The language barrier never fails to make Katsuki enraged. Every time he meets up with Yagi and Melissa, he wants to personally dangle his English teacher off the ledge of the school's roof. He gets nothing but the highest marks in the class, but considering the frankly humiliating number of times he's had to ask Yagi to translate or Melissa to explain what she's said, he's begun to suspect that the useless teacher actually has no practical knowledge of the language.
He's trying to find the right English words to explain Aunty Inko's sad attempt at mapo tofu to her, to assure her that it's not as spicy as he or his parents like it, so her stupid underdeveloped American taste buds will probably be able to handle it if she decides she wants to come over for dinner after they're done on the beach. He can't seem to find the right words, though, and keeps stumbling over pronunciation and grammar.
Yagi is of absolutely no help in the matter, not that Katsuki would want his help anyway. Instead of stepping in, the big man just ends up laughing quietly behind his meaty fist. Despite how he's withered away more and more in the time since they first started clearing away trash from the beach, his hand is still massive enough that he could probably wrap it around Katsuki's whole head if he wanted to. Katsuki snarls at him, setting off a fistful of explosions that don't make the big guy so much as flinch. It's something he won't admit out loud that he admires the stupid meathead for.
Yagi isn't invited to dinner at Aunty Inko's. He never is, and Katsuki tries not to think too hard about why that would be. Melissa wasn't turned away the first time she showed up at the doorstep despite being Yagi's niece, so it's probably not a grudge Aunty is holding against his whole family, at least.
"You don't have to use English," Melissa assures him in flawless Japanese, ineffectively hiding a smile behind her hand. He snarls at her to distract them from his reddening face and sets off another volley of explosions, aiming at a nearby junked couch and setting it aflame for only a brief satisfying moment before Yagi grabs the fire extinguisher he keeps on hand and puts out the blaze with a put upon sigh. Melissa bursts into loud laughter as the white foam sprays everywhere, head thrown back. She's way too much like her uncle. If she hadn't shown him pictures of her dad's inventions and of herself with him over the years, he would've been convinced that she was Yagi's secret love child or something stupid like that.
"Fuck you," he spits back in English, and Melissa laughs again at the affronted look that flashes across Yagi's face. She ruffles Katsuki's hair, using her height and stupidly long arms against him to make sure he can't escape before she's done. She never flinches away, no matter how hot his hands might burn against her skin or how loud his explosions get.
"I've been around engineers, inventors, and scientists long enough that your potty mouth and big scary booms can't phase me," she reminds him cheerily. She'd said almost the same thing the first time Yagi had brought her along to their twice weekly beach cleanings almost a month before. When he'd gotten angry, she'd just frowned back at him and told him that she was there to buff up her school applications just like him. He'd yelled every curse word and insult that he knew, and she had responded by giving him a demonstration of a few new ones he'd never heard before while Yagi looked absolutely gobsmacked in the background, stuttering about how children shouldn't even know words that foul.
That, combined with the fact she never shies away from the grueling task of hauling away the constantly collecting trash and has never once been phased by even the loudest of his tirades or explosions has earned her a begrudging bit of respect from him. Though he denies it, it's even kind of fun to work with her, sometimes. Yagi likes to joke that he needs to gather up a few more hero-hopefuls and start an after school club. Says it'll be "good for him." Fucking stupid. Katsuki had told him that if he did that then he'll just burn everything on the beach himself to make sure that those hypothetical extras never had any reason to come back.
They'd told him that she was staying with Yagi for three months while her dad was working on some fancy project at some top secret base where she wasn't allowed onsite. Katsuki suspected she was actually there to make sure that her uncle didn't do anything stupid while he was recovering. The fucking idiot kept managing to get himself reinjured, which checked out for someone as empty headed as him. He was currently dealing with a leg that had been broken in three different places on top of all the other shit he still wasn't fully healed from, which was the only reason that they'd been getting to meet up so often lately. It had been a bitter pill to swallow the first time Katsuki realized that these meetups were entirely reliant on Yagi's schedule and whether he had time for Katsuki that month or not.
"Are you coming for dinner or not?" he demands in English, trying to focus on the shapes of the words in his mouth and see if he could say them without an accent. Melissa hums, watching the water reflect the changing colors of the sky as she sips at her energy drink. Katsuki grinds his teeth, knowing for a damn fact that it wasn't this hard to answer a simple yes or no question. Not even she is that stupid.
