章 2072: 2
Chapter 2: Changes in Motion
Chapter Text
Katsuki woke up slowly. The first thing he noticed was a lack of Deku cowering below him. The next thing he realized was that he was staring at a steel table, and he had quirk suppressant cuffs on. "What the hell?! Where am I? And where the fuck is the useless Deku?!"
A man in a beige trenchcoat and hat stepped in "ah, you're awake. That's good to see. I'm Detective Tsukauchi. Your name is Katsuki Bakugo, correct?"
Katsuki strained against his cuffs "fucking, obviously. Why the hell am I cuffed? Where the fuck is that liar Deku?!"
Tsukauchi sat across from him. "Deku? Oh, do you mean Izuku Midoriya? He's given his statement on the event. We're just awaiting your parents then-"
The door opened, and Masaru and Mitsuki walked in. Mitsuki bristled, "why is my son cuffed?"
Tsukauchi stood and motioned to the seats on either side of Katsuki "please have a seat, and we can discuss what happened."
Katsuki's parents sat down, and Mitsuki glared at Katsuki "what the hell did you do? I saw Izuku as we came in with a pro."
Tsukauchi cleared his throat "yes, about that. The pro outside is Midnight. She found both your son and Midoriya. It appears your son was assaulting Midoriya. With his quirk."
Katsuki's parents tensed as a string of curses and rants were forcing their way to his mouth. They died at the sight of his mother's expression. Most people would say she was neutral, but Katsuki could see the fury behind her mask. He had seen it only a few times, but it always made him stop. Tsukauchi continued, "Katsuki Bakugo is being charged with assault, public use of a quirk without a license, and using a quirk to cause unnecessary harm or injury."
Katsuki turned back towards the detective. "That's bullsh-"
Mitsuki smacked him upside the head so quickly he nearly hit the table. "Shut your mouth, brat. You don't talk unless we need you to. Do you not understand the severity of this? They can try you as a villain even if you're a minor. You can say goodbye to your dream of being a hero; if this happens, you'd be lucky to get a job at a fast-food restaurant."
Tsukauchi spoke, "that brings me to a point I wanted to mention. Katsuki Bakugo, you're in luck. Since this is the first recorded incident, and Izuku Midoriya wasn't hurt too badly. We can offer you an alternative."
He looked to both Katsuki's parents as he continued, "These crimes won't go on his record, but he will have to attend therapy twice a week for six months, and if the therapist is satisfied with his progress, then that will be it."
The Bakugo parents started to relax until Tsukauchi continued, "but if he doesn't show improvement that satisfies her, he will be punished, and if he has any other incidents, he will not get another chance. You're his parents, so you need to make sure he takes this seriously."
Mitsuki sighed a tired and defeated sigh. All her fury had run cold, and now there was just regret. "Masaru and I had strict childhoods. Masaru's was worse than mine, so when we had Katsuki, we thought... we hoped giving him more freedom would keep him from the issues we both had. It looks like we went too far in the other direction. We weren't attentive enough in raising him, and now he's done something like this."
Mitsuki forced Katsuki, who was still reeling from the whole situation, to bow his head as his parents did the same. His mother spoke with none of her usual sass or fire "thank you, sir, for allowing us this chance to correct his mistakes. We promise to keep him in line and will endeavor to make sure this never happens again. I promise."
Tsukauchi nodded and slid a packet of papers over "this has everything you'll need. The officer outside will take you to the paperwork you need to sign. Once you're home, I suggest looking over all the info as a family and setting up his first appointment."
The Bakugos bowed again as they stood and left with the officer waiting for them. As they walked, Katsuki was still trying to rationalize how Deku had done this to him. He saw the green nerd sitting with that slut hero the nerd always admired. Katsuki's palms itched. He wanted nothing more than to charge after that useless nerd and show him why it was a mistake to do this to him, but he couldn't... not here anyway.
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Midnight watched as Izuku tensed his eyes full of fear as Katsuki walked by with his parents. She didn't like the look in the blonde boy's eyes, but staring wasn't an actionable offense, so she simply laid her hand on Izuku's back and felt him relax slightly before all the tension left him when the Bakugos rounded the corner.
