Bakudeku + Akashi [A/B/O secret baby AU]

[NicTheDjinn]

"Heroes are important because we discourage people from committing crimes in the first place and stop people already committing them. The villians in jail can't keep committing crime right? On top of that, while some never learn, many do. If we weren't here doing our jobs, the crime rate would be much, much worse." He explained patiently, not at all offended that she was insinuating that heroes weren't making a difference. There were entire groups of people that felt the same way no matter what sort of evidence was presented to them, he wasn't about to be offended by a little girl that wished to oversimplify things. She was a kid, she was allowed to feel this way.

It was so strange listening to Katsuki so comfortably agree that she was better than him at anything at all. It showed such growth in character... He was sure that it had a lot to do with the fact that this was his little sister specifically, but still, he would have never imagined that Bakugou would do it so comfortably. He was sure he could even hear pride in his voice! Not surprising, honestly, as he was clearly the one that was raising this little girl rather than their mother. He had all the right to be proud, she really was amazing. Already he felt very attached to the spunky little blond.

Distracted by the little girl examining him, he failed to notice the blush his words had drawn. He'd praised Bakugou their entire lives and so wouldn't have expected, nor indeed watched for, a reaction to it. He'd never gotten one before, why would he think differently now? Instead, he focused and the girl examining all the old damage to his arm. "Yeah... I screwed up my right arm pretty bad. There are scars on the left, but the right is the one with permanent damage. I used to be right-handed, but I'm more ambidextrous now because of it." He paused as Bakugou cut in, discouraging her from following his example. "He's right... Particularly at the start, I was really reckless. I'm really lucky to be alive and luck is a really bad way to keep safe. It's why I trained so hard... I needed to make sure I survived through strength and skill and not just scrape by on luck. You didn't develop your quirk at the same time as your classmates, but you're still young! You have plenty of time to work on your quirk the proper way so you don't hurt yourself like I did."

"Training will start the next time I come by, but the training we're starting with isn't as fun as you might think. We'll start with training your mind. It's very important that people with powerful quirks don't use their quirks accidentally because they're upset. One way is to learn coping skills so that you never get really mad or panic if you get scared. It would be stuff to center yourself and keep a level head. We can't start quirk training itself till we move and secure a high-level training facility. Tokyo is the place to be for stuff like that." He explained, hoping she wouldn't be too disappointed. "Don't worry though, we'll do fun stuff too. Training all the time can burn you out so that's not good either."

"Ka-chan there are literal documentaries on heroes accessible to the public. If anyone is going to gather information about someone it's going to be from the internet, news articles, and TV. No one's going to break into my home to get at my notebooks, that's ridiculous. It would be easier to search for hero theory forums." He pointed out with a sigh. "Writing the notes down helps me gather my thoughts and it makes it easier to compare progress on individual heroes this way."

.....

"I know you are. I---Wha-nooo!" And so came the whine again as she instead came up with breaking the rules for profit. "Aka-chan that's bad! You shouldn't try to cheat the system and that's not how laws work! You're breaking them regardless of if you get caught or not and if you do get caught you could be in serious trouble! Some schools will even kick you out for doing stuff like what you're suggesting... That stuff is all recorded too so if you do manage to get into a new school, they know what you did at the last one." He urged, looking generally distressed. "Don't be mean..." He repeated with a pout that he pulled off surprisingly well for someone that was clearly an adult. Probably had to do with his baby face... This time he didn't poke her cheek as he wasn't about to stretch that far to do it.

.....

"That just means he's more tolerant of dead animals than he is of me." He pointed out with an uncharacteristically bitter laugh. The thought hurt, but he honestly couldn't justify anything else at this point. As much as he wished it weren't true, Bakugou was very determined to keep them the way they were. He smiled a little more honestly at her suggestion. Convince Bakugou that it's something he wanted... If only it were that simple. "That's how I convinced him to move together like this. I'm happy to have managed at least that much."

He was startled by her words then, blinking wide, green in black eyes at her owlishly. Ka-chan... Didn't hate him...? You could see the moment the fragile hope that thought instilled in him crumbled. Though he still smiled, it was such a sad, sad thing. "I... I want that to be true with all of me, but... I just don't think it will happen... He didn't do this for me... I convinced him it was the best thing for his career and for you. He cares about you so much... I think he'd do anything for you. He didn't come here for me... I'm just another stepping stone for him to climb up higher is all."

"Mm... Yeah." He agreed only to freeze up when he was suddenly hugged, tear-filled eyes wide at the unexpected hug. And there was the lip tremble again, strong arms gently holding the little girl close. He leaned down to nuzzle her hair, thoughtlessly scent marking her. He was so lost in the moment that he didn't even realize something like that might bite him in the ass. "Thank you... I'm sorry... P-people always tell me I cry too much and... W-well... It's always been like this. You remember I said that it's important to let yourself feel, but not let it rule your life...? This is that... I can't keep crying about our broken friendship together. I tried to fix it, I tried everything I could think of, but he still left me in the end. I can't cry for him forever... But thank you for letting me at least for a little while..."

He laughed softly at the little jab at a very real truth about heroism. He let her slip from his arms, sniffling as he reined in his emotions again. He'd had his cry, that was enough for now. He couldn't risk Bakugou seeing it happen. "Heroes are still people, Aka-chan, and we are under an incredible amount of stress because of the work we do. He need to be strong to save people while we're out there, but you can't be like that all the time. It's when we're home, where no one but those we trust can see, where we allow ourselves to be fragile and come apart. We let it out where it's safe so that it doesn't happen while we work. It comes easier to some of us than others." He shrugs with a lop-sided smile. He knew he cried a lot, but he'd always been a sensitive guy.

He listened as she provided at least some details, but they weren't much to go by. Instead, he helped explain the pills, though he didn't realize he wasn't quite right. "The pills probably don't have to do with his health exactly. Well, they do, but it's not about keeping from getting sick. After you present, you need to start taking pills to keep your hormones in check so they don't affect your behavior. Suppressants. You'll have to take them too once you present, but that won't be for a few years. Girls rarely present before their nine and that's pretty early even for them. Usually, it's about ten or eleven. For boys, it's usually eleven to twelve." He didn't feel like he should be the one going into more detail about it, but he would ask Katsuki if she pushed.

"Your brother's right though. You shouldn't be taking any medicine if you don't need it and definitely not if it isn't yours. They really can make you very sick or worse." He agreed, smiling and seemingly out of his funk again at the request for gummies. "You shouldn't be taking adult vitamins, they're not the same for what your body needs. I'll be sure to grab some for him and some for you too." He promised.

"You want me to help? You're right I've seen some really bad stuff before, but that doesn't mean someone would want to see stuff like that if they didn't have to. I don't mind though, I think it's really fascinating, so long as you're not hurting any animals to do it." He laughed reaching over to playfully ruffle her hair. "Can't use your quirk without a license, remember? Also, going somewhere without permission is trespassing, even if we're heroes. Laws still apply to us, particularly if you're not on the clock. We shouldn't make trouble."

"That's true. Thank you all the same." He gave another respectful nod to the repaired teddy. When she started to talk to the morbid toy, his eyes darted to the empty space above her head then back down as she mentioned it. So she had imaginary friends. He'd had those... It was only natural given the friends he'd had growing up. Playing by himself was quite common. "I look forward to meeting all your friends. I hope we all get along!" He easily ran with the whole thing, more than happy to play with the girl and perhaps ease some of the loneliness she might have.