"I think I'll skip tonight," she decides after making him wait long enough that his palms are sweating with his bottled fury. "I've got a ton of homework to catch up on."
He scoffs, slouching a little further into the sun warmed sand, arms crossed. He doesn't look at her as he asks, halfway accusatory, "Aren't you homeschooled?"
"Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean I get to be a slacker! Especially not if I'm going to get into I-Academy! I bet I do more than you do at your dumb public school, anyways."
Katsuki jumps to his feet, teeth bared in what might be either a snarl or a grin. He swipes his hands on his pant legs, feeling the grit of the sand beneath his palms as he wipes away the sweat. Then he jabs a finger at Melissa, who is still sitting in the sand, staring up at him with a look that manages to be amused and incredulous at the same time. From his spot on the stairs behind them, Yagi clears his throat and mumbles about manners. Katsuki rolls his eyes but drops his hand.
"Bring your homework next week, you stupid extra! You'll eat your words, and when I win that bet then you're on moldy fabric duties for the next month."
"You're on," she says, pushing to her feet in one fluid motion to grab his hand and give it a firm shake. Then, she wipes her palm on her ratty shirt, complaining loudly about how gross his sweaty hands are. He scowls and gives her a shove, sending her stumbling backwards into the sand. She huffs and complains, but still joins Yagi in waving at him as he leaves the beach for Aunty's house.
.
Katsuki doesn't knock when he gets to Aunty Inko's. He'd seen his mom's car parked out front and figured that she must have come over right after she got done with work. Hopefully, she'd snuck into the kitchen to add some more spice to dinner. Not that Aunty's a bad cook, but she likes her food a lot milder than them. The thought of his mom sneaking around like an underground hero trying to make the food spicier makes him grin wildly, and as he bursts through the front door and kicks off his shoes, he yells, "Mom! Aunty! I'm here!"
The floor creaks under his bare feet as he steps further into the apartment. Instead of a greeting, there are hushed whispers, like adults trying to soothe one another. The sound is uncomfortably familiar, and is starting to be drowned out by the increasingly loud ringing in his ears. Katsuki feels a chill wash down his spine even as a painful heat begins its slow smolder deep in his belly. He rounds the corner of the entryway and his burning eyes find the dining table. Three figures settled around it, each with a steaming cup in front of them.
Aunty always offers tea when someone is here to deliver bad news.
"Oh, Katsuki," she says, glassy eyed as she turns to give him a strained smile. "I'm so sorry, we forgot to give you a call." Her voice barely trembles, but Katsuki knows it's an act.
Katsuki's narrowed eyes roam over his mom's stern expression, noting the way her glare is practically daring him to say something that will start a fight. Aunty's expression could have been called exhausted, if it wasn't so hollow. It's like whatever the latest bullshit that's going on has reached inside her and scooped every emotion out until there's nothing left. She only ever looks that way when stupid Deku's involved. After all the ways Aunty's been hurting for all these years, Deku doesn't even have the decency to find a way to be here, and it still pisses Katsuki off. All he ever does is haunt her through bad news and other people.
His hands curl into tight fists at his sides as he looks between Aunty and his mom, and the man he's never seen before. He looks exhausted, with dark circles beneath his eyes and his dark hair all stringy and gross looking. Katsuki flashes his teeth at the man, mostly because he's the only one it's safe to do so to without having to worry about getting his ass beaten for it. He only just manages to suppress the activation of his quirk. The man arches one judgemental eyebrow, but otherwise seems unfazed by Katsuki's rudeness. Katsuki already hates him.
"What the hell is going on?" he demands, taking a few stomping steps forward, chin held high and chest puffed out in some instinctual urge to make himself feel bigger than the situation. He already knows that this will be Deku again, finding another way to make Aunty Inko sad, but he has to ask and hopes he's wrong.
"I don't think you need to be here for this discussion, kid," the strange man says, dismissive.
"I'm already here. And I've been involved since the day he disappeared."
The man huffs, but turns his gaze towards the women sitting at the table with him as he says, "Your call."
"Let him stay," his mom says. Her expression is hard as she turns her gaze towards Katsuki, and something in his stomach churns painfully at that look. "If he's so determined to be a hero, then he'll have to deal with this sort of thing eventually."
