Chapter Summary: Mitsuki and Inko catch up.

A/N: Hey, so, please note that this chapter has Mitsuki and Katsuki interacting in a... not so kind manner and also talks about child discipline. So, if you have trouble reading about strained parent-child relationships, maybe skip out on this one.

Mitsuki really hated how picky an eater Katsuki could be. It made making a grocery list and meal prepping an absolute nightmare to get through, since Katsuki would either loudly complain about the quality of the food or outright refuse to eat it. Despite Masaru's gentle nudges and encouragement to at least try the food, Katsuki would always snap back and Mitsuki would find herself launched into a screaming match with her son at the dinner table as her husband was helpless to do anything to calm either of them down.

'He better not complain about dinner tonight,' she thought, staring down at her list as she walked through the aisles of the supermarket. With the entrance exam to U.A. coming up, Mitsuki knew she was going to have to give Katsuki a healthy diet to match with his exercises so he'd be in prime condition for the day of the exam. Katsuki was dead set on becoming the first student from his middle school to make it to U.A. and as long as she was there, she'd do well to help him achieve his dreams.

Mitsuki's heart dropped a bit at the recollection of Izuku. He had wanted to be a hero, too, and she could still recall the early days when he and Katsuki would run around her house together dressed in their little All Might onesies. Even as toddlers, her son and the boy she came to love like a nephew had big dreams of matching up to the Symbol of Peace, their eyes sparkling with joy and rapt attention anytime All Might's beaming smile graced the TV screen. Then, Inko called her one night after a scheduled doctor's appointment in tears and Mitsuki found herself holding back tears of her own when her best friend told her Izuku was officially deemed Quirkless.

"He asked me if he could still be a hero," Inko told her, choking back a sob, "he asked me if he could still be like All Might."

There was nothing wrong with being Quirkless, Mitsuki knew. While it was rare now, it was only somewhat uncommon when she was growing up. Several of her own classmates had been Quirkless and had made incredible accomplishments without the aid of a Quirk. However, she knew that the Pro Hero world belonged to those with Quirks and that even the most talented Quirkless person would have to work twice as hard to get even half the credit, and that there would be no guarantee that they would last in the long-term. Just wanting to be a hero wouldn't be enough to become one.

Still, even so, Izuku wasn't deterred. The boy just didn't know when to quit and Mitsuki had to admit she found it a bit admirable. Despite the challenges the world threw at him, Izuku still found a way to put on a bright smile and be kind. Whenever he would come over, he'd ask Mitsuki and Masaru all sorts of questions about their Quirks and scribble down everything he could about them in his notebook (Inko said he was on his thirteenth iteration now). Mitsuki didn't find her own Quirk to be that interesting and certainly not heroic, but she was nonetheless touched when Izuku showed her the entry he made with a picture drawn in her likeness alongside entries of real Pros.

'He's such a good kid,' Mitsuki mused as she began to reach the end of the aisle, 'I miss having him over.'

Just as she was about to make a turn, however, another cart suddenly appeared in her view. She jerked the cart back, a curse readying itself to spring past her lips before she recognized the person pushing the cart in front of her.

"Oh, hey Inko!" Mitsuki greeted, laughing a bit. "You startled me."

Inko blinked in realization and a smile spread across her face as her eyes settled on Mitsuki. "Mitsuki! I wasn't expecting to run into you here." Her smile turned sheepish. "Literally… Sorry about that."

Mitsuki chuckled. "It's alright, it happens. I'm happy to see you! Been a hot minute, hasn't it?"

"It has," Inko replied, adjusting her cart so she wasn't blocking Mitsuki's way, "I hope I'm not holding you up, though."

"Of course not!" Mitsuki exclaimed. "C'mon, you should shop with me! I still have a couple more stuff I need to get. What were you getting?"

Inko beamed. "I was about to head down to the produce aisle, actually."

"So was I," Mitsuki told her. She held up her list with a sigh. "You know how Katsuki is about his veggies, though. If it's not how he wants it, he won't eat it."

Inko spared her a sympathetic smile as Mitsuki settled her cart by her side. "He always was a picky eater."

"Right?" Mitsuki groused. She spared a glance at Inko's cart and blinked with surprise at the long list in front of her. "Are you stocking up for winter early?"

"Huh?" Inko blurted out. She looked down at the list and blinked in realization. "Oh, that? I'm just trying out some new recipes and stuff to try with Izuku."

Mitsuki couldn't help but grin. "Speaking of Izuku, what's he been up to? It's been awhile since I've seen him."

