, unwilling to the thought of letting Izumi go, but wanting what was best for her. She knows the decision she has to make, but that doesn't mean she has to like it.

"I…I have no correct reason to be against it," she manages to push the words out of her through grit teeth, clenching her hands and taking a few calming breaths, "My husband and I should be the one taking her in; it's out damn responsibility…but we completely fucked that up…I just…letting her go like that's going to be hard….fuck," she runs both of her hands through her hair, taking a calming breath as she struggles through the frustration that's making her chest tighten, "But If that's what she wants, I'll support it a hundred fucking percent, but I'm not gonna just sit back and let you take her from us. We're not going to let you take on all the responsibilities of that. I'm going to be there for her and help provide what I can, both financially and emotionally. We can argue over the stupid semantics of it later."

Daichi sighs silently, feeling both relief and anxiety about Mitsuki's willingness to go along with whatever plan his wife cooked up, "That sounds adequate, we will accept any help you may provide. And yes, we wouldn't dare try to isolate Izumi from your family, as long as you are a positive influence in her life…but, yes, we should leave that for a later date; We should ask Izumi's opinion on the matter before making any concrete plans."

Mitsuki isn't looking forward to the conversation, hoping Izumi would understand that she's not just pawning her off to some strange rich people, but she has at least one more question to ask, "Agreed, but I'd like to know something. Why exactly are you so willing to take her in? I know you said it was beneficial to your daughter, but they can be close friends without having to live under the same roof. I know she saved you all, but does that really buy all of this interest and willingness?"

Daichi gave a good chuckle to Mitsuki's concerns, deciding to be forward about his position, "Oh, I'm just going along with my wife's meddling on this one. I don't mind housing her, as we house a good number of staff already, but this would be taking on additional responsibilities that come with raising a child. Truthfully, I'm hesitant about it for a multitude of reasons, but I'm not unwilling, seeing that you very much want to be present in her life."

Asami gently nudges her husband with her hip, giving him a playful smile before she begins to explain where she's coming from, "My husband and I know that good friends, that you can truly trust, are hard to come by in high society. Housing Izumi would ensure their bond will become stronger than diamond, so it's all for my daughter's benefit…that and I get to spoil and nurture another child," Asami laughs quite cutely, her smile sparkling quite beautifully and, again, reminding Daichi why he fell in love with her, "Beyond that, Izumi saved our lives by nearly throwing away her own; it only make sense to return the favor when she clearly needs a little help. So yes, it buys quite a bit with us; we're not one to let any debts linger. I am also quite sure that our daughter would throw quite a hissy fit if we didn't at least offer this," Asami gives a demure giggle, covering her mouth as she imagines the face of her pouting daughter.

Taiki's smile is small, but it is densely packed with relief; it would seem that his intervention in this was not necessary. The Master and Mistress are open to the idea of taking Izumi in, so he is quite happy that the young Miss was going to get a warm home and he is happy that the young Mistress would be able to have a good friend close by.

Mitsuki sighs with aggravation while ruffling her messy blonde hair, "Rich people are fucking weird…but I guess it's not a bad thing in this case. Thank you so much for making up for my failings, I'll do what I can to straighten out my boy…speaking of which, I should go and get some answers from that jackass," Mitsuki bows deeply once more, "I truly can't thank you enough for everything you've done for my niece."

With temporary goodbyes and promises to check in tomorrow, Mitsuki leaves to go find her husband and deal with the clusterfuck she calls a son. Her thoughts turn anxious, remembering every little sign, every fuck up on her part, trying to figure out where it all went wrong. How could their lessons have failed so spectacularly? It didn't make sense to entirely blame the school…she knows in her heart that she and Masaru had failed as parents, but can only hope that they had time to fix it. She doesn't want her son to be a monster, to become a monster…she just hopes that Masaru could take the lead on this one. If she opens her mouth, she might truly say something she regrets from the surging anger and hopelessness that's swirling in her head.