Yasuda rushed in a few minutes later with murder in her eyes until she saw Izuku was ok. Her features softened, and she ran over to him, kneeling as she took his hands. "Izuku, are you ok?"
Izuku sniffed and nodded "y-yeah, I'm fine. My uniform needs to get a thorough cleaning, but it'll be ok."
"Dummy, I don't care about your clothes. I need to know your scrawny butt is ok." Yasuda said as she let out a breathy laugh.
Midnight smiled. "Midoriya is ok, Azuki. I got to him before anything bad could happen."
Yasuda looked like she was going to cry as she looked at Midnight. "Thank you, ma'am, for helping him. I don't know what I can do to make it up to you."
Midnight waved her concern away. "It's nothing, Azuki. It's my job as a hero to help people in need, and Midoriya was in need, so I did my job and helped him."
Tsukauchi came over "are you Izuku Midoriya's guardian?"
Yasuda stood up and bowed, "yes, I work for the orphanage and care for Izuku. My name is Yasuda Azuki."
Tsukauchi looked over a paper in his hand and nodded, "all right, then we can release him back to you."
As Izuku and Midnight stood, Tsukauchi said, "keep safe, kid. I hope we don't have to see you in here until you're working as a pro."
Izuku laughed weakly and smiled "I hope so too."
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Izuku felt awkward walking with Yasuda on his left and Midnight on his right. Both women were talking about Izuku being bullied with barely contained fury. Yasuda was recounting the times Izuku had come home hurt, and Midnight was telling her about the times she would watch Izuku and step in if he got caught. At first, Yasuda wanted to be upset that Midnight didn't always step in, but after the pro explained her reasoning, the green-haired woman calmed down. Through their conversation, both learned that Izuku hadn't revealed how much bullying happened and often hid his injuries, which luckily were limited to bruises and scrapes with the occasional burn.
Izuku felt incredibly small under their combined gaze, but it softened almost immediately, and Yasuda spoke, "we worry about you is all ya big nerd. I told you a million times you don't need to hide things from me."
Midnight nodded "we may not know each other very well, Midoriya, but I understand what you're going through, so please don't be afraid to talk with me when we run into each other."
Izuku blushed hard as the two rubbed his head. "I-I'll be more upfront about what goes on."
The two women smiled, satisfied with his answer. The rest of the walk was peaceful and less awkward for Izuku. Once they were back at the orphanage, Midnight stopped before she left. "Midoriya... if you want, I can train you in self-defense. Nothing fancy, but if you get caught, it'll keep you from getting beat up until help can come."
Izuku looked at Yasuda, who smiled. "I told you I would teach you if you wanted, and now you've got a hero offering to teach you. I promise to not be too offended if you choose her over me."
Izuku blushed and stared at the sidewalk before saying, "c-can both of you teach me? I get the feeling you two have different ways of going about self-defense. I should p-probably learn both."
Midnight smiled "are you good with sharing, Azuki?"
Yasuda laughed. "I suppose I can let him out of my sight for a bit if he's with you. Come by some time, and we can work out a schedule for him."
Midnight nodded. "I'll be sure to stop by when I can."
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It was nearly two weeks after that day before Izuku saw Katsuki again. In that time, Midnight and Yasuda started teaching him self defense. Izuku was right; they were different but also surprisingly similar in how they taught him. Midnight being a pro, had mixed and adjusted several fighting styles to best suit her quirk. Her style included lots of flowing movements and precise strikes.
Meanwhile, Yasuda, who definitely didn't brag about all the fights she had gotten into when she was in school, fought like a boxer and preferred to be on the defensive. Both were taskmasters, and they gave him little rest and expected much from him. He enjoyed learning from them.
Izuku was feeling more confident in himself after the first few lessons. His workouts adjusted to fit his new focus, and for a time, even the bullies at school backed off. Until Katsuki came back and Izuku could feel the tension in the air. The blonde didn't even look at him or register his existence. Instead of making him feel safer, Izuku just felt dread building up. The day was spent worrying about when and where Katsuki would strike from, but it didn't happen.