"Thank you, that honestly means a lot to me. Hm? Oh! California is very different from here! It's different from other parts of the United States too. It's a very big country. The plane ride was mostly just boring. I spent it writing and sleeping mostly. Planes are actually a very safe way to travel. Hmmm... What could I tell you about California... Well, I guess it depends which part. It's a very large state, too. Similar to Japan, it's long and kind of narrow. In southern California, there are earthquakes, but they don't have those in northern California. I lived just outside of Los Angeles, specifically in a city called Santa Monica." He pulled out his phone then, pulling up a picture and showing her. "This is Santa Monica Pier and the most famous landmark there. I spent most of my time in Los Angeles for work though. I'd was finally at a point where I was sure I could move there on my own, but I missed home too. I wanted to come back."

"It really isn't. Society likes to teach us to overlook things that are wrong and that's why it happens like this sometimes. I don't think she hates him though... I think she just thinks that what she's doing is no big deal. People used to think that a parent hitting their child was okay because if they were hitting them, they were hitting them for a reason. Instead of blaming the parent for being a bad person, they blamed the child, saying they 'earned' or 'deserved' it. She probably doesn't think there's anything wrong with what she's doing." The greenette looked a little sadder then as he continued. "Ka-chan allows her to do it because he's been taught that he's supposed to. He's been taught that he deserves it and that it's normal. He's been taught that he's weak if he doesn't. I talked to him about it that day and he brushed it off. It's true that it was just a bruise and not a serious injury, but that doesn't make it okay. A bigger injury just makes it worse."

"The thing is, Ka-chan holds himself to a different standard. Of course, he would protect you, even if he won't protect himself. If you two were on a desert island, he would go hungry to make sure you could eat. It's what good people do and it's definitely what heroes do and I feel he's both." He sighed as she grew understandably frustrated over the situation. "Don't hit her, Akashi... I know it's frustrating, but that's not how to fix this. Heroes only use as much force as they need and against a woman that can only sweat glycerine, that's excessive. Trust me, I'm really angry about it, too." He smiled softly as she went on, nodding a little. "So long as she doesn't hurt you, it should be fine. If she ever does, you should tell us though. She already knows she can get away with doing that to Ka-chan, we can't let her think that about you too."

"Thank you for keeping this a secret. Try not to worry too much about it, okay? He'll always be there to take care of you and keep you safe and, well, heh, I'll be there to keep him safe, even if he gets really mad at me for it. Don't tell him that either," he added, taking her to his room then to show her his notebooks.

"He can, but... It's mostly just to me now. He grew so much since we were kids, I'm really, really proud of him! If he's only ever mean to me, then I'll be happy." The sad thing was, he obviously meant it. He would hold onto his sorry happily if he knew that Katsuki only ever turned his mean streak on him. He chuckled softly as she defended him, looking at his notebooks fondly. "He hates my notebooks." He pointed out, his smile fading when he realized what she'd taken away from his memories. "Aka-chan... You and I are very different. Being quirkless wasn't what made me useless. I wasn't good at anything really, being quirkless was just another thing that I lacked that he had. You are amazingly talented! You're very precious to him on top of that, I'm sure he would rather die than lose you. He loves you very, very much!"

"No... That part I understand. He was mad because someone he'd decided was useless was trying to be his equal. It suggests he's no better than someone that's useless. I know why he acted the way we did when we were kids, what I don't understand is why it had to stay that way... Up till high school, I had never wanted to compete with him. I just wanted to be at his side... When we got to high school, I was finally doing something with my life and he seems to have switched gears from 'how dare you think you're equal to me' to taking it as an actual threat. Nothing I said ever made a difference to him, his mind was set, even if it seemed like it wasn't for a while. Like I said though, you and I weren't the same. You're so much more talented than I ever was. You're not useless at all, with or without a quirk."

He smiled softly as she explained how she'd approached her quirklessness. "See? I wanted to be a hero anyway. I dreamed and hoped for things I could never have and I did almost die once because of it. I had nothing else... I wasn't good at anything else and I wasn't even good at the one thing I wanted more than anything. You will grow up to do great things, Akashi, with or without your quirk. I just got lucky and I'll be forever grateful for it. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't cherish the chance I've been given."

His throat felt tight at the suggestion that Bakugou had done those things to protect him. He knew that wasn't true. Maybe it was when they were still little boys playing pretend in the woods, skipping stones on the lake, but he knew it wasn't true later. You didn't tell someone you wanted to keep safe to kill themselves. As far as he knew, this was something he'd only ever said to Izuku himself. He threatened to kill people plenty, all hollow threats, but Izuku was the only one he'd ever told to off himself. He knew he would never tell her that part of the story... Let her believe he was just a bully and nothing more. "The kind of idiot that couldn't live with himself if he stood by and did nothing. Heh... That time I almost died because I tried to save someone even though I was quirkless? That someone was Ka-chan. I don't think he ever forgave me for saving his life. Maybe he thinks it doesn't count because we both would have died if All Might didn't save us. I don't know. Heh... I really haven't gotten much better at resisting the urge to help and I don't think I want to. What I've done instead is gotten harder and harder to beat." He smiled to her all the same, taking comfort in her wanting him around. "Thank you, Aka-chan. I would be really upset if anything happened to you, too."

The next moment he was a ball of anxious embarrassment, eyes widening till they were big and round at the change in her tone. "No... Nonononononono!! Aka-chan don't! He doesn't like being in the same room as I am, he certainly doesn't want me to touch him in any capacity, let alone a kiss of all things! I appreciate the sentiment, I do, but he could never like me like that! I-I can agree that finding someone to love would definitely be good for him, but there's no way that someone could be me, no way, no way!" This was much better than all the sad shit they'd been talking about... Flustered Izuku was way more fun.

Thankfully she allowed him to escape, more or less, and had taken to following him instead of trying to start something with her brother while he was too flustered to notice he'd lost her. "G-great! It shouldn't take too long to get everything set up then!" He replied a little too quickly, setting to carrying boxes into the little girl's room and placing them inside, leaving space for the bed of course.

With the two of them working and knowing he wouldn't be able to keep his cheeks from going pink so soon, he instead took refuge in his room, continuing his own unpacking. Only once he was sure he'd regained his composure and the two of theme seemed done did he venture back out, knowing this was probably one of the last interactions he would have with the three of them as a group in the house, at least if Katsuki held him to his promise which he was more than prepared to do.

"So, uh, house warming gifts?" He prompted, holding a bag with the two gifts inside. "I'm going to give Ka-chan's his first since you already got a gift okay? It's only fair, right?" He prompted, mostly worried about how Bakugou would feel about the second gift. Then again, giving him one probably wouldn't make a difference all the same... Bracing himself for whatever was to come, he reached inside the bag and pulled out a simple brown envelope, and offered it to the older blond. He had no idea how he would take it... Maybe if he was lucky, he would get nothing worse than a neutral reaction or maybe a mild barb. "I hope you like it..." He muttered, his nervousness before turning to Akashi again.

"So... I remember that you were sad that Ka-chan didn't let you try to find a cat in a dumpster, which he was right to do to be clear? Well..." He trailed off reaching into the bag a second time and gently offering her the second gift. "I got you a kitten... What will you name him?"