Taking a few moments after Mitsuki left, Asami turns to her husband with barely restrained fury in her eyes, swirling together with levels of mischief that would make Loki proud, "Dear, we have a school to raze," Asami says all too sweetly.

Daichi is scared. Daichi is aroused. Daichi is scaroused. Daichi has another reminder of why he loves his wife very much. With overwhelming love and a similar anger in his eyes, he gently takes his wife's hand and plants a soft kiss on her cheek, a serene smile on his face, "You read my mind, my love. It would seem our schedule is going to shift quite considerably in the coming weeks. I'll call a few private eyes tomorrow to get the ball rolling. That damnable school stands no chance."

Asami can't help but smile up at her husband, his confidence and care making the fire in her eyes grow hungry. This was the man she loved with her everything, so willing to stand by her and all of her schemes and enjoy every second of it. She steps in, placing her hand on her husband's cheek and gently kissing the other, giggling softly as she presses up against him, "No, it certainly doesn't, my love…and thank you for going along with this. I'm sure Izumi and Momo will be the best of friends. Now come, we have business to attend to and a traumatized little girl to smother with love."

Asami wistfully separates from her husband, letting her fingers dance along his chest before she begins to walk away, giving her hips a little extra sway to entice her hubby.

'Goddamn, I love my wife,' is all that Daichi could think, his eyes glued to the seductive temptation of her wife's alluring, curvy butt, so perfectly framed in her pencil skirt.


When Masaru went to go check on his son, all while his anxiety stewed in his gut. His son had just assaulted someone and had apparently had some falling out with the daughter of one of his closest friends…enough to break her emotionally. Despite the anger, he simply has one question: why? Why had Katsuki done this? Masaru had tried to, time and time again, teach his son about temperance and empathy. While he knows Katsuki had inherited his wife's temper, he thought he was slowly getting to his son, helping him deal with the worst parts of that temper. At the best, today could be considered a big step back, but he fears that this could all run so much deeper.

Masaru gets the number for his son's room and immediately heads to it, texting his wife the room number before he heads in. He walks in on medical professionals bandaging Katsuki's arms, having apparently been battered enough to break. Surprisingly, his son is unusually quiet, despite the withering look he's giving no one in particular. Katsuki looks the worst he ever has, the bruising around his eyes, nose, and arms starting to discolor his skin slightly, growing worse with every passing minute. Katsuki doesn't meet his father's gaze, a telltale sign of him knowing what's coming next.

Masaru, still worried over his son's injuries, pushes down his questions about what the hell he did and asks, "Are you okay Katsuki?"

Katsuki clicks his teeth, not wanting to acknowledge the fact that he's hurt…he's never broken a bone before, but with all his injuries, he can't exactly deny that he looks like he got hit by a Detroit Smash, "I'm fucking fine, old man." …or maybe he could try to deny it, he has his mother's stubborn streak after all.

"Fine is not the word I was use, young man," one of the nurses speaks up, trying and failing to keep the sass out of her tone, "Multiple breaks in his both of his radius and ulna bones, a broken nose, a mild concussion, and some pretty bad contusions on his torso, the worst of the bruising is on his torso and forearms. Thankfully, there's no internal bleeding and we've been able to deal with most of the influx in patients from last week's disaster, so your son won't have to wait long for treatment via healing quirk."

Masaru's eyes widen from just how bad Izumi had battered his son, feeling a bit of color drain from his face…just how hard had she tried to hit him? Izumi had cried when his wife squished a spider…the sweet little girl wouldn't hurt a fly, yet she had snapped and done something like this; what exactly had his son done to make all this happen?

Despite his shock, he bows to the nurses, "Thank you for taking care of my son. I apologize for anything he might've said. He can be rather abrasive at times and this past week has probably been quite stressful for you all."