For three days, Katsuki Bakugo ignored the existence of Izuku Midoriya. The other bullies felt emboldened by Katsuki being back at school, but he never joined in for those three days. It was the fourth day when Izuku started to think he may be able to relax that Katsuki struck.
Izuku was shoved against the wall hard. Katsuki had dragged him out behind the school during lunch. He knew no one would be back here, and the back of the school had a small forest of trees behind it, so there was no chance of a random passerby seeing them either.
Katsuki didn't look angry, which scared Izuku more than normal. Izuku had seen this look on Katsuki's mother's face once back when they were still 'friends,' and it terrified him. Izuku flinched as Katsuki spoke in a dull tone, "you think you're hot shit, don't you, Deku? You tick me off, so I chase you down, then you get that slut hero you're always going on about to swoop in and start making claims. Now I have to go fucking therapy like some kinda weakling. It's all your fault. You put my dreams at risk, so I'm gonna beat the shit out of you until you understand where you belong in this world."
Izuku tried to press himself against the wall and think of a way out of this, but it was hopeless. Katsuki was blocking his only way to escape, and he knew even with his lessons, Izuku didn't stand a chance. Katsuki seemed to have a sixth sense for fighting and wasn't afraid to act on it. Izuku opened his mouth to speak, but Katsuki descended on him quickly and punched Izuku to the ground.
Izuku tried to get up and defend himself, but Katsuki broke any resistance he put up and forced Izuku back into the ground. Eventually, Izuku simply curled in on himself, trying to minimize the damage to anything important. Katsuki noticed this and seemed to start hitting harder and aimed several kicks at Izuku's head. With each hit, it felt like all the progress Izuku was making in his goal was stripped away until it was just little Deku sitting on the ground. Izuku felt something break inside him. He wasn't sure if it was mental or physical; it all just hurt. The blood that leaked out of his mouth showed him it was physical.
Katsuki knelt by his head and spoke quietly as Izuku tried to breathe properly "remember, you're just a Deku. You'll never be anything more. Now fuck off and never bother me again."
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Midnight sighed as she walked the streets. Usually, she stuck to the roofs so she could avoid any weirdos or the press. Both were always looking for any and every shot they could get for various reasons.
The pro stopped in her tracks and blinked several times because what she saw in front of her just didn't compute. It made her brain freeze and skip. The sight was just... wrong. Izuku was limping down the barren sidewalk, his backpack clutched to his chest with one arm while the other hung by his side. There was blood leaking from his mouth, and his eyes were half-lidded and unfocused. His uniform was tattered, and she could see bruises forming all over his neck and face. From how his body flinched with each step, she knew there were even more.
Izuku started to fall forward, and Midnight rushed over and caught him. "Midoriya! What the hell happened?"
Midnight kept her panic in check as he seemed to go limp in her arms. She checked his breathing and pulse, making sure he still had both. His breaths were shallow and ragged, but they were there. As gently as she could, she picked him up and pulled her phone out as she rushed down the sidewalk. They weren't far from where she parked her car. As she ran, the phone rang twice before an elderly woman answered, "Kayama, why are you calling me? You're not in tody-"
"Chiyo, I need you in the nurse's office now! Send medical bots and a stretcher to the teacher's parking lot. I'll be there soon. I've got an urgent case!"
"Alright, it's done. What happened?"
Midnight laid Izuku in the back of the black sedan UA provided so their teachers could get to patrol grounds easier. "The boy I told you and the others about, Midoriya. He's been seriously injured."
She heard the woman grumbling as Midnight hopped into the driver seat and started the car. "Was this because of your training him?"
"No!" Midnight took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "I have no idea what happened. I was on patrol and stumbled across him."
"Alright, the bots are at the parking lot. How long till you're here?"
Midnight tore out of the parking space and down the road. "Five minutes. I'll have to apologize to the police later for the reckless driving."
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The car screeched as Midnight came to a stop and helped the robots get Izuku onto the stretcher. As they moved through the halls, the students of UA quickly jumped out of her way. The usually flirty and happy go lucky art teacher looked to be on the warpath, and no one wanted to be the one to stall her progress. Even if the barely conscious kid next to her on a stretcher raised a lot of questions.
