"That test," Katsumi sighed, slow and pained, "that test…"
"Yeah," Izuku nodded, "yeah…"
It was the end of the day and to Izuku's surprise, Katsumi had waited around for him and asked to come back around his. It had been a while since the last time she had visited and his mum had asked him many a time when she'd be back. He had the forethought to message her in advance, he was sure she'd want to prepare for Katsumi's arrival.
"How do they expect us to get good grades in normal school when we're supposed to be training every moment to do good in the Sports Festival?" Katsumi complained.
"It's difficult but we need to find a good balance of academics and physical training!" Izuku hummed, "If you're struggling to juggle it all you should ask your dad for-"
"Ughhh!" Katsumi groaned, "Lemme complain! I don't want a solution."
Izuku laughed, "If you're coming round we should do that English homework Present Mic gave us last period."
"Wow, you want me to do your work for you?" Kastsumi tutted, "Y'know you won't learn anything that way!"
"No, I just-" Izuku stopped himself and stared at Katsumi. Her annoyed expression quickly melted into a smirk.
"You're purposely difficult, aren't you?"
She giggled, "Would I be me if I wasn't?"
"I'm home!" Izuku called out as he unlocked the door to his apartment.
"Welcome back!" Ms Midoriya appeared out of the corner smiling widely, "Katsumi it's so nice to see you again! Make yourself at home!"
Katsumi smiled back as she took her shoes off, "Thank you Ms Midoriya."
"Will you be staying for dinner?" She asked hopefully.
Katsumi nodded, "I'll have to ask my dad but I'd love to!"
"What are we having, Mum?" Izuku asked, taking Katsumi's bag from her before she even noticed.
"Ah, probably nothing that special. Sorry Katsumi, I'm afraid my Izuku didn't give me much notice about you coming round!"
"Oh, that's fine. Everything you cook is delicious."
Ms Midoriya blushed, "You're too kind!"
Izuku and Katsumi sat down at the Midoriya's dinner table to get their homework over with. Katsumi really liked the table, it was a traditional chabadai table rather than the western one her dad had back at his house. It felt homely.
"Gosh," Ms Midoriya came over with two lemonades, "how hardworking you all have to be to survive at that school! Of course, Izuku wants to be a hero more than anything so I'm not surprised he's happy doing all this."
Katsumi laughed politely, "Yeah it's hard work."
"The sports festival is such an important event though," Izuku said thoughtfully, "it'll be worth it."
"I can't believe they are holding such an event after what happened to you poor kids not even a week ago!" Ms Midoriya shook her head, her voice strongly filled with a mother's worry. "Oh Katsumi, you were okay, right? Izuku said-"
Katsumi was about to interrupt the woman but decided not to, allowing her to go on about what she had heard from Izuku about the attack. Rambling really did run in the family.
"And wow one of your classmates is All Might's child!? How shocking! Oh, Izuku I hope you haven't been harassing them for information about him."
Izuku hadn't told her? Katsumi hadn't even thought about it, she just subconsciously assumed that the dude would have told his mum about it after the attack. Katsumi glanced at Izuku who looked back at her with a look on his face that plainly told her he had no idea what she to say.
"Well actually Ms Midoriya," she smiled, taking things into her own hands, "I assumed Izuku would have told you this already, but All Might is my father so the news was actually referring to me," she laughed. "Not sure how they found out about it though."
Ms Midoriya blinked, an absentminded smile on her face. It took a few moments for the words to dawn on her and her already large eyes widened.
"W-what?"
Katsumi snorted, turning to Izuku, "Why didn't you tell her?"
"I- I didn't know if I was allowed to!" He stumbled.
"You knew Izuku?" Ms Midoriya gasped, "How long?"
"I told him when we started UA-" Katsumi wasn't sure if he had mentioned seeing her dad- damnit, he had come around hers for her birthday! "Ah no, sorry I meant when we got accepted. He came round our house for my birthday and met him-"
"You met All Might and didn't tell me Izuku! Oh my god, I hope you didn't fanboy too hard!"
"No- well! I-"
"That was my dad!" Katsumi swooped in at the rescue, "He asked Izuku to keep it secret for the time being since it still wasn't public information."
"Ah, I see," Ms Midoriya relaxed slightly.
"But he totally did fanboy all over him."
"No," Izuku's eyes were wide as he looked from Katsumi to his horrified mother, "I did not!"
"Izuku!" She gasped.
Katsumi continued to tease the daylights out of Izuku for being a fanboy. She told Ms Midoriya a completely fictitious story of Izuku not finding out till he opened the door to see her father, fainting on the doorstep. It was obviously fake, and Ms Midoriya clearly found it very entertaining, her horror at the idea of her son embarrassing himself in front of his idol melting into laughter when Katsumi recounted how Izuku got down on the floor to bow and thank All Might for all he had done for society.