The same nurse who spoke before turned her head and gave Masaru a too sweet kind of smile, "Oh don't you worry about that, sir. He's not the first patient I've needed to wrangle back; avoiding pain is quite a good motivator…Oh, before I forget, that dragon girl has an enhancement type quirk right? Well, depending on what happened, you might have a halfway decent attempted murder case."

That made both the Bakugous in the room look directly at the nurse, eyes widening as they processed what exactly was said. Was Izumi trying to kill Katsuki?

Izumi.

The meek, sweet little girl that adores heroes.

"Bullshit, Deku's too wimpy to even try something like that! She's fucking harmless!" Katsuki yelled, the very core of his being pushing back on that thought…the thought of that useless, quirkless Deku, so accustomed to being the punching bag, so accustomed to being the butt end of the joke, trying to kill someone was just wrong. Even if she was a quirkless freak, she wanted to be a hero, and heroes don't kill other heroes, something that he knew he was destined to be.

Despite their relationship, Katsuki knows how Deku works, how the freak thinks; everything that had happened today had broken that pattern. Despite his hatred, some small part of him acknowledged the force of will to keep saying that she wanted to be a hero after she was misdiagnosed as quirkless, even if it was butt fucking stupid. Why would she put a black mark on her record for doing something like this?

Truthfully, he knew why.

He saw the pure rage that was roiling in her vibrant green eyes, the eyes of a stalking hunter. He had felt the primal fear and panic that flooded his system, now making him wonder if that's what killing intent felt like…it was like something straight out of a shonen manga, but it had made him shake with fear.

Masaru is having less luck finding his footing and tries calming himself down, letting those anxious thoughts settle and giving the nurse another chance to speak up.

"Too wimpy? If she punched you any harder, you might've needed reconstructive surgery on your nose and surgery to deal with internal bleeding of some of your vital organs. I saw your quirk on file and it said it provides some physical enhancements. If you didn't have those, the damage would've been much worse. And don't yell, this is a hospital, young man."

That shut Katsuki up for the moment; lil stupid Deku had tried to murder him, even if it was her quirk driving her forward. His mom did mention that she had a small incident with her new quirk, but he never thought it'd be this bad, he never, in a million fucking years, thought that it'd be directed towards him…all because he pushed some posh bitch. Of all the times Bakugou had demonstrated his strength and Izumi came running to save the day, she had never reacted with anger, with rage. That didn't sit right deep in Katsuki's gut; Izumi's usual interference was about heroes not doing 'blah blah blah' or whatever asinine drippings came out of her useless mouth about him being wrong or whatever. Today though, it felt like Izumi had given up on Katsuki, especially when she didn't use that dumb childish nickname for him…that, surprisingly, hurts more than he thought it would.

Masaru found his voice, "Well…thank you for your insight, but I need to talk with my son before we even consider that. That girl is practically family," Masaru was trying to be neutral about it for both his son's sake and to keep the situation private.

The nurse simply nods, "Of course, we'll be out of your hair in a minute. Your son is going to need some x-rays, as our diagnosis via quirk can only go so far. We'll come get you when radiology is ready."

With a small thanks, the room descended into silence as the nurses worked to immobilize Katsuki's arms. With quick work, the nurses finished up and left, leaving behind the father son duo.

The awkward air between them was infuriating for Katsuki, but Masaru didn't want to question him without his wife…depending on what exactly happened, he didn't think he could keep calm through a retelling. Therefore, despite his burning need to know what his son did to her niece, he patiently waited. Wait, if he's angry, how pissed off while his wife be…maybe he should try an ask some questions before she gets here…

After some minutes, saving the duo from the silence, Mitsuki bursts into the room, taking in her son's appearance with a grimace. Not only is this the worst her brat had ever been hurt, he had deserved it…he deserved the beatdown he got because of the cruel things he had said and done to her niece. Mitsuki's grimace turns to anger as her hand grips harshly against the door, her face twisting into a deep sneer.