"He's taken up exercising," Inko answered. Her cheeks turned pink and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I actually decided to join him, so we've both been dieting and exercising together. We plan on taking a walk this afternoon when he's done with his homework."

Mitsuki's heart went soft. "Aw, that's so cute . It's sweet that he wants to spend time with you." She frowned. "I can't ever get Katsuki to do anything with me or Masaru. I offered to help him train for U.A., but he gets so huffy about it, so I just dropped it."

"Maybe he just doesn't do well with an audience," Inko suggested, "he might not be able to focus with someone there. I'm sure it's nothing personal, 'Suki."

Mitsuki sighed. "I keep telling myself that, but… Well, lately it feels like he'd rather be anywhere but home. I try my best to let him know he can come to us about anything and yet he spends as much time as he can away from us. When he's home, he usually holes himself up in his room and goes to bed early." She clutched the shopping cart tightly. "He got himself into some serious trouble with that sludge villain because he would have rather been out late with friends than come home on time."

Mitsuki had been on the train when she got the news notification on her phone. She had been mindlessly flicking past posts when the link to a live feed of a mysterious sludge villain holding a middle school student hostage caught her eye and she clicked on it, only to be left frozen still when she saw Katsuki's face. Mitsuki could only watch in horrified silence as her son struggled to break free from the villain's grasp while the Pros on site tried their best to handle the situation, though they were left just as helpless as Mitsuki was on the train miles away from the action.

Inko's eyes softened and she put a hand on Mitsuki's arm. "I'm sorry, Mitsuki… That must have really scared you, didn't it?"

Mitsuki's knuckles turned white. "It did… But when Katsuki got home, he wouldn't talk to me or Masaru about it at all and yelled at us when we asked if he was alright."

"He probably wasn't ready to talk about it," Inko told her. Then, her gaze fell from Mitsuki's. "Izuku didn't talk to me about it until a few weeks ago… He said he was upset he couldn't do more to help."

The image of Izuku running towards the sludge villain flashed to the forefront of Mitsuki's mind. She could still recall how her heart dropped the moment he broke from the crowd and threw his book bag in a vain distraction attempt before he clawed helplessly at the sludge villain with tears streaming down his cheeks. Despite being just a child without a Quirk to his name, he had rushed into the epicenter of danger to try to save Katsuki from the villain without a thought. She would be lying if she said she didn't sometimes think about how horrible it could have been if All Might hadn't been able to step in and save both of her boys.

"He shouldn't feel bad," Mitsuki assured Inko, "he was so brave for doing what he did." She snorted. " Stupid , sure, but brave . I can't believe he came running in like that. He didn't even blink."

Inko's smile was soft. "He said he wasn't thinking when he did it, but… He couldn't just leave Katsuki there."

"God, he's such a sweet kid," Mitsuki complimented, returning Inko's smile, "Katsuki could take a page or two from his book. I wish they'd spend more time with each other."

"I do, too," Inko lamented. Then, a laugh escaped her as they pulled into the dairy section. "But I don't know if Katsuki would be interested in picking up trash around the beach when he's so focused on training for U.A."

Mitsuki came to a screeching halt. "Wait, what? You don't mean Takoba , do you?"

Inko suddenly turned sheepish. "O-Oh, well… Izuku was just trying to do some community service, you know? He wants to do his part in whatever ways he can." She shrugged at Mitsuki. "You know how he is."

"But that place is a mess ," Mitsuki stressed, "he'll be cleaning there for months ."

"And he has been," Inko told her, making Mitsuki blink, "I didn't find out about it until he told me a few weeks ago. When I went down there to see what he had been up to, I was shocked at how bad it was."

Mitsuki grimaced. "And to think we used to take the kids there for summer vacation when they were little. Now it's a dump ." She shook her head with a sigh. "Are there any good people in the world?"

Then, Inko smiled, a direct mirror to the smile that Izuku would give. "I said the same thing to him when we were down there… And you know what he said to me?" Her gaze fell a bit out of focus, as if she were in a different time and place. "'Of course there are good people in the world. We just have to be them, is all.'"

Mitsuki's hand went to her heart without thought. "Did he really?"

"He did," Inko confirmed, her voice soft, "I started crying at the beach over it."

A snort almost escaped Mitsuki. 'I see where he gets it from.'

"Oh, we're here!" Inko announced suddenly, a small laugh bubbling from her throat. She lifted up her shopping list sheepishly. "Almost forgot what we were doing for a second there."