Recovery Girl opened the door before Midnight could even get close enough to open it. "Lay him on bed three."
As Recovery Girl got to work, Midnight pulled her phone out and took a deep breath. This was going to hurt. Midnight hit the call button, and the phone rang three times before Yasuda answered, "Hey Kayama. What's with the call? You miss hearing my voice that much?"
"Azuki... I'm at UA. I've got Midoriya here."
"Wow, he must be stoked, but uh, why'd you take him out of school? Also, the school should probably only let me do that."
Midnight clenched her teeth. "I don't know how or why, but I found him outside school. He was... beaten. Just walking aimlessly. Recovery Girl is looking him over and will heal him."
The line was quiet for thirty seconds before Yasuda spoke, "I'm on my way."
Midnight let out a breath. "I'll make sure you have a guest pass waiting."
"Thank you, Kayama."
The line went dead, and Midnight turned as the door opened and Nezu walked in. "Sir-"
He held a paw up. "Power Loader is heading to the gate. He'll escort this young boy's guardian to the nurse's office."
The president stopped by her, "so this is young Midoriya. The boy you're training? He has a quirk like yours."
"Yes, sir."
The president sipped a cup of tea he seemed to always have on him "what school does he go to?"
"Aldera middle school." Midnight said as she watched Recovery Girl do her thing.
"Hm, I'll look into them."
Midnight nodded "thank you, sir."
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Yasuda ran up to the front gate of UA, where she saw a hero waiting for her. Power Loader waved, "Izuku Midoriya's guardian Yasuda Azuki right?"
Yasuda nodded "yes, sir, and you're Power Loader, aren't you?"
"That's me. Here this is your guest pass."
Yasuda slipped the pass on and followed Power Loader to the Nurse's Office. Her stomach was in knots as they approached. She entered, and dread filled her as she saw Izuku lying too still on the bed. He was wrapped in bandages, and she could see his school uniform with blood on it. She turned to see Midnight sitting with a small rodent Yasuda recognized as the president Nezu. "Kayama, what happened to Izu?"
Nemuri sighed as she took her mask off. "I don't know. I got lucky, and we ran into each other. It had to have happened at his school that much I'm sure of. I asked Nezu to look into the school."
Yasuda was familiar with the president's exploits. He took down many groups and individuals who tried to hide their discrimination from society. She knew what he was going to do to Aldera, but it didn't matter. "It won't make a difference. If that school goes away, they'll just all get shoved into another one together. Even if they're not all together, the ones with Izu will spread their hate of him. He needs to get away from this area of Tokyo."
Nemuri agreed. She knew that when Aldera went down, Izuku would just get put somewhere else, and his bullies would be right behind him. Part of her brain had an answer already. It had been there since she learned about Shota and his kid, but could she do that? Did she want the responsibility of raising a kid? It was one thing to train him and make sure he had confidence. It was another thing to become his guardian. She had an image she curated for hero work, the R-rated hero Midnight, a dominating personality in a dominatrix outfit with a sadistic side. She flirted with reporters, took a sexy pose for the cameras after a fight, and made crude, perverted comments. Not that she cared. Midnight was just a means to manage the stress and make her feel powerful. No, her concern is how Izuku would handle the media being all over him because of her. She didn't have a right to put a scared kid through what those vultures could do to a person.
Yasuda had a pleading look in her eyes. In the short time, they've known each other, the orphanage worker had subtly and not so subtly made it known that she felt Nemuri would make a great mom. Midnight not so much, but Nemuri would be perfect for Izuku.
Nemuri looked at Izuku again. Something had been stirring in her since seeing him beaten and hobbling down the street. Sure she was concerned for him, but it felt more than the concern she felt for an injured civilian. It felt so much worse than anything she had felt on the job.
The pro was pulled from her thoughts as Izuku stirred and groaned. Recovery Girl kept the boy from sitting up as everyone stood nearby. "Izu, you awake, buddy? How are you doing?" Yasuda asked as she moved to his side.
Izuku groaned. "My... everything kinda hurts."
Recovery Girl spoke up, "I healed your most serious injuries and bandaged up what was left. You're gonna have soreness and bruises for a while."