"Oh, hey honey…" Masaru's tired voice slowly slips away when he sees the raw anger in her eyes, knowing that his son had truly messed up somehow, "Honey, let's talk about this calmly first okay?"

The caution in Masaru's voice would normally never faze Katsuku, but it was the fact that there was anger in Masaru's voice that made a shiver go down his spine, as if his father agrees with the sentiment and is putting it to the side for now. He's in big fucking trouble and ther's nothing he can do about it, even if Katsuki thinks he is ultimately in the right for his actions.

Mitsuki's sneer lessens slightly, remembering to breathe before she said something she would regret. She grits her teeth and steps into the room, closing the door behind her. Her voice takes on a cold edge, letting the anger simmer just below the surface, something that put the fear of God into Katsuki…she was never angry like this.

"Tell your father what you said to her, Katsuki."

His mother's voice sends chills up his spine and Katsuki refuses to look at her, his lips tightening into a frown as he avoids giving a response. This isn't the old hag's usual empty anger, she's out for blood and Katsuki is firmly in her sights.

"Katsuki, I'm not going to fucking repeat myself. If you don't, I will. Now, talk."

Gone are Mistuki's 'brat', 'gremlin', and other playfully antagonistic names for her son, gone was her usual boisterous affection. His mother is truly pissed off and there was nothing he could do to avoid this. Katsuki clicks his tongue, frustrated that he has to explain all of this and finally looks up towards his parents, paling slightly when he sees the unhinged look in his mother's eyes.

A wiser person would've reconsidered the words that are about to come out of his mouth, "I told her the fucking truth. If it wasn't for her, Auntie would be alive and you two are too nice to fucking say it. If she wasn't so damn useless…"

"Katsuki, be quiet."

Now that got both his and his mother's attention. His father's voice was void of the usual carefulness, of the usual dorky love. His eyes are closed as he starts taking in deep calming breaths, something Katsuki had never seen his old man do…he couldn't remember the last time his father was truly angry and that anger is directed at him. That is enough to shake Katsuki to his core.

The last time Mitsuki saw her husband like this, he caused about a dozen people to (deservedly) lose their jobs. Seeing him like this is enough to temper her own anger for the moment, letting him take the lead for now and hoping that this level of 'fuck around and find out' would start setting Katsuki straight.

"I thought you two were best friends, so why treat her with cruelty?"

Katsuki hesitates to answer his father, but feels his own anger begin to bubble up, "She's not my fucking friend, she's worse than a dumb extra and twice as useless. So there's nothing wrong with taking her down a peg for looking down on me. She's always looked down on me."

That answer is simply unsatisfactory for Masaru, "Looked down on you? Katsuki, beyond today, do you think Izumi would wish harm on anyone? Do you think she'd do harm to anyone, let alone treat them poorly? Do you really think she'd be mean enough to look down on anyone?"

That made Katsuki pause to think; Deku was too much of a goody-goody to ever be mean to someone, let alone physically hurt thought doesn't match to the image he has of Deku, the one who has always looked down on him, undermined him! It doesn't matter though, it was Deku's own dream that cheapened Katsuki's, the thing that mocked his own existence and strength.

"Doesn't matter what I think, the dumb nerd's always looked down on me, thinks I need help doing the simplest of things, thinks I'm too fucking wimpy to do it myself. She thinks she can be a hero with me and that's the dumbest shit I've ever heard. She's making fun of me; there's no way her quirkless ass can be a hero!" Katsuki's voice finds itself being raised the more he thinks about stupid Deku, frustration stealing away what little calm he has.

"Katsuki, just because Izumi has a dream, doesn't mean she's mocking you. People dream for things they can't have all the time, it's not up to you to regulate that…and if I'm getting this right. You're mad at her for offering some sort of help? You think she's looking down on you? Maybe she just misunderstood something. Have you ever thought to ask her if she is looking down on you? Seeing as how you don't even view her as a friend, do you think she just wanted to reconnect with you, to be friends? Why did you hurt her new friend? Does physical violence like that come so naturally to you now?"