The strange man raises that eyebrow again, eyes flashing with something Katsuki can't identify.
Aunty Inko looks worried, eyes darting between them and mouth twisting like she's thinking about protesting. In the end, though, she just sits back with a sigh and doesn't stop him from dropping into a chair at the table. He might regret it later, when he's lying awake and replaying the sound of a voice he only barely recognizes as his childhood best friend saying "You lied to me! My mom was there and she wants me back!" and the sounds of him screaming over and over in his head, but for now, he feels like he's right where he's meant to be.
.
The bruises had still been fresh and stinging when Chizome let him out of the closet, which told Izuku that he hadn't been locked in there for more than a handful of hours. The sun was shining cheerily through the small breaks between window boards, and Izuku squinted as the light burned his eyes after so much time spent in the dark. Chizome had grabbed him by a fistful of hair, barely even glancing his way as he did so, and hauled him to the bathroom. Nikko trailed at their heels, croaking crossly as she did. Chizome cursed as she darted in front of them, tripping him up, and Izuku whimpered as the stumble made Chizome pull painfully at his hair.
"Get in there, both of you," he had hissed, voice low and gruff as he practically threw Izuku in. He lost his balance, collapsing to the tile floor with a wince that tugged painfully at his swollen eyes and bloodied lip. Nikko leapt into his lap and settled down, staring up at Chizome with huge blue eyes, her silvery fur standing on end as she hissed at him hard enough to make all six pounds of her shake with her fury.
"I'm sorry," Izuku had said, his voice raw from how long he'd spent screaming those same words from inside his tiny closet prison. Chizome ignored him, eyes glazed and wild as he ran a hand through his mane of messy hair. His teeth were bared and each heaving breath whistled through the cavern where his nose had been back before things got really bad.
"We're going to have to leave," he hissed between clenched teeth. "You really fucked up this time, Izuku."
He felt his stomach twist at the sound of his name coming from Chizome's mouth. His fingers curled in Nikko's fur, trying to let the feeling of her fluff ground him. Her claws prickled against a bruise on his leg, like she was going her best to help him back.
"I just wanted to make sure Kazuho was okay," he repeated, dropping his gaze, too frightened and ashamed to say it to his face.
"I don't believe you."
There was nothing he could say to that.
His hands were shaking and his eyes were burning as he waited for Chizome to steady his breathing enough to speak again. His eyes trailed around the room, and for the first time he noticed that there was a small stockpile of food tucked in the far corner, away from the tub. Nausea made his stomach churn as tears trickled down his cheeks, throat almost too tight to breathe.
"Leaving right now would only draw attention," Chizome began after a moment. His voice was tight with anger, but there was an exhausted acceptance creeping into his words. "—but I can't trust you by yourself anymore. Do you understand?"
Unable to speak around the lump in his throat, Izuku nodded, eyes still trained on the pile of food. There was even a little rice cooker and a bag of Nikko's favorite food. That was nice of him.
"I'll let you out when I'm home," Chizome continued. Izuku could feel his gaze burning into his skull. "You will train and we will have a meal together, but otherwise you will not be leaving this room."
"Okay," Izuku whispered, trying to hide his trembling fingertips further into Nikko's fur.
Chizome sighed and crouched down, one big gloved hand reaching forward like he wanted to ruffle Izuku's hair, or wipe the dried blood from his chin. Izuku had flinched back, feeling the bruises and cuts all over his body burn with the memory of the way Chizome had hurt him before locking him away. He'd never hurt him like that before, not even during training. Not even by accident. Chizome paused but did not withdraw his hand, only lowered it a little bit.
"Give me your arm," he commanded, voice low and serious, a familiar tone that had Izuku obeying without thinking.
"Sorry," Izuku said again, not even sure what he was apologizing for at this point.
"I need you to understand that this is the kindest option," Chizome said, his tone gone gentle and soft. He sounded almost sad, and Izuku finally found the courage to meet Chizome's eyes. He didn't flinch away this time, even when Chizome drew the knife. "I could make your punishment so much worse if I wanted to. Do you understand?"