Finally, Izuku managed to divert her attention to the homework they were supposed to be doing and Ms Midoriya excused herself to the kitchen to start dinner, still teary-eyed from her laughter.
"This is so much harder than the stuff we would do in middle school," Izuku sighed. They had only been at the worksheet for ten minutes and Katsumi was done with the first one, playing something on her phone while Izuku struggled to catch up.
"I'd hate to learn a language like this," Katsumi agreed, putting her phone down as she yawned. "Good for me I already know two and a half, I'm never gonna bother learning another!"
"Two and a half?"
"Spanish," Katsumi hummed as she took the last sip of her drink as Ms Midoriya approached them.
"Ohh."
"Gosh, that looked complicated!" Ms Midoriya noted as she collected their empty glasses, "You kids have only just got into that school and you're already so busy! I'm surprised they give you so much work when that Festival is so soon."
"Yeah," Izuku nodded.
"The sports festival…" Katsumi hummed, rubbing an eyelid, "That's when people will properly find out who All Might's kid is."
Ms Midoriya smiled softly, placing a kind hand on Katsumi's shoulder, "Your father is the number one hero… that must be a lot of pressure to live up to"
Katsumi stared up at the kindly woman, a fuzzy feeling on the shoulder her soft hand rested on. Is this what motherly love is supposed to be like?
"I honestly wouldn't be all that surprised if you won Katsumi."
Katsumi turned back to Izuku, "Haha, maybe." Did she really want to though? Besides wanting to make her dad look good. No, honestly her dad would prefer if Izuku did well.
"It sucks you can't control your quirk quite yet."
"Yeah-"
"Oh, I'm going to be so nervous watching it!" Ms Midoriya sighed, clutching her heart, "Oh Izuku! I know you can't control it but please be careful!"
Katsumi smiled, how nice she was so attentive to Izuku. Her mum might not even watch the festival, actually, she probably wouldn't. Time zones and that. Her dad, on the other hand, would probably be more concerned with Izuku. That was fine though, like Izuku said, she had a good chance of winning with or without either of her parents cheering her on.
She wondered if Tomura would watch it. No, yes. Yes, he probably was going to. That was… she didn't know how to feel about that.
She tried not to think of him as they finished their homework, Ms Midoriya cooking dinner close by. It was nice, it felt normal. Some of the anxiety was losing its grip around her heart as the pair joked lightly with each other.
With a satisfied huff, Katsumi closed her workbook.
"So," Katsumi began, asking a question she'd wanted to ask for a while, "what do you think of our classmates?"
Izuku perked up, "They're all so cool, I can't wait to see them in action at the sports festival."
"Oh yeah, Iida and Uraraka," Katsumi's jaw tightened, "it's good you found some other friends."
"Yeah, I've not been nearly as successful as you though," Izuku laughed, oblivious to the sour look that flashed across Katsumi's face as she spoke the name of that particular brunette girl.
"What do you mean?"
"Well it's only been a week and you're friends with half the class, Uraraka says all the girls love you. Apparently you're the centre of attention."
Uraraka said that? Well, it wasn't surprising. Back in America, she was pretty popular, she knew how to act around others to get them to like her.
"Uhh, oh that's because Mina was-" she frowned, remembering the conversation in the locker room, "ugh they were being horrible to me!"
"Huh?" Izuku's mouth opened, "Really?"
"Yeah!" she groaned, really remembering the conversation in the locker room.
"What were they doing?"
Katsumi snorted, "I'm not telling you."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Huuuuh?" Katsumi mocked. "It's none of your business!"
Izuku stared at her annoyed for a moment before he shrugged, "Well, you can always hang out more with me- us. I know you don't really like Iida but he's not really that bad!" He chuckled, "Honestly. He scared me a little when I first met him."
Katsumi snorted.
"Seriously!"
She should spend more time with Izuku. That was what she was trying to do anyway. Something she had been turning in her mind for a while already come to the forefront of her thoughts.
"So Izuku, for training, should we-"
"Train together again?" He interrupted, "Yeah I've been thinking about that…" He smiled uncomfortably, looking away.
Katsumi frowned, "Oh? Don't you want to?"
"Yeah well I just think- and don't take this the wrong way- but for this sports festival, you are my rival…" Izuku swallowed, looking at Katsumi, eyes filled with that bright determination he seemed to fuel every action with.
"Not to say I'm not so thankful for all the help you have given me!" He clarified quickly, looking a little nervous, "But I want to grow myself. I have a long hard road ahead of me and honestly, you're way ahead of me. If I was to face you right now in a fight I'm not sure I'd last long at all-"
Katsumi snorted, "You think I'm 'bouta attack you?"