Anger begins to seep into Masaru's voice, the calm rage starting to morph into something more untamed. The tone silences Katsuki as he slowly takes in his father's words, feeling doubt for the first time in years…but it's, somehow, a familiar feeling. Had Izumi truly been looking down on her or was she just being dumb?

Fuck, there is a distinct possibility she had been stupid and Katsuki couldn't shake the tiny pinpricks of guilt he was starting to feel, but he simply pushes that down; Izumi was weak and useless and deserved everything she had coming to her. Society crushes the weak and the strong thrive; that is how the world works, no matter how many people will try and turn it into some dumb fairy tale and no matter how soft his parents want to be about this.

Seeing her son's silence, Mitsuki decides to push this conversation along and inform Masaru about the horrifying info that he'd missed, "It…Masaru, it gets worse…Izumi was able to tell us about some of the shit that was going on in her school and it's…horrifying. She's been bullied and the teachers aren't doing anything to stop it," a few tears begin rolling down Mistuki's face, feeling her previous frustration boil over as she struggles to keep her voice steady, "They hurt her, treat her like dirt…Masaru, they even use their quirks on her. Katsuki used his quirk on her…I don't think they've been friends ever since Izu's quirkless status got out."

That lights a fire under Masaru, but the sight of his crying wife immediately draws him in, feeling a need to comfort her and make it all better. He's calm enough to bring his wife into a hug, feeling her sob against his chest as she struggles to keep herself regulated. Much like Izumi had done to Momo, Mitsuki was clinging to her husband for dear life, something that would be rather cute if not for the current situation.

This is all too weird for Katsuki; it's like his parents had switched personalities and he hated every moment of this. Are his actions really that reprehensible? Of course they aren't, they're just bleeding hearts that were too meddlesome for their own good…but then, why did seeing the disappointment in his parents' eyes hurt more than it should?

Masaru decides to continue as he embraces his wife, the calm in his voice not hiding the surging rage at the information his wife just exposed, "Katsuki, people who run rampant with their quirks are villains."

Now that got Katsuki to bristle, "I'm not a fucking villain! Strength is all that matters and Deku is the fucking weakest of the weak, so what's wrong with pushing her back down into the dirt when she fucking challenges me like a dumbass? All Might beats up those weak ass punk villains who challenge him all the time, so why can't I? Huh!?" Katsuki's worldview was being battered, being challenged, and he couldn't let that slide.

Mitsuki, bless her heart, can't stand this, seeing her son act this way. She thought her son would never do something like this; sure, he was brash and kind of an asshole at times, but he was trying his best to be a hero, to be strong, to do good in the world…or at least she thought that's what he'd been doing. She has to face the music.

Katsuki is a bully.

Katsuki is an abuser.

Katsuki is a monster, a monster that she raised.

Mitsuki lets the rage take over her as she stands back up straight, pushing off her husband and stomping over towards her son, physically imposing herself before her voice turns venomous, "She's not some damn villain, you fucking monster! Izumi thought the world of you and you pushed her into the dirt! Katsuki, you used your fucking quirk on her! Heroes don't hurt the weak, they protect the people! They beat up villains to fucking protect them and you're nothing like them. You're an abuser! You're a fucking monster!"

As quickly as her rage started, it fades to pained crying and sobbing. She can't handle this, can't handle the thing that had replaced her son. Deep down she knows that he isn't completely at fault for his own actions, but they are still his. She knows that yelling and screaming won't do anything productive, that she's only making the situation worse, but she couldn't hold back what she said, the rage she felt. Her son had abused her niece and nothing would ever fix that.