[Ghostipie]

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It seems like there’s gotta be a better way to do things though…” She sighed, but she was glad he was giving her a little more to go off of then some of the other people she’d talked to. Not a fan of her ‘backtalk’, or curious nature for topics they’d deemed too mature for her, she could appreciate the way Midoriya talked to her like she had a say in things, instead of a creature to be seen but not heard.

It must be strange, especially considering how Katsuki’s attitude had been like in their youth. But, she’d changed a lot of things for him, too many things to count. Somewhat. To him, Akashi *had* to be great. She’d come from him, after all. That much would be enough to make up for the unfortunate addition to her parentage in his eyes (He tried to ignore the fact that without Midoriya, this catalyst for change would no longer exist, tried to ignore the sense of debt he felt to the man, or at least his fucking splooge, seemingly the only useful part of the man in his life.). A parentage he was very quick to shove beneath the rug, nobody needed to know the truth of the situation. But that attachment was much to Katsuki’s chagrin, that much was obvious. Even if he tried to hide it, it was apparent in his body language that at the very least, something was eating at him. Katsuki wasn’t sure if he wanted to nip their connection in the bud before Midoriya started putting the pieces together, or if he should just leave it. It was a hard choice to mull over, cutting him off once more before he had the chance to get a clue and fuck up their lives even more, or potentially letting his sister grow too attached to the man and dealing with the complications that would ensue at his departure. He wasn’t sure exactly what he should do. He’d just have to take it day by day and make it clear where the line was, what this arrangement was. Midoriya didn’t seriously think he could whisk them up from their lives on a dime, did he? Sure, this would mean change in the future but, this whole situation felt like an arrogant fucking joke.

No, soon enough they would rebuild their lives and go back to the familiar status quo. It would still be different, but soon enough they’d settle into a new normal where there wouldn’t be another lanky figure lurking in the halls. Maybe he’d save up and get an apartment for the two of them, if he could. He refused to consider the possibility of coming to enjoy his time with Midoriya, let alone the thought he’d grow comfortable here. The place was nice, sure, but he made sure to keep it’s temporary nature fresh in his head. As if it were simply a hotel and nothing more.

He supposed he’d have to thank his past self, for his callous and cruel demeanor. For all the harm he’d wrought on Midoriya, he’d certainly twisted the situation to his advantage. Midoriya wouldn’t suspect a thing, if he played his cards right and Midoriya continued to hold onto those echoes of cruelty, he might just come out of this completely unaware. It’d be smooth sailing, relying on the tatters of their long soiled relationship. He’d done his dash and he could count on that, hold onto it for dear life, and with that in mind Katsuki might just get through this hell yet.

Of course that would be a piece to anchor him, considering he didn’t want things to go well. The failure of this setup was practically guaranteed, and yet he had to move through the motions carefully, making sure not to slip up. But, despite his frustrations and twisted intent, Akashi was happy. Seeming to be enamoured with her new babysitter and his crumpled bones, and he couldn’t really ask for more than that.

“Wow, I can tell you’ve trained really hard to get where you are, huh? I’d be honored to train under you Deku-kun! But, hopefully I’ll break less bones ha...” It was all she could hope for at least, she couldn’t suppress the shiver at the thought of what her own quirk could do to the bodies of herself or others, mass destruction sparked between the fibres of her DNA, all consuming and destructive. Would she be able to keep that power under control? Or would she lose it again and really hurt people? The idea was scary, but she didn’t have any other option. There was no room for failure here, not with what could be on the line. So, even though she wasn’t exactly looking forward to the practices of mindfulness and strengthening her brain, after all she was pretty sure her brain was awful strong enough already, but she’d go through with it nonetheless- even if she wasn’t exactly happy about it.

“Ugh! Mind training, that’s no fun!” She huffed, digging her heels into her petulant stance on the matter. The stories she’d heard about her big brother’s UA training sounded much more entertaining than Midoriya’s admittedly grounded plan for quite necessary training skills, but she didn’t have many genuine complaints about things, even if she’d poke more than her share of fun at him. “Aww! Wanna all look for training places soon then? I wanna learn to fight people!” Akashi grinned, holding her fists out and throwing a few fake punches before turning her wry prodding over to Katsuki. “Okay… and yeah I know that, Kacchan explained that one to me after his arms got locked up after he worked out too much! Couldn’t work for a week, right Kacchan?”

“Shush, jesus. That was one time, and a damn good example as to why you shouldn’t overexert yourself. You’re not a hero, you don’t need to worry about that kind of thing, you just need control.” Katsuki snapped- while used to her teasing, he still couldn’t suppress the grind of his fangs and the roll of his eyes, gently pressing a closed fist to her head. She gave a little scowl at him, while he retorted to Midoriya’s very fair remark on his notebook habit, but that wasn’t about to stop him from being similarly stubborn and petulant about his position on the subject, dismissive but somewhat agreeing with him. That much was a little better than the aggression he would have shown in their youth, but it still wasn’t great.

“Tch, whatever. Fine, do what you want. I just don’t want to see that shit. Can’t you see how damn creepy all of that crap is anyway? Imagine having your own goddamn david attenborough documentary shot by some internet degenerate... Hero forums, jesus. People need to get more interesting lives instead of sitting around writing garbage conspiracy theories...” He rolled his eyes with a hissed sigh, disgusted. Trying to keep himself composed somewhat, but unable to ignore the cold sweat on the back of his neck, to keep himself from slipping entirely. That shit really pissed him off, he couldn’t deny that- it was obvious he.

Underneath some of his anger, there was a deeper root to it. He’d been on forums like that. Scrolled on them endlessly when Akashi was younger, hell he even checked on them every now and then. There’d been talk since he’d gone back to school, didn’t graduate like the rest of them. Seemingly dropped off the map out of the blue, it was a strange affair. People would talk, of course they would, he wasn’t so naive to think that wouldn’t be the case, especially considering he’d dropped out of the blue. He’d spent nights after he’d gotten his toddling kid to bed, sating his paranoia with a ravenous drive. Wondering if anybody had caught on, would one of these weirdos seriously put the dots together? Katsuki had seen the kind of shit these idiots spewed, the kind of insane theories they came up with fueled by madness and not helped by the fact they were probably dropped on their heads as children.

It was almost comical, passing the time devouring the empty content like popcorn, Post upon post in decrepit forums, in the dimly lit corner of the web. Everything from ‘Pro Hero Yakuza Connections’ to ‘Aliens = Quirks’ theories, as well as a few humourous ‘Bigfoot Quirk??’ posts. Some even went so far as to say Endeavour popped out that villain bastard Dabi! Todoroki had been concerned with the wrong secret love child! It was all so ridiculous! It provided him some comfort to search and search and find absolutely nothing of value. Hell, he’d checked in on himself. Indulged in what they’d posted as chills went down his spine. There wasn’t much, but it still made him feel ill, even if he could laugh at it. But, he’d grown a deep disgust for the kind of people who would do that kind of thing, worse than paparazzi and the tabloids. At least those weirdos got paid for it, these posters had nothing better to do and it made him sick.