He smiled, "What I'm trying to say is, I want to beat you. I want to prove myself, to surpass you. If I rely on you too much, that won't be possible."
Katsumi stared at him for a long moment. The sounds of Ms Midoriya cooking and whatever the TV was playing kept the apartment from complete silence. If Ms Midoriya heard their conversation, she didn't say anything.
Finally, Katsumi smirked, "Yeah okay. Sure. You're right about if we fought now it would be over way too quick." She laughed suddenly, "Okay, train hard so you can put up a good fight. I look forward to you beating my ass."
Not long after, Ms Midoriya served a delicious dinner that Katsumi gobbled up. Afterwards, Ms Midoriya just about avoided Katsumi's insistence to help her clean up, leaving Katsumi and Izuku sitting at the dining table. They chatted for a while about nothing in particular. It was nice, even if Katsumi felt a little on edge now.
"Katsumi, it'll be getting dark soon is your um, dad coming to pick you up?" Ms Midoriya asked.
"Oh, no he's busy," Katsumi clicked her tongue as she checked the time on her phone. She began to collect her things before she turned to Izuku, "I should be going now."
"Oh yeah, of course," Izuku nodded. "Oh, you want me to walk you to the station?"
"Nah that's fine."
After saying her goodbyes Katsumi began to walk to the stairs to leave the apartment block. The sun was almost setting and its glare hurt her eyes. Looking down at the floor to avoid the harsh sunlight she thought about what Iuzku had said. She would be lying if she said she wasn't slightly disappointed that she was right when she had thought Izuku wouldn't be up to training together again-
"Oh, Katsumi!"
She hadn't even reached the stairs when she heard a voice call out to her. She turned to see Ms Midoriya rushing over to her.
"Please be safe getting home! There's that hero killer around not to mention that serial killer targeting young women! Please be careful! Izuku should really walk with you-"
Katsumi blinked, what was she on about?
"It's fine Ms Midoriya. I'm pretty strong y'know?"
Ms Mioriya's worried face relaxed slightly.
"I'll message Izuku to tell you when I get home if that makes you feel better," Katsumi smiled in an attempt to subdue the worried woman.
"Oh," Ms Midoriya smiled, "you're such a nice young lady. I'm so glad my Izuku has a friend like you."
"You're too kind, Izuku's lucky he has a mother like you."
"In other news, twenty-year-old shop owner Fumiko Sato was found dead in-"
Katsumi turned the TV off. Her dad must have forgotten to do so before leaving to go save someone's day, or evening. She could tell by the way the half-eaten Chinese box was left on the coffee table. That and that she had called for him multiple times and got no reply. That was a bit annoying, she couldn't go see Tomura until she was sure her dad was asleep. When he came back he would probably check up on her before he went to bed and she didn't want to deal with her dad interrogating her why she was out in the middle of the night.
Damn, maybe she couldn't go today. Well, more like she couldn't. Yeah, she'd been going every day for a week now, one day wouldn't hurt.
She went to her room not even bothering to turn on the light before she grabbed the flip phone from under her mattress.
19:04
Not today
Well, other than her classmates, Ms Midoriya was the first person to find out about her secret identity. That was her identity as All Might's kid, not a member of the league. Her reaction was fine, but she was someone who knew Katsumi before knowing her paternity.
Soon, everyone would know. Even her friends from back in America- fuck she hadn't talked to them for a while, she should, before the festival.
She had to make a good impression at the Sports Festival, for her dad's sake. Kastsumi was, nervous, honestly. Out of all the possible children All Might could have, she was probably the worst option. She was crass and rude, indecent and violent. She was sure reporters in America would take the opportunity to interview her old classmates about her, and what would they say? The words her Mum hurled at her as she left to hang out with her friends echoed in the back of her head.
'God would it kill you to act your age?'
'Is that weed I smell? You fucking druggie!"
'You look like a whore wearing that'
She was a shitty daughter for the number one hero. She had already deleted all the photos she had on social media, trying to erase her existence as much as possible, trying to get a clean slate. God, if that arrest got out…
Stop, the last thing she needed was to spiral into anxiety any more than she already had. Katsumi groaned and slapped her hands on her cheeks. People wouldn't care for more than a couple of weeks. Besides she wanted to be a hero right? She was going to be in the spotlight one way or another. Surely all the other students in the Sports Festival would draw attention away from her too. Bakugou might have a fit and try to kill someone, but that would be good, no one would care about her relation to All Might if that happened. Maybe she should bribe him to do that.