Monster

That one word had caused Katsuki to stop, feeling the rug being pulled out from under him. The teachers had never punished him for doing what he did and none of his classmates did anything to stop him, so why did his parents have to be like this? Why was this all being brought up now? Why did it feel like his mother was giving up on him? Why did this hurt so fucking much?

Feeling her frustration bubble over, Mitsuki storms out of the room, leaving behind her bewildered son and her sullen husband, who couldn't help but agree to parts of his wife's sentiment. The look on Katsuki's face was easy to read for Masaru, as it looked like his whole world had just been shattered. Katsuki's eyes are wide from shock, but soft and unstable, as if doubt is creeping into him for the first time in his life. Masaru found himself hoping that the breaking of his foundation would spur on immense personal growth, instead of breaking him. He can't take back what his wife had said, but he can try to manage the fallout.

Seeing his wife get so upset managed to calm him down slightly, making him remember that this was a developing boy, his son…someone he needed to guide and nurture. Even if it's stressful, this is the kind of thing that he signed up for when he married the love of his life and decided to start a family.

With a heavy sigh, Masaru walks near his son's bed and sits down on the nearby chair, his voice much more in line with its usual gentleness, "Katsuki, you have a lot to think about and evaluate, but just know that your mother doesn't mean that. She just lost her best friend and found out that you were abusing her daughter, our goddaughter, right under our noses. Frankly, I'm still quite angry with you, but, if the school was truly ignoring it, then they share the blame in not correcting your behavior."

Katsuki is barely listening to whatever bullshit he thinks his father was spouting, still stuck on his mother's previous harsh words and how much they hurt. No one had ever talked to him like that before…Deku was the closest one to that; she'd always try to tell him that a hero wouldn't do this or that whenever he was pushing someone around, like the idiot she is…but she'd never been harsh like his mother.

Katsuki's contemplative silence only makes Masaru rub the back of his head, comforting himself while trying to think of how to proceed, "We have a lot to talk about, son, but it might be better to wait for now and let everything settle. Your mother and I still need to deal with Izumi's situation tomorrow…We wanted her to come live with us, but that looks like that's out of the cards," Masaru tiredly sighs again, starting to talk like he was thinking out loud, "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Katsuki flinches from that, not being able to meet his father's eye, not wanting to see the judgment…or worse, the understanding. Panic's just under the surface and he didn't want to think about any of this, about what he'd done, about how he might be wrong.

So he says nothing.

Masaru finds disappointment in his heart at his son's silence, but he's as patient as both Mitsuki and Katsuki were stubborn. The audible sigh of sheer disappointment comes from Masaru's soul and that sound will haunt Katsuki's dreams for the rest of his life.

Masaru needs to guide his son through this and fix the wrongs he has done, the pain he's inflicted. To start, they needed to pull him out of the hellhole of a school and put him in therapy, but that'd be something to think about on another day.


Looks like it was Katsuki's turn to take emotional damage! It hurts more than the broken bones and bruises, so hopefully it'll stick. I have some plans for him, but that probably won't come to ahead until the gang's all in UA...which is going to take a some time. As for other story related things, Izumi will take her first baby steps into her maid/bodyguard role in chapter 6.

I'm looking to release chapter 5 next weekend (around July 8th), but, obviously, shit can happen. I've been feeling decent and have some other ideas for one shot I want to explore, so if my writing pace keeps up and I'm feeling good, I might write another one shot. Sorry my mood can't be more reliable, but them's the breaks! Anyway, I'll stop rambling for now. I hope y'all enjoyed and stay hydrated my readers!

This is your reminder to check on your laundry.


Reviews:

To Pdd13: Yeah, sorry about that! The chapter was over 10k words and it was a natural stopping point. I'm writing Masaru and Mitsuki to be decent people, but yeah, dealing with a son who has done awful things is going to be rough for them. Family therapy will probably be necessary. Thanks for the reviews by the way! I can't exactly comment back in the way I do on AO3, so this is the best I can do, but I appreciate your support!