Izuku blinked slowly "w-wow, Recovery Girl." he looked around and said, "I have a notebook somewhere. Can you sign it?"
The nurse shook her head as Yasuda smiled and sat near the head of the bed, getting Izuku's attention. "You rest up, ya little nerd. I'll get her and Nezu to sign your book, ok? Before I do that, though, I need you to tell me who did this?"
Izuku blinked and stared at the ceiling. "I... don't know. I can't remember."
Yasuda looked at the assembled pros, and Recovery Girl spoke, "it's ok, dear. You took a few hits to the head, so you may not remember right away. If you do, make sure to tell us."
Izuku nodded silently. Nezu climbed up onto the bed "hello, young Midoriya, it's nice to meet you."
"U-um, it's nice to meet you too, sir."
Nezu smiled. "I just wanted to inform you that I will be personally looking into your school, and should I find anything, I will not hesitate to bring it to light."
"W-wow, um, you don't need to go through all that trouble just for me." Izuku stammered out.
Nezu just smiled his usual smile. "Oh, trust me, young man, it's not just for your sake that I do this but for everyone's sake. Now you rest up and head home once you're feeling up to it."
Izuku nodded again and watched the mouse-like creature leave. Once he was gone, and Recovery Girl had gone to her desk Yasuda stood. "Izuku, rest up. Kayama and I are gonna talk for a minute. We'll be back soon."
"Yeah... sure. I-I'll be here."
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Nemuri led Yasuda to a meeting room so the two could talk privately. Once they were sitting, Yasuda looked at her with pleading eyes. "Kayama, I know I've joked about it, but I'm serious. I think you should adopt him. You can help him so much more than letting him live in the orphanage. He needs to get away from this area of Tokyo. He needs a fresh start. You can give him that."
Nemuri sighed and looked at her mask. "Can I really, though? I'm a fairly controversial hero. I knew that from the start, and it's part of why I made Midnight the way she is. I wanted the controversy. I wanted people to talk about me and what I stood for. The media had a field day when I joined the UA staff. They harassed students for months trying to see if there was a story of me coming onto one of my students."
Nemuri looked at Yasuda "how can I willingly bring Izuku into a life where he will be barraged by people wondering what I'm like or what I've done to him. They'll make accusations, and his face will be plastered all over the place, and I'm not even sure if I would be a good guardian. I've never even considered having kids before."
Yasuda smiled sadly and leaned back in her chair as she twiddled her thumbs "you know. I've worked in an orphanage for a while. Even before then... I lived in one."
Nemuri's eyes widened. Yasuda hadn't really shared anything beyond being a bit of a punk and a fighter back in highschool. The woman laughed at her expression "yeah, I never got adopted either. My attitude as much as my quirk made sure of that."
"What is your quirk? I don't think I've ever seen you use it." Nemuri knew they should stay on track, but honestly, she wanted to delay whatever point Yasuda was going to make even just a little.
Yasuda smiled. "It's called Shock Wave. I can absorb impact and send it out in all directions as a shock wave. The backlash is kinda harsh, so I never could be a hero; also, it can be pretty destructive, but enough about that back to my tale."
She gave an over the top flourish as she started again. "I aged out and had to live on my own starting at eighteen... it was rough. I got into some bad things and ended up making a lot of mistakes, but I turned it around when I realized I didn't want other kids like me to end up where I did. I got certified and started working; that's when I met Izuku. He's bright, full of life, and surprisingly a decent artist. Though his fashion sense drives me up a wall sometimes."
Yasuda sighed. "I don't know where I'm going with this. Maybe I just want you to know that I've seen parents pass up kids they'd be perfect for because they have so much self-doubt about whether or not they'll make good parents. I don't want Izuku to make the mistakes I made, and I don't want you to make the mistakes others have made. Take some time, Kayama, but please just bring it up with Izuku. He may surprise you with how he feels on the matter."
Nemuri nodded after a moment "ok, but not today. I'll let him rest up, and next time we train. I'll bring it up."
Yasuda smiled "good. Now I'm gonna go see if he's ok to leave."
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