But, there was a level of genius to it and he worried that by the product of sheer quantity, something was bound to hit the nail on the head someday. Katsuki just hoped that when that day came, it would all be drowned by the ridiculous sea of conspiracy. Never to be seen by the light of day, buried in the slog of posts and pixels.

But, god knows he probably wouldn’t be that lucky.

...

“Well, that’s easy right, I just don’t get caught, duh.” She laughed, not dropping her act for a second. Taking an immense amount of satisfaction in his distress, trying not to snicker at the little pout on his face. She wasn’t sure if she found it jarring, this cute little pout, on someone so mature. But with all of his whining, she kept her game strong and continued with a small smirk. “I’d really be doing them a favour you know. Some of my classmates are really dumb, and you’re supposed to put your workings out on maths tests and stuff so it’s not like they couldn’t learn from that!” But eventually the girl relented, it was hard not to with just how pitiful he looked. So, switching on a dime she let out a sigh, giving up the gambit- for now. “Okay, okay. If you insist Deku-kun!”

.....

The girl couldn’t hide the twitch in her brow, the ache of a clenched jaw. Just for a moment, a pained emotion flashed across her freckled face. Ouch. That really would hurt, she was determined but she could admit that would really sting, having smelly cadavers that’d been flattened on the road and rotted in the sun for weeks placed above him in her brother’s hierarchy of respect. “When you put it like that, yep.” She huffed, a grave smile on her face before she perked up, even if it was a grim situation she still had faith. “I mean, I got there- it tooks months of careful planning and convincing, I even made a powerpoint presentation!”

“I could make you one too…” Her previous discontent was forgotten at the prospect of the kinds of presentation she could make, head in a dazed buzz of color palettes, mantis green to sun bleached white, things that she thought would compliment him nicely. She’d need photos of him, as well as tons of cool transitions. She wondered if he had a dating website profile so she could steal pictures… she’d have to check on Katsuki’s phone later… Any social media would do, but she’d need some money shots if she was going to convince her brother.

“It’s more, with enough convincing I can con him into anything. See! It worked then right, I’m sure with a bit of planning everything will go smoothly.” Akashi gave a small grin, trying to make him feel a little better, even if she wasn’t entirely sure it would work but that wasn’t about to stop her from trying.

“Yeah, he does care about me a lot. Even if he’s mean sometimes, I can’t discredit him there…” She had to agree with him there, even if the sad smile on his face made it oh so hard to do so. It hurt, it must hurt. And that upset her, of course it did. Midoriya cared so much about him, probably as much as Katsuki cared about her. Hell that was the only reason she was able to con him into anything, but with that in mind; she was determined to use that to fix their situation. “Okay, he doesn’t like you. But that can change, with time and hard work, right? You’ll see!” She deadpanned, not sugar coating the situation at hand, before perking up to try and give him some kind of fragile hope. Even for all her jeering, she would be honest with him there. No point in getting his hopes up for nothing, even if she was assured of her plan having them both underestimate her would work just fine for her needs.

“You’re more than welcome, Deku-kun! I mean, you do cry a lot but I don’t really mind…” She let out a little awkward laugh, completely unaware of the scent rubbing off on her as she relaxed in his hold, the scenting wasn't something she would really be able to recognize or pick up on but something that Katsuki would definitely be able to notice considering she was pretty much a blank slate until she herself presented. She could see his point, and if he needed a space to cry, he could certainly cry around her if he felt comfortable enough to do so. She almost felt flattered, knowing full well the man likely wouldn’t display this kind of emotion in front of Katsuki, knowing he’d likely end up lashed out at for it. “Don’t worry Deku-kun! If you can give up hope in Kacchan, hold out hope for me! I’ve got your back, trust me!”

“Well, if you need to cry and want more hugs, you can always come to me!” Akashi offered, lightly punching his forearm with a mischievous grin once he’d pulled away. She was being honest though, as the idea of him crying in the shower or alone in his room or something didn’t sit right with him. It seemed like a very painful thing to be a hero, she didn’t understand why anybody would put themselves through all the trouble honestly. But, it was an important job and someone had to do it.

“Hm, that kinda makes sense…” She mused, twisting a strand of hair around her finger as she muttered rather incoherently, entirely talking to herself instead of him without much concern to politeness as she took in the information Midoriya was giving to her. “What are you then? Wait, is that rude to ask? I’m sorry if that’s rude! I know Kacchan’s an Omega, which probably means I’ll be an Omega too, right?” She blinked, tilting her head to the side. She wasn’t entirely sure how all of this worked, mostly because Katsuki had decided to put off these kinds of conversations until she had to worry about presenting. He already had a pretty good idea of what she’d present as, so he assumed he’d just haul her off to one of his Alpha friends or something to give her the talk because god knows he didn’t know if he’d be of any help.

“Oh! Okay, thank you Deku-kun!” She smiled brightly, a little in awe at his kindness at the offer of her own special vitamins. Surely adult vitamins would make her grow up faster, right? So maybe she’d take both so she could be extra healthy! It couldn’t hurt right?

She laughed at the idea of having hurt any animals, it felt like a preposterous idea, so she couldn’t help but laugh at the concept, blurting out- “Oh of course not! I’m just picking up the ones that are already dead you know? I don’t think I could kill anything… Could you?” She huffed, shrugging her shoulders and not really realising the inappropriateness of the question, having yet to develop much of a filter. She wrinkled her nose when he messed with her hair, snapping back- “I mean yes, but you both have licenses and Katsu-nii could carry me up. Or you could do it, problem solved! It’s not making trouble if we’re not caught, who’s going to mind anyway. The neighbours can’t smell anything up on the roof.”

“I mean, I’m sure they’re a lot safer than cars but I dunno… I’d be so scared going on a plane, it’s not like a car where you could survive the crash. I mean maybe you could but I know I would be dead for sure!” She laughed, before listening intently about him talking about California and the trip, before taking in the photos he’d brought up on his phone. “Woah! That’s so pretty Omigosh! Did you get to go on the ferris wheel? What kind of food did they have there, I’ve never tried American food before! They fry everything right? And apparently they eat dog meat? They mash it up into little tubes it’s so weird!” She gushed, quite excitable and curious as ever. “Well, I’m glad you’re back then! Homesickness would probably suck…”

Akashi gave a small frown, thinking over what he’d said of their situation and trying to make sense of it. She agreed with him somewhat, but she couldn’t help but feel anger burning inside of her. Frustration, both at her mother and at what felt like nothing but arrogance from Midoriya. Sure, Deku had known the woman briefly when he was pining after a dude that had nothing to do with him, so clearly he was the expert here over the woman’s own children. She didn’t know why, but something didn’t sit right with her, prickled like bile in the back of her throat. Bitter and painful. “So we’re both here because you think Mom’s a bad person then?” She mused, gaze strangely cold as she looked up at him. It was bait, harsh. Purposefully misconstrued to trap him, mostly out of her own spite. To watch him stumble and get flustered, purely for her own amusement, trying to corner him in. She could see the sense in what he was saying and did agree with him, but even so. This was her mother, even if Midoriya had known Katsuki when he was younger, had seen glimpses of the goings on in their houses, she still had superiority as far as she was concerned. And while she agreed with him on a lot of things, she wasn’t about to let him imply her mother was a bad person when she’d done so much for the both of them, Katsuki included. She remembered the late night arguments they’d attempted to hide from her, how Katsuki as an adult was being allowed to stay in her house, and as such he had to follow her rules. That they were there out of the kindness of this woman’s heart, so she wasn’t about to sit here while Midoriya pretty much spat in the woman’s face.