If only everyone would react like Ms Midoriya. Izuku was so lucky to have a mum like her, a mum who actually cared about him. No, he was just lucky. Lucky his relation to All Might was still under wraps. Lucky that All Might even chose him. Lucky he believed in him.
Lucky he didn't have to worry about an all-powerful monster of a man and his moody protege pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Was she jealous? Maybe. While he and the rest of her classmates lived relatively carefree she was constantly suffocating in fear and anxiety. It flourished inside her, grasping and gripping her insides, holding her hostage to her own emotions. If it stayed inside her much longer, it would tear her apart. But she couldn't open her mouth and let it out, there was no one to bear it with her. No one to cry to. She was alone. No one could know.
Tomura, she could talk to Tomura, in theory. She didn't have to conceal her situation with him and that man to him but… Well, he wasn't someone she could go crying to.
All to say, she couldn't speak a word of how she felt to anyone.
Katsumi collapsed into her chair, buried her face into her desk and groaned. At least her homework was done, as for physical training, it looked like she was having a rest day.
She slowly raised her head, her dark room coming back into view. With a sigh, she flicked her desk lamp on. On her desk she had left the poetry book, she picked it up and looked at the cover again.
When she went to America, she picked up the language quickly. Mum had already taught her some English before the whole eight months of hell and her American teachers gave her special attention to help her catch up.
In order to learn English fully, her mum had bought her what felt like hundreds of books. Katsumi didn't like talking to people for a long time after what happened, so she found solace in those books. She read things far beyond what a nine, ten-year-old was expected to, it made her mum ecstatic.
Some of those books happened to be poem books. Something about the way they could make her feel emotions even if she didn't really understand them drew her in. It wasn't till one of her teachers explained the concept of 'metaphor' and 'symbolism' that she really understood what a poem was. She'd reread the books with poems over and over again, understanding more each time. The idea she could tell someone something without saying what she actually meant was a rather attractive idea to a young girl who had a very big secret on her back.
She didn't let her mum see the poems she wrote. She didn't even tell her that she was writing them. Still, when her school held a poetry competition when she was in the sixth grade, she entered and she won.
But of course, his mum found out and started making a big deal about it and trying to get her to write more and more and more. Tried to get a teacher to cultivate her talent, bragged about it to all her friends. And suddenly, it wasn't fun anymore.
It wasn't something she did when she wanted to, to process her emotions and relax, it was something she did to make other people happy.
Her mum wasn't happy of course when she stopped writing. She wasn't either, but it was around the same time she joined a gymnastics class and started to excel in that, started socialising with the other girls, started making friends, started being normal. She didn't need to write out her feelings because they had been replaced, buried and locked away in the back of her mind as she preoccupied herself with shopping trips, sleepovers, backflips and girly talk.
Now, that door holding her bad memories away was gone, or it had been destroyed and she had just about managed to build it up again. But the door remained open now, and her mind freely moved between her normal life and the endless stream of anxiety flowing out of the door.
She needed to get it out.
The blank pages of the notebook her mum had sent her alongside that poetry book stared at her. She stared back. Then, she began to draw the first line.
"Izuku, dear."
"What is it?" Izuku answered, a little too curtly. He put down the weight he had been using while revising some maths before he turned to his mother who stood in his doorway.
"Is this a bad time?"
"No no," he shook his head, he hadn't meant to sound harsh. "Sorry."
"Right, I don't want to disturb you," his mum laughed softly, holding her hards infront of her, "I know how much becoming a hero means to you and with that miraculous quirk I-"
"Mum it's fine! Really, I'm sorry I was just distracted."
"Ah," she nodded, pausing for a moment before she asked, "with schoolwork?"
"Huh, yeah," Izuku's brow tightened for a moment, confused. "What else?"
"Well, Katsumi, I don't know, maybe it's just me being sensitive but doesn't she look quite tired?" His mum asked tentatively.
"Oh, does she?" Izuku blinked, yeah, she did a little when he thought about it. "Well, yeah it's probably since she's working hard for the festival-"
"No dear, it's not just- well, I think I'm just being overly worried! Motherly instincts are in overdrive I suppose!" she laughed, looking away. "Izuku, I don't want to overstep, but maybe keep a close eye on her. If you like her you should-"
Like?
"Woah! Like? As in friends right?"
"Oh- well yes but," his mum smiled, a little confused, "do you not, well, like her?"
"I- I- I think she's great," Izuku stuttered, "but that's not really something I think that I should be focusing on at the moment."
"Ah, see. Well, no need to force anything. Girls and boys can just be friends after all," she nodded, "I just assumed you two had a thing for each other. I mean, with her dad being All Might it would be quite good for you, right?"
"Mum! That's not-!"
"Oh, I'm just kidding Izuku. Sorry, for the interruption! I'll leave you alone now!"