Technical Support

Chapter 11

The two older women were sat on the sofa, catching up without the men around while Ayano was on the ground busying herself with programming another one of her inventions with her projection wristband.

"You know, I really am glad that you and Katsuki are going to the same school, Aya-chan." Mitsuki finally addressed the young girl, but that didn't stop her from tapping away at the keyboard projected on her arm.

"I know that kid is a brat and I worry about him because that attitude he developed really needs to be worked on..." The woman gripped at her cup of tea. "But if you're there, I can rest easy knowing that you'll be there to set him straight." She gently smiled at the girl.

Ayano finally paused, turning off her wristband. She slowly set her hands down onto the table. "...I'm concerned." The two mothers widened their eyes and looked at each other, surprised that Ayano stopped working to express concern of all things.

Not having expected this behavior, Mitsuki chuckled awkwardly. "If he gets too out of control, don't be afraid to knock some sense in him. He can take it! In fact, he probably deserves the beating coming to him!!" She swung her fist back and forth to emphasize her desire to hit him.

Ayano just shook her head. "You misunderstand. I am not concerned about his attitude right now. What I am concerned about, is his attitude when he gets there..." She wasn't looking at Mitsuki but at her hands on the table in front of her, as if she were in deep thought.

The women opted to stay silent, letting her go at her own pace. "As you know, U.A. produces some of the world's best heroes. Nowadays, graduating from U.A. is basically an unspoken requirement to become a great hero. People with that sort of potential will definitely be in the school – in the same class as him."

Ayano now furrowed her brows, getting into the troubling part of her worries. "I fear that at that point, he may not know how to take that. He'll realize that he isn't some big fish in a small pond. The pond is much bigger than he thinks and there is much bigger prey than him. I have no idea how he'll react, but I doubt that this will bode well."

Katsuki was out on the back porch with the two older men. It was safe to say that the tension and silence surrounding them was palpable. With Kaito's stoic nature and Masaru's rather demure one, the two normally did not engage in too much conversation. They seemed to become friends only through their wives, although neither protested to that.

Katsuki had nothing to say to the two. In fact, he grew rather annoyed at being kicked out of the house by his mother. Growing more and more irritated at the silence, he finally got up. "This is dumb, I'm going back inside!" His father tried to stop him, but the blond was already on his way.

He was about to go upstairs to his room when he heard his mother's voice from the living room.

Mitsuki stared at the brown-haired girl for a few moments. Her eyes softened and she gently smiled. She reached over the table to place her hand on top of Ayano's, causing the girl to look up at her.

"You know, those words are really reassuring. Katsuki's always been surrounded by people praising him for the shallowest and dumbest stuff. Eventually he started taking it the wrong way, as if their praise would be a given..." She squeezed Ayano's hand.

"...but that never happened with you. I think your comments were the only ones he actually took to heart. If you praised him, he acted like he was invincible. If you didn't, he would try his damn best to meet your expectations. So, it's honestly a relief that you'll be going to the same school as him. If there really are 'bigger fish' than him like you think, I know that it'll be okay if you're there with him."

Ayano tore her eyes away from Mitsuki's to look at their conjoined hands. "I really don't think that I can do much for him like you believe. If I could, I wouldn't be worrying about this. The only thing I can do for him is support him as I have in the past..." She looked at her invention sitting on the table. "...and even then, it really isn't much."

The blonde woman chuckled. "Aya-chan, you do more than you think and that's all that I could ask for. Katsuki will never admit it, but he appreciates your support – probably much more than I do." She took back her hand to place in her lap and then bowed her head. "Please continue to take care of my son."

Ayano was about to ask her to raise her head when Katsuki burst into the room. "Shut up! I never said any of that, you cow!" "And that's why I said you would never admit it, you dumbass brat!!"

They continued to yell at each other as Ayano returned to working on her little gadget, projecting a keyboard from her wristband once more.

At the tapping and beeping, Katsuki looked at the brown-haired girl with a strange look on his face. His scowl was still present as always, but there was something stirring in his eyes – something like conflict – and it didn't go unnoticed by the two older women.

Asuka shared a look with Mitsuki. "Ah! Mitsuki, didn't you say there was dessert?" "Oh yeah! There's this new pudding I got at the market." The two left, leaving their children alone in the living room.

As always, Ayano paid no mind to the things around her, continuing to work. Becoming fed up with her antics, Katsuki slammed his palm onto the table, leaving a prominent scorch mark on the wood.

The girl looked at the charred surface and then eyed him reproachfully. "Your mother isn't going to like that." "What the hell is your problem?" He immediately asked, much calmer than she expected.

She returned her attention to the holographic screens. "My problem is that I'm having trouble calibrating the system." "You know that's not what I fucking meant!" He yelled, his calmness receding.

She sighed and turned off her wristband again. "Then, what did you mean?" Ayano genuinely asked.

"What the fuck do you mean by 'supporting' me when you're always taking the side of that quirkless, good-for-nothing, Deku?!" Katsuki stared down at her, almost breathing heavily.

"If by 'taking sides' you mean 'being his friend', then yes, I do take his side. I fail to see how that is your concern though when it comes to me supporting you. In fact, my support for you has nothing to do with my friendship with him."

She was wrong. It had everything to do with it.

But she wouldn't let him explain that, nor would he do so at this point in time.

"If anything, I should be asking you what your problem is. We haven't spoken to each other in years, and now you're demanding answers to questions that can't be answered. I don't know how much you heard, but I mean what I said. I'll support you, but if you don't want it, then that's fine." She grabbed her machine from the table and stood up, preparing to leave.

Katsuki dug his nails into his palms and gnashed his teeth together. Not having anything to say in retort, he just marched upstairs to his room, slamming his door in frustration.