“You give him way too much credit y’know. It’s not like he *wants* to do that, I mean he’d probably still do it but.” She sighed. She loved her brother very much, and she owed him a lot for sure. But she knew for a fact that if she’d never been born, he’d probably have a much, much different life. She wrinkled her nose at the concept of her solution being excessive, honestly to her it didn’t feel excessive enough. It was simply how things worked. “I’m not gonna nuke her or nothing, just hit her in the nose or something, how is that excessive? It’s not like you’re using your quirk to bash her skull in or anything… And does me hitting her, because she deserves it make me a bad person then? Where’s the line?” She huffed, eyes narrowed as she twisted things again, before they ran off to Midoriya’s room.

“Always at his heels, even if he hates it, huh? That’s admirable of you, to still stay with someone that treats you badly, or stupid. Depending on how you look at it. And don’t worry I won’t say a peep, you can’t really protect him from the sidelines without being sneaky about it. Honestly you can’t do much without being sneaky, honestly. It’s like he has eyes in the back of his head sometimes...” She let out a little laugh, running a hand through her unruly locks of hair.

She looked down at the floor as he spoke her older brother’s praise, it frustrated her just how much this man looked up to him, it felt rather wrong in all honesty. Katsuki wasn’t exactly nice to him, and yet he seemed to base a lot on what Kacchan thought. It felt silly, considering Katsuki himself likely wouldn’t return a similar sentiment no matter what Midoriya did. And then when he mentioned his opinions on the notebooks, she rolled her eyes and spat- “So what if he hates it? Why does it matter what he thinks? I think it’s very cool!”

“And how do you know that? I’m not good at anything either, but he loves me because we’re family and Mom won’t look after me. I’m an obligation, even I can see that.” She laughed, trying to add some self deprecating color into the mix. She really didn’t have much to note about her, not really. She had some strange hobbies and bravado, sure. But most of her greatest traits weren’t even her own, they were the constructs of her DNA, not truly her and she couldn’t bear to sit and be somehow above him like that. “If he wasn’t saddled with me, he’d probably be butting heads with you, trying to be the number one and chasing his dreams properly instead of juggling everything. Which is a dumb, impossible task if you ask me, but that’s not gonna stop him. Hell, the fact it was impossible wasn’t the thing that made him give it up, it was that he had to lug me to school and clubs and assemblies...”

“Love’s pointless if you sacrifice yourself for it, he deserves a better life than that I think. You do too, I mean...” She let out a harsh sigh, he was right and she knew that. But she couldn’t help but feel some sense of guilt, because on some level she was aware just how much Katsuki had sacrificed for her for no reason. Watching Midoriya do the same thing felt unbearable, at least with the way things stood now. “I guess all you want is to follow him and make sure he’s safe, a good goal sure but at the same time… is that really what you want to be doing? It hurts you, doesn’t it? Hanging around by his side when he’s mean to you and yeah, he’s gotten better but there’s gotta be old wounds there! Why put yourself through that pain, instead of taking it easy or having things for yourself? And how long will you keep doing that, destroying yourself for some impossible dream?”

“If you’re so useless to him then you shouldn’t even be a factor in the equation. I don’t know why he has his panties in a twist...” She huffed, leaning back and listening to him explain. Goddamn she didn’t get why he’d still be pining after someone who hated him. She knew he couldn’t change that, but it left her to wonder the fuck kind of self worth issues this guy had to think her brother was a worthy candidate with the way their relationship had been, history had proved time and time again that their union was a bad idea and yet he persisted, using her brother’s rage to simply grow stronger and harder to beat. So Katsuki wouldn’t be able to cut him loose if he tried his hardest, they were caught in a stalemate. Both stepping stones for each other, twisting around each other in such a fated, fucked up way.

“Wait, you saved Kacchan? So you were willing to throw away everything for something you failed to do anyway? How irresponsible are you, you could have gotten both of you seriously hurt if a real hero hadn’t stepped in!” Akashi gaped as she listened to his story, unaware of the painful truths behind it. And, similarly unaware of the person lurking behind the doorframe, just out of sight.

Listening in. Katsuki didn’t know why he was spying like this, but he couldn’t help the urge as he caught traces of their conversation from in the hall. He was careful not to be seen as they talked. He was curious to see how the pair of them interacted, watching from a distance to make sure things went well. He couldn’t help but be paranoid, worried about how this would all go down as he waited in the wings, trying to suppress a bitter laugh at what his sister had gleaned of their relationship.

Katsuki would gladly admit his hatred for Deku to anybody who asked without a second thought, although he wouldn’t admit to saying what he had if anybody asked, hell he’d probably say that Midoriya had made it up to save face. He knew what he’d said was fucked, really fucked. But he’d still said it and he’d meant it, in that moment where this idiotic, pathetic little thing was daring to stand up beside him like he was even on the same footing, fucking up all the plans he’d had for himself; he’d wanted him to die. He wasn’t even worth the trouble of a death threat, he wasn’t worth the trouble of killing, no a fate more befitting would be Midoriya doing them all a favour and snuffing himself out, better than living some pathetic life you weren’t suited for right? Better than living a life full of failure, he knew if it were him? He’d rather be dead. At the time, Katsuki had meant that and part of him still did. He really would have saved them a hell of a lot of trouble if he’d grown a pair and offed himself before this entire mess could come about. But then again, he wouldn’t have Akashi. And while he had many regrets, she’d never be one of them. Midoriya still didn’t understand, he’d push him away every damn time. Push and push and push, push until the man was about to break and he’d always come running back. Following him like a lost, annoying puppy. He hated it. Hated it more than he’d hated anything else, why the hell did he have to be stuck with such a worthless person. Never to be rid of a fucking ball and chain, goddamn it. He hated this, all of this. No way in hell would Katsuki ever protect that bastard, especially not as he listened to the man go on about him, flustered and bashful as he tried to conceal his feelings. Katsuki slinked off back to his room after that, he couldn’t stand to watch this sickening display any longer.

“Akashi do!!! So that’s your qualm with it? Not that you wouldn’t want to kiss him, that you’d find it gross like most would? Or that you simply don’t like him like that, no your issue is that it’s impossible? When has an impossible goal stopped you before? Being a hero was pretty much a dead end if you’d been quirkless, and yet you got lucky. And without knowing what’s going through his head, you don’t know if it’s even impossible. If you got lucky there, what’s stopping you from getting lucky again?” She jeered, a wide, devious grin on her face as she wiggled her brows. Flustered Izuku was way more fun indeed and Akashi was trying her hardest not to laugh outright as she continued to pry. Right now, it wasn’t about being right necessarily, it was about cracking him open like an egg and seeing what he’d spill. And whatever she had to say to chip away at that shell wasn’t the point, she just needed to get the ball rolling.

Escape was certainly one way to put it, but Akashi much prefered the concept of postponing because she was sure she’d be grilling him another time about it, but she’d let him slip out of her grip for now. They all got to work separately until Akashi’s room was mostly put together, books being put on shelves and the bed being put together. Some boxes still remained unpacked, but they were seemingly less pressing than things like getting her clothes folded away into her drawers.