Wordlessly, Izuku nodded, and Chizome drew the knife across Izuku's forearm. Izuku whimpered as the blood welled up and ran messily over the edge of the cut, dripping to the tile floor. Chizome shushed him and angled Izuku's arm so the blood ran in a steady trickle across his skin. He set the knife aside and pulled out a flask, pressing it tightly against Izuku's arm, collecting the blood inside. Izuku felt cold all over.
"Please," he whispered. "Please don't."
"You're not leaving me much choice, kiddo. I've been too lenient with you, and that's my fault, but it changes now. Maybe after this, you'll finally learn not to break the rules. I'm sorry, but you brought it on yourself."
The worst thing was that Chizome really did sound sorry, like having to do this was somehow worse for him. Izuku didn't fight against the bruising grip on his arm, watching blood drip steadily into the flask, staining the silver lip bright red until he was feeling a little lightheaded. He was shaking all over, and Nikko yowled from her comfy place in his lap, kneading furiously at his thighs and taking the occasional swipe at Chizome's arm, never quite making contact.
"It won't be for the whole time," Chizome assured, and it almost seemed like he was trying to comfort him. "Just whenever I feel like you need a reminder."
Izuku didn't respond. When the small flask was full, Chizome offered him a small first aid kit and then left without another word, closing the door behind him. Izuku heard three locks being engaged from the outside that hadn't been there before. He wondered whether Chizome had had them hidden away, just waiting for the right time to use them. He bit his lip and tasted blood, and Nikko croaked and butted her head against his chin.
Izuku waited until he heard the front door slam closed before he forced himself to move, wrapping the fresh cut on his arm, and then forcing himself to rise on shaking legs to wash the blood off his face in the sink. He avoided looking in the mirror, scared of what he'd see staring back at him. With that done, he wandered closer to the pile in the corner to inspect what Chizome had left for him. He was knelt before the pile, moving cans of fruit and bags of chips aside to pull out the blanket and pillow that had been buried beneath them, when he felt his body seize.
The breath caught in his throat as every single one of his muscles went painfully stiff before suddenly relaxing, and he crumpled to the ground in a heap. Nikko yowled, jumping away from him with her fur standing on end before she charged again, butting up against him with her round little head. Izuku choked on the sob that his throat was too tight to release. He tried to swallow, but couldn't get his muscles to contract enough to do so. Chizome had never used his quirk on him before, but he'd seen it done to the villains and petty criminals they'd faced. He just never realized before how terrible it was.
His heart was slamming violently against his ribcage as adrenaline flooded his system, panic and anxiety begging him to run fight scream cry something! Just do something! He couldn't move, though. Not even to blink. Nikko crawled across his prone form, still screaming her worry for only his ears to hear, tiny needle claws digging into his skin as she tried to cajole him into getting up. No matter what his body was trying to tell him, though, he couldn't even twitch.
A tear rolled down his cheek and onto the rice bag beneath his head. Some distant part of him was grateful that he hadn't landed on the canned goods instead. A hysterical little giggle tried to tear it's way from his throat, but the sound that escaped him was barely a choked off breath. After a bit, Nikko gave up her frantic attempts to rouse him and instead curled up next to his head, rubbing her cheek against his and purring so violently that he could feel the rumbling.
Izuku laid on the cold tile floor long after the effects of the quirk wore off, too scared to get up again and risk a more painful fall the next time. After a while, he found enough courage to roll onto his back. He stared blankly up at the dusty ceiling, thinking about how he wished he'd taken the time to clean the bathroom better when he still had the chance to. Nikko moved to sit on his chest, kneading gently and purring when he settled one hand on her boney back. They stayed like that for a long, long time.
Wow, just one chapter left... (if all goes according to plan!) Thank you so much to everyone who left a comment. I might take a while to reply, but just know they fill me with so much happiness and are the main reason this chapter came out so quickly.
Special shoutout, as always, to the wonderful Shaegal! She keeps me on track with this story. O7
Feel free to find me on tumblr at daboyau if you ever want to ask questions or chat. I would legit love it. You can also join the discord!
We have fun there, and if you'd like the info feel free to message me.
After chapter 41 (the end of this fic), I'm planning a couple of oneshots to sort of cover some stuff I wanted to touch on in this fic but just didn't fit, or things that happen during the time skip, and then we'll start of part 2 where we'll finally be in the canon timeline! I'm extremely excited for it and have it all planned out, but would love to hear peoples' thoughts and theories. I'll see you next chapter!