Mitsuki chuckled. "Well, when you try out some of those recipes, be sure to let me know how you and Izuku like them. I might try some of them with Katsuki and Masaru."

"Sure thing," Inko replied. She reached for a head of lettuce and placed it in her cart. "Maybe you and Katsuki can come on a walk with us sometime. Izuku might like having someone to race while he's running laps."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Mitsuki agreed. It had been such a long time since the four of them had been able to do any sort of mother-son activities and her heart swelled at the thought of getting to do it again. "I missed seeing Izuku's little freckles."

"And he missed coming over," Inko told her, still smiling. She sighed a bit wistfully. "It's crazy to think how much has changed, you know? Our boys are growing up."

Mitsuki's smile turned bittersweet. "They really are… It's crazy to think that Katsuki is trying out for U.A. already. It seems like just yesterday he was in elementary school talking about doing that."

"It does, doesn't it?" Inko affirmed. "I'm so proud of him… I can't wait to see how he does." She beamed. "Hopefully the boys will be able to see more of each other in the future. Just like old times."

"Old times." The days where Izuku and Katsuki would race each other around and try to declare themselves the next Number One before devolving into a game of playful wrestling that Masaru would have to break up before Katsuki started pulling out his explosions. The days where Izuku would come to their house and exchange hero names with Katsuki, most of which were direct allusions to All Might's name. The days where Katsuki wouldn't shrug away from her hugs or roll his eyes anytime she tried to talk to him.

"I'd really like that," Mitsuki answered, smiling softly, "I'll be sure to ask him about it when we get home."

The moment that Katsuki heard the front door open from inside his room, he grimaced. He knew it would only be a matter of time before his mom got back from grocery shopping, but he at least hoped he would have been done with his homework and been able to relax for a little before she got back. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, praying she wouldn't call for him to come down.

"Katsuki!" his mother exclaimed, and he winced at the sound of her voice. "Can you come down? I need help putting up the groceries!"

Katsuki dropped his pencil with a huff and stood up from his desk, pushing his chair back unceremoniously. He tried not to stomp as he made his way down, knowing his mother would snap at him for it, though he couldn't help but clench his fists at his side. As soon as he made it to the entrance of the kitchen, he was greeted to the sight of dozens of grocery bags and he had to try his best not to growl. She knew that he liked to do his homework and study in the afternoon and yet she insisted on making him waste his time putting up groceries because she didn't have any self control when it came to shopping.

"Katsuki!" she called again, and his whole body tensed up.

"I'm right here ," he ground out, his nails digging into his palms, "what do you need me to put up?"

His mother greeted him with a frown, but she didn't scold him. "I got some stuff for dinner and to prepare your lunches. I know you gotta stick to a diet for your exercise regiment, so I went ahead and got some good stuff to help you stock up on protein and nutrients."

"You didn't get any broccoli , did you?" Katsuki questioned.

She rolled her eyes, which is something she constantly got onto him for doing, but was somehow alright when she did it. "No, Katsuki, I didn't get any broccoli. You've made that very clear in the past."

'Because you kept making me eat it even after I told you how much I hate it,' Katsuki thought to himself, though he didn't dare say that out loud. He could viscerally recall one night when she screamed at him over eating everything on his plate but his broccoli and told him he couldn't leave the table until he finished it. Stupid Deku had been over for dinner and offered to eat them since Katsuki didn't want them, but his mother told him that it was alright and he could go ahead and have dessert. Katsuki sat sulking with tears in his eyes while Deku had the nerve to look sad while eating an All Might popsicle as his mother continued to berate him for not wanting to eat a meal she "slaved over like a spoiled little brat."

"I ran into Inko today," his mother told him, breaking him out of his thoughts, "she asked about you."

Despite his annoyance, Katsuki softened a bit at the mention of Auntie Inko. He always liked going over to her house, even when Deku would get on his nerves. Their apartment may not have been as nice as his parent's home and Deku may not have had as many cool toys, but Inko was nice to be around. She didn't force him to hug her (even though she gave really good hugs) and she never made him meals he didn't like. Once she found out he didn't like broccoli, she took the time to pick it out of any meals she made for him and would apologize profusely if he found even a trace of it in his food. If he wasn't able to finish a meal, she'd always smile and put it up for him to finish later, if he wanted.

"What'd she ask about?" Katsuki inquired, starting to take some snack boxes out of one of the grocery bags.

His mother shrugged. "She just wanted to see how you were doing and I told her you were training hard for U.A. She says she's proud of you."