“Aww! Okay!” Akashi grinned once they’d all converged together, watching Midoriya hand her big brother his gift.

“Fuck, fine. Christ you should have told me so I’d have known to get you something too, jeez.” He sneered, snatching the offered envelope and burning open the paper with his quirk, keeping up that aggressive yet somewhat indifferent facade. But the edges of his mouth quirked up into the ghost of a smile as he read over the sign and he was already trying to work out how he’d affix it to his door here. But aside from that, he looked unphased, not ungrateful mind you, just somewhat blank. Strangely flat and numb, before he turned his gaze over to Akashi. He always had her in the corner of his eye if he could help it, a habit formed from knowing better than to leave the girl fully unsupervised due to her penchant for getting herself into innocent trouble, and that was no different now as Midoriya turned his attention to her.

“Yessir, very clear ha…” Akashi grinned sheepishly, trying to pretend she hadn’t been planning how she’d sneak away and go dumpster diving herself the moment she had an opportunity away from her brother’s watchful eye. Surely if she had gloves and protection, she’d be fine right? But, she couldn’t help but drop that plan, solely because Midoriya was so considerate to get her something like that, that he knew she’d like. It was sweet, she couldn’t deny that.

While Katsuki’s reaction to his gift was rather muted, Akashi was wholly sincere in her glee as Midoriya handed her the bag. Exposed eye round like a dinner plate as she processed just what he’d gotten her, small hands rifling around in the bag before she retrieved the item. Cool glass against her fingertips was unexpected, but she pulled the item out nonetheless. While Katsuki’s arm had eventually been twisted by enough nagging, she’d never been able to take domesticated animals home when they’d find them. Instead Katsuki would call the number on the tags of dead pets they’d find, carefully collecting up the bodies and calling the owners on the tags.

“Omigosh…” She muttered, holding it up to the light to inspect the morbid curio. She didn’t want to think about how much this would cost to have gotten, nor where the hell he’d gotten something like this in the first place. Even with her limited understanding of how much everything actually cost, she knew something like this was way too much money.

“Agh! Look at his little paws, aw they’re so cute! And his claws?? I wonder what would happen if I opened it...” She mused, tapping against the glass and giving it a gentle shake just to see if the kitten would move around, kinda like a weird snow globe. She was clearly more than satisfied with this gift, turning it around in her hands to inspect every inch of submerged fur and frozen flesh. “I think I’m going to name him Neru-kun! Thank you Deku-kun! I love him!!”

Katsuki let out a little huff, confident as he gave a somewhat backhanded compliment to the man, tone harsh as usual. “Well, I have to give you that Deku. Sometimes your ideas aren’t completely shit, good job.” But, his tone softened as he continued, looking away from him with a bright red blush creeping up his cheeks, all the way to the tips of his ears as he murmured out- “Not just on the dead cat, thanks for getting me something too, i guess. You didn’t have to go to the trouble to… damn, now I’ll have to get you something back… shitty nerd, ugh...”

“Hm… I’m sorry I didn’t get you anything Deku-kun… I don’t really have any money, buuuut…” Akashi’s carefree musing cut through Katsuki’s bashful demeanor slipping through the facade of angry indifference, as the girl rushed around her room, going through some of the boxes and picking one out and bringing it over to him. “You can pick something cool from my boxes if you want! I don’t know if you’d like any of them though…” She immediately began rifling through it, old books that were no longer in print, coins and loom band bracelets, old comic books and strange constructions made of wire and bone- utterly worthless to most, but they meant a lot to her. Even more so was the old toys and action figures of Katsuki’s she’d been handed down over the years as Katsuki grew out of such things, but clearly not enough as Katsuki immediately stopped that plan.

“Jeez, ‘kashi. Don’t give him your junk, we’ll go get something tomorrow together okay?” He sighed, and the girl huffed, bending to his will but only because she’d come up with something much much better.

“Wait, wait, wait!” She grinned, bouncing on the spot and rushing off again to find a pencil and a pen, musing as she went- “I can draw you a sign for your room too if you want, it probably won’t be as good as Kacchan’s though…”

[NicTheDjinn]

"I honestly wish there was. As much as I love helping and protecting people, I'd happily give it up if the world could be peaceful enough to not need heroes. Maybe someday, if we work really hard at it." He smiled a little sadly at his own words, every one of them true. Truthfully though, he wasn't sure what people as competitive as Katsuki would do with themselves if that suddenly came to pass. It was an interesting thought, but he really didn't want to think about how pissed the blond would be if he was suddenly out of work after putting in as much effort as he had.

"Mm. I did. I had to train harder than all my classmates too, because my quirk manifested so late. I had to catch up before I could grow like they did, but even then, saving people was so important to me that I didn't let up on my training, even when I caught up. I wanted to be the best I could possibly be." He laughed a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah... Don't follow my example there. Breaking your bones should generally be avoided. I can assure you, it's not pleasant. Continuing a fight with broken bones is even worse. I, uh, wouldn't recommend it."

He chuckled softly at her enthusiasm in learning how to fight. "Aka-chan... Don't tease Ka-chan, we all overdo it sometimes and stiff shoulders isn't nearly as bad as a shattered hand and fingers and I've tone that more than once. It's a little hypocritical for me, of all people, to urge you not to be reckless, but you really shouldn't be. If you're not careful, some really sore joints will be the least of your problems. What Ka-chan said is right though... With few exceptions, you can't start combat training till high school and even then you need to go to high school and even then only at the ones with hero programs like U.A., Shiketsu, or Ketsubutsu Academy to name a few. Before then, all you can do is learn control." He was sure that wasn't what she wanted to hear, but it was true...

"I'll be sure to keep them in my room..." He sighed, but didn't push. While Bakugou had no right to stop him from taking his notes, he also didn't need to be obnoxious about it and actively take notes out in the living room. Not that it was an option anyway... He'd sworn that he would stay in his room and he intended on keeping his word, if that's what would make Katsuki happy. His eyes widened at the thought of a documentary being filmed about him. "Aaaaa! A documentary? That would be so cool! Quirk theory isn't conspiracy theory though... We had a literal class on Quirk theory! Admittedly Todoroki-kun has a tendency to... Over reach..." He muttered, remembering some of the outlandish things his two temped best friend had told him over the years. Sometimes he worried about his grasp on reality...

...

"Aka-chaaaaaaan..." Whined the greenette looking mildly distressed. "It's not like people are breaking rules because they think they'll get caught! You shouldn't break rules in general, that's bad, and like I said you can get in a whole lot of trouble if you do get caught." He protested on, a part of him realizing that she was definitely messing with him, but he supposed that was alright if she was entertained. She was a smart kid and with any luck she wouldn't actually do the things she was saying she would and was just teasing him. He really hoped that was the case at least...

"Aka-chan, you can't work out a math problem if you don't already know how to do those kinds of math problems... You'd really hurt their chances of passing. What's more, you'd have to match their individual handwriting, which would be difficult and if their grades are good, but they flunk all their tests then they'll suspect that those students are cheating. It's likely they would rat you out... Please..." He begged on, sighing and relaxing when she finally relented. "Thank you..."

...

He laughed softly, amused enough to shift his mood. "A powerpoint? While I'm sure your brother would force himself to sit through it because you want him to, I don't think it would help. If anything, he would probably think I put you up to it and blame me." He ran his hand through his curly green locks. "Aka-chan we haven't been friends since we were toddlers. It's very sweet of you to want us to get along, and there's little in the world I want more than that, but I don't think it would be that easy if it's possible at all." He smiled at her genuinely, reaching out to give her ladybug a pat as her new little friend was in the way of a head pat.

"It does mean a lot to me that you want us to at least be friends. Thank you... I honestly hope you prove me wrong and can somehow bring us together after all this time. Even him tolerating me around him would be nice... Like actually being neutral towards me and not just putting up with me because he doesn't have a choice." He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. He really shouldn't be getting his hopes up, but he'd always been rather stubborn in terms of having hope. "I'll have faith in you! Maybe you'll succeed where I've failed."

He sniffled with a little smile, rubbing his arm where she'd punched it. It hadn't hurt, of course, but he followed through with the gesture anyway. "You're very kind, Aka-chan. I'm happy I'm going to spend so much time with you. I don't know how long that will be, but I will cherish our time together. Already his heart ached at the thought that someday, they would figure out exactly what they wanted to do with her and when they did, Ka-chan would have every right to force him out of their lives again. Maybe, if he was lucky, they would last the one year of this lease..."

"Heh, it is rude to come out and ask someone's secondary gender so don't go doing that, but I don't mind. I'm an alpha, though I'm not like most alphas. I'm usually weirdly mild-tempered and, uh, submissive for an alpha. Alphas are often more like... Well... Ka-chan. Our personalities are a little backward... Anyway, him being an omega has nothing to do with you though, you can present as any of the three, alpha, omega, or beta. It's like how your parents don't affect if your primary gender either, regardless of what their's are. A male omega and alpha pair can have daughters and a female omega with a female alpha can also have sons. It doesn't affect that. You really don't have to worry about this stuff till you present though. Someone will probably be able to smell the change in your hormones when it's starting, but even if they do, when you do present, you'll know it, it's kind of dramatic. Even as a beta, your sense of smell will get stronger, for example. I-uh... I don't mind being the one to go into more detail and stuff, but you should really ask your brother if he wants me to. I don't know him for being okay with someone else doing something for him, much less without his permission. It really isn't something you need to worry about right now though, promise."

Shit. Why would she ask if he could kill like that...? Legally speaking, he actually did have the right to execute villains on the field. It was up to his judgment and unless it was blatant murder, he wouldn't even get in trouble for it. Some heroes were rather well known for being willing to use this right more than others. Endeavor's earlier career was a rather bloody one, for example. To tell the truth here or lie...? Shit, he was hesitating too long, she might get suspicious if he didn't hurry it up! "I'm a hero, Aka-chan. My job is to try and minimize casualties, I don't casually kill." There. That was technically the truth.

"A hero license gives us the right to fight villains using our quirks and to place people under temporary arrest till the villain can be handed off to police safely. They don't give us the right to break laws just because we feel like it. It's one thing to trespass because we're chasing a villain, it's something completely different to do it for personal reasons. Even with our licenses, it would still be illegal for us to go onto the roof without a legal reason to be up there. We're held by the same laws that we fight to enforce. Like... I have the right to take someone's vehicle to chase down a villain. That doesn't give me the right to take someone's car just because I want to go to dinner in a fancy car, even if it's returned to the owner. That's still stealing."

"Planes have always been really safe and they've only gotten safer over time. There's a lot of backup systems and better emergency landing gear too. That's why you hear about plane crashes on the news. It's really uncommon. The statistic of dying in a plane crash is 1 in 11 million. I promise, it's very safe." Well, at the very least the pictures he had distracted her from how scary she seemed to think flying was. "It was very pretty, particularly at night." He paused then when asked if he'd ridden the Ferris wheel. "I... No, actually. I was always so busy with work that I was always either working, training, or resting. I had to squeeze in errands between, it was pretty hectic. Honestly, this is the most downtime I've had since middle school. My schedule is still similar till now, eight hours with you, training when Ka-chan is with you, the resting, but as I'm not actively fighting villains it's been a lot more relaxed, ya know. Well, sort of... I've had to up my training regimen to counterbalance, but still."

"You've never had American food? But... There are some resturants that serve it here too. I guess it's a little different though... They don't fry everything, but I get why you would think they do... Hmmm... I know how to cook some so maybe I could make it for you. Ka-chan cooks better though. Maybe it would just be better if I tasted the food at some restaurants and take you to eat at one that tastes more authentic... Wait. Dogs? They don't eat---Oh!" He laughed as he put it together. "No, no! There's a kind of dog that is short and long, the food was named after them due to their similar appearance! There's no dog in hot dogs." He then went on to show a picture of a hot dog and then a dachshund purposely picking a short-haired brown one to maximize the visual similarities. "Hot dogs are made from beef, pork, or a mix of the two. Pretty much they take the scraps of meet left on bones after slaughtering the animals, grind it up really finely, then it's squeezed into a casing like sausages are. No actual dog in them."

He noticed the change in her as he'd spoken honestly, though poorly about her mother. He couldn't say he was surprised. The Bakugous were nothing if not prideful creatures and insults of any kind didn't go down well in his experience. When she spoke, her expression made the trap she was laying out for him clear. What she didn't seem to realize is that he'd spent the entirety of his young life at her brother's side. Even as a child he would consistently stand up for what he believed in against a boy that was very capable and regularly did hurt him. She didn't intimidate him in the least.

"That's exactly correct." He maintained eye contact as he calmly spoke. "Good people can do bad things, bad people can do good things. A lot in life is grey like that. I was still in high school when I saved a little girl that was being taken care of by a bad man. She had a solid roof over her head, food, even toys. You can't overlook how he'd hurt her all her life, even if he was tending to her basic needs. Abusing your child is something you can get a minimum sentence of five years in prison and it only goes up from there. You're so smart though... You're probably wondering why I would think your mother is a bad person, but your brother isn't. The difference is, she's an adult that should know better and has always been the way she is. She doesn't think she's doing anything wrong. Ka-chan did it as a child and realized what he was doing was wrong and worked incredibly hard to get better. I'm deeply proud of him for that and am happy that he's grown into such a good person." He took a deep breath, running his fingers through his tangle of curls. This was not a conversation he wanted to have... Ka-chan might come down on him for it too. He'd deal with that when it happened.

"Aka-chan... I know this isn't something you want to hear me say and I'm honestly sorry for that. I can't forgive her for hurting Ka-chan all his life, for making him feel afraid. I can't... I can't forgive her knowing that the only reason she isn't hurting you the same way is that he's standing, unmoving, between you two. I love him very much and I love you too... I can't just sit by and watch the people get hurt, much less the people I care about. You can hate me for protecting you if you want... Ka-chan does. I hope you won't, but it's a price I'm willing to pay to make sure you're safe. Heh... You can ask Ka-chan about my habit of saving him when he doesn't want me to."

He frowned a little, trying to think about where the line that she was looking for lay. When was it okay to hurt another person? He wasn't going to say 'never' that's too idealistic of an answer and hypocritical when his entire job revolves around hurting people. Sure you hurt them as little as possible and if 'not at all' is an option then that's great, but if a hero is involved, that generally means that police couldn't peacefully de-escalate the situation. "That's a hard question to answer, but I'll do my best. I don't know if comparing it to a line is a good way of putting it, but generally, you shouldn't hurt anyone unless you absolutely have to. If you're mad at someone, you shouldn't attack them. If someone is attacking you, you should try to get away from them first and try to convince them to stop with words. If that doesn't work and you really can't get away from them, then you need to use as little violence as you can, only enough to get away, then you stop." He hoped that was at least relatively clear... They really needed to stop talking about so many heavy subjects.