Katsuki would never admit to it, but his heart swelled . "That all?"

"No, actually," Mitsuki replied, and he looked up to face her, "she told me that she and Izuku have started exercising together." She smiled at him. "She invited us to join them for a walk. Maybe you and Izuku could race each other."

Katsuki's hands froze on the snack box. "What?"

His mother blinked, but then immediately frowned. "I never said we'd do it, just that I'd ask you about it. If you don't want to, that's fine." She pulled out a head of lettuce with a huff. "Don't need to snap at me like that."

"Why do you keep trying to make me and that damned nerd hang out?" Katsuki snapped before he could stop himself. The moment his mother turned back towards him, he immediately regretted it. God, why did she have to come home so early?

"I was just trying to do something I thought you might enjoy ," his mother retorted, putting the lettuce down a bit too roughly. She pulled out a bag of asparagus next and Katsuki had to grip the counter to keep himself from just turning and storming away from her; it'd only make her even angrier. "I don't get what your problem with Izuku is, anyway. He's a good kid. You could really learn something from him."

He grit his teeth. There she went again, acting like that stupid Deku was better than him. That pathetic weakling was Quirkless and had the nerve to act like he was somehow on the same level as Katsuki, and now, apparently, he was out exercising and training to make up for the shitty hand he was dealt with.

"You just like him because he does everything you say," Katsuki snarled, and he could feel the sweat on his palms threaten to spark. She still had a copy of that stupid entry page from that stupid notebook that stupid Deku carried around printed out and hung up in her office while Katsuki's own creations sat on their fridge away from the view of others before he threw them all away a few years later. Katsuki wished he had burned that volume when he had the chance. "You've always liked him more."

His mother's hand slammed down onto the counter. "Because he's not a selfish little brat like you!"

Katsuki found the resolve to release the counter. "I'm going back to my room. I still need to finish my homework."

"Don't you dare walk away from me!" his mother shouted at his back as he turned. Katsuki picked up the pace as much as he could without running. He wouldn't give her that sort of satisfaction of letting her know that she got to him. "We're not done talking! "

"Yeah, we are! " Katsuki exclaimed, rounding the corner to go down the hallway. As soon as he was out of her view for just a few precious seconds, he booked it down to his room and slammed the door, forgoing his anxiety about how she'd react. He locked the door behind him and pressed his full weight against the door, holding his breath as he heard her thunder down the hall. He forced himself to stand still when her fist pounded against the door.

"Katsuki Bakugou, you come out right this instant! " his mother screamed. "You don't get to walk away!"

"Like hell I don't!" Katsuki shot back, hoping his voice wasn't shaking. He knew that if he gave any indication that he was upset, it could go either one of two ways: his mother would take it as a personal affront to her character, which would cause her to lash out, or she'd break down crying over it and make it all about her, dumping her emotions onto him in a heap that would only leave them both exhausted and tired. He'd never get a word in about how he was feeling, not without making her even more upset.

His mother let out a loud growl. "You're impossible! "

As she stormed down the hallway, Katsuki didn't allow himself to slump against the door until he couldn't hear her footfalls. His eyes started to burn and he wanted to scream at how he could let himself get so weak over something so small . Why couldn't he have just kept his mouth shut? Why did he let himself get so angry? Why couldn't he just put the groceries up and go back to his room so his mom could make dinner and leave him alone?

"Stupid fucking Deku," Katsuki muttered, sinking down low to the ground. If that stupid idiot hadn't been so insistent on acting like he was somehow better than Katsuki, then the hag would have never tried to make him hang out with him. He even had the nerve to come running in and try to save him, like there was something he could do when it took All Might for Katsuki to be properly rescued. They were leagues apart from each other and yet he wanted to drag Katsuki down all the way down to his level to make himself feel better about himself, offering him help to suit that stupid little savior complex of his. Why did he insist on trying to copy Katsuki and undermine everything he did? Why did he want so badly to be a hero when it was just a pipe dream for someone like him? And why, despite all of that, did his mother want Katsuki to be anything like him?

'Once I get into U.A., I'll show him,' Katsuki thought, 'I'll show them all.'

A/N: I would like to make a couple of things clear here:br /

- This chapter isn't meant to vilify or victimize Mitsuki or Katsuki in any way. This is merely a dissection of my interpretation of their relationship with one another and the factors that can cause it to be hard for them to be close to each other.

- The reason I included this is because it sets the groundwork for future plot points when Izuku and Katsuki are both at U.A.

- Explaining a character's motivations/actions =/= excusing them.