Migrating to his room and looking through his notebooks didn't exactly lighten the subjects they were talking about, but it set them on the right path for that, at least. "Mm. It is kinda both, isn't it? I think I'm okay with that though." He never seemed to fail to jump at the opportunity to gush at how amazing he thought Katsuki was. It would be sweet if the feelings between them weren't so terribly lop-sided.

He smiled to her softly, reaching out to gently lift her chin and meet her gaze. "Aka-chan... Ka-chan has never in his life willingly done something out of obligation. He does what he does because he wants to do it. It takes quite a lot to force him into a situation he doesn't want to be in. Besides, I've seen the way he looks at you. He loves you with all of his heart, I'm sure of it. You're more talented than you give yourself credit for too. All I was every good at was hero theory. I wasn't strong or coordinated or particularly smart. You're all those things and you're already working to do something with all that stuff. All I did till nearly the end of middle school was daydream."

"The fact that he was willing to put his own life on hold just to take care of you shows just how much he loves you. All our lives, nothing was more important to him than becoming the greatest hero ever. Nothing. You became the one thing that was more important than even that. Ka-chan is a bit of an overachiever though, so as soon as he could, he unpaused things and did both. Still, even though he's working hard to be the best hero again, I'm sure that you're still more important to him than that." His smile grew a little sad then, his scarred hand retreating once again. "The things that are truly precious to us are worth pouring our love and dedication into, even if there won't be any reward for you in the end other than the pleasure and pride you feel for doing it in the first place."

"I did and I was. He was literally drowning and he looked so afraid... He knew he was going to die, the villain told him he would. I know exactly how he felt, that villain had gotten me earlier and almost killed me too. All Might saved me. I knew what it felt like to be drowning and helpless... His explosions couldn't hurt the villain so he couldn't save himself. I couldn't just let him die, I could see he was about to lose consciousness. I ran and did everything I could think of to save him, quirkless as I was. I knew I wouldn't be able to live with himself if I just watched him die... I had to do something, anything! I bought him some time... The villain released his hold long enough for Ka-chan to gasp in some air. If he hadn't, I'm pretty sure he would have died right there. All Might reached us after that."

At least she'd cornered him into embarrassment and lightened the mood... It was amazing how red someone's face could get... His arms flailed before he did a poor job of covering his face with them. "N-no, I...! I-I well...!! Aka-chan you shouldn't try to do stuff to someone if they don't want you to do it to them and he definitely wouldn't be okay with me kissing him! What I want doesn't matter if he doesn't want it too! If he f-felt the same then it would be a different story, b-but he doesn't! He doesn't even want me in his life, he definitely doesn't want to be friends, let alone do anything romantic like th-that!" He managed to escape the conversation for now, dreading when it would inevitably come back up, but for now he just needed to calm down. Once he got there, it was time for gifts!

"You don't have to get me anything. I figured you would have thought it was too sentimental so I just got a couple of gifts on my own, it's not a big deal." He tried to assure, seriously hoping that Bakugou didn't take the gesture as something to compete with him over. Those contests could escalate terrifyingly fast. And so the envelope was opened in the most aggressive way it probably could have been without making a bigger mess and his gift slipped out of it. For a moment, the blond looked over the bit of metal with its false rusted edges and then he saw it. The slightest, barely-there hint of a suppressed smile. He hadn't noticed he'd stopped breathing till he started again and he couldn't be happier. No thanks came, not even a comment, but that hidden almost-smile was all he needed. Katsuki may not be admitting it, but he'd liked the gift.

When Akashi reached inside the bag, sure enough, her little fingers met with cool glass rather than something warm, furry, and wriggling. Midoriya smiled at her excitement, knowing he'd made the right choice as soon as she'd gotten a look at her new pet. Though he'd found several preserved kittens for sale, this one was by far the cutest and he was more than pleased with himself that she liked him. "I'm told the litter was stillborn even though they were fully developed in the womb. Rather than throw them away, the owner preserved the litter like this so the kittens could still find homes to love them. I'm so glad you like him!"

He chuckled softly with a light shrug. "You may have to open him eventually. He's preserved in alcohol. The seller told me that over time the alcohol may grow clouded then you have to open it up, pour it out and refill it. It only happens a few times early on so eventually, it will remain clear." When the jar was given a little shake, the kitten inside shifted a bit, but despite his soft and natural-looking appearance, he appeared fairly stiff in there. "You're very welcome. I'm sure Neru-kun will be very happy with you taking care of him."

He was promptly distracted when Katsuki spoke, eyes widening and all but literally sparkling at the praise. "You really think so?! I just remembered the story of how she really wanted to find a cat in the dumpster to take home and I figured that she would enjoy one that was already preserved! I looked for the cutest one I could find... I considered getting an adult cat, but I thought she might like a kitten bett---e-eh?" His excited ramble came to a screeching halt as the praise extended not only to the kitten, but the silly little sign he'd gotten for the older blond. He knew he'd liked it, but the fact he was admitting it in any capacity was so much. He found himself blinking as tears welled up in his eyes, bringing his hands up to rub at them in a very weak attempt to hide them.

"Y-you guys don't have to get me anything at all! Really! I didn't do it so I'd get something back, I just... I wanted this to feel like home and... I-I'm just really glad you like them..." So sensitive... Then again, Akashi had just gotten an ear full a bit ago about how happy he was just making other people happy with nothing offered in return. Praise from someone he was so dead sure hated him and that he was in love with no less was probably very overwhelming.

He snapped out of it and came out of hiding when the little girl scampered off and returned with a box of things in offering. "Oh! Aka-chan, I can't take any of your treasures! Really it's okay, you don't have to give me anything, I don't mind!" Goodness, he hadn't meant to make her feel guilty about not getting him something, he'd honestly just wanted her to be happy. Oop and there she went again. What was she scampering off to fetch this time. Not long later, she was back and this time with drawing utencils. "A sign for my door? Y-yeah! That would be fine, I'll be happy to let you make a sign for me. I'm sure we have tape somewhere... Hm... Oh! I almost forgot! There's a couple more things for your gifts!"

He reached into the bag and first pulled out a fairly flat package and handed it to Bakugou before reaching back in and pulling out a box, opening it and pulling one of objects inside out of it. He plugged it in and gently picked up Neru's jar and place it atop the squat cylinder. A little click and the jar lit up and started to slowly change colors. "There's a remote so you can pick one color or let it change like this. Well, there's six USB rechargable lights and two remotes. I figured you could keep one remote in your room and we could keep the other in the hall. This way we can pick up the remote and turn on a dim light in the bathroom or kitchen if we need to go to those places at night. U-uh assuming Ka-chan is okay with putting the lights around the apartment!" He backpedaled quickly, realizing then that he probably shouldn't assume the other male would be alright with him adding something to the apartment. By the rules they'd put into place, the only space that was his was his room so he really didn't have the right to put anything in the communal space without permission.