𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐄 | 𝙗.𝙠𝙖𝙩𝙨𝙪𝙠𝙞

𝙈𝙊𝙑𝙀 𝙄𝙉

WARNING: violence

________________________

Yamaguchi Katsuro was a piece of shit, but he did teach Kou a few things.

Firstly, you could get almost anything you wanted in life through the use of brute force and intimidation. That seemed to be his preferred method of persuasion; Katsuro wasn't exactly the most eloquent person- not that he needed to be with a quirk like his.

Which brings Kou to her second lesson: any pain you've felt before meeting Katsuro was nothing in comparison to what he could do to you. She didn't know the science or logistics behind his quirk, but ' pain ' was an understatement.

Katsuro was a cruel, sadistic man. Seeing people crumple to their knees before him gave him a feeling of absolute power that Kou honestly thought he was addicted to. He didn't even need much to trigger him: just slamming the door a bit too loud or looking at him the wrong way was enough to make him use his quirk on you.

This is the third lesson Kou learned from him: how to make yourself small. How to make yourself invisible. That's the only way you'd survive life in a house where he was boss. Do what he wants, stay quiet, and stay out of his way.

Kou found herself relearning all these lessons when she tried bringing up the fact her school had opened in-dorm living during a 'family dinner' one night.

Katsuro and Rei were home on a Friday, a rare occasion that left Kou suspicious of their intentions. Whatever. She needed to talk to them anyways.

Hiro and her were in the kitchen, Kou cooking a simple meal of fried rice and fried fish. Hiro was tending to Machi, who had gotten hungry halfway through preparing the meal and needed a snack and some attention.

"You're telling them tonight?" Hiro asked, picking Machi up in his arms and ignoring her squeals of delight.

"Yup," she's mixing the fried rice in the pan, adding more soy sauce to taste. "It shouldn't be too bad. I'm just saying that I'll be there for 4 nights a week."

Kou couldn't move out of their apartment permanently; not even for a full week. She'd still have to spend weekends there and probably come visit after school to help around the house. She couldn't leave her siblings alone with their parents.

"Dinner's ready!" She yells across the kitchen, not surprised when there was no response. She plates the food, sending Machi and Hiro to sit on the couch and eat their meals away from the adults. She takes her usual seat on the wobbly chair at their rickety dinner table.

The two eventually come out of their room, Katsuro going straight to the fridge to get his beers. Rei sits across from Kou, nose twitching at the scent of their dinner.

"Is this all we have?" She asks, and Kou's eyebrow twitched. This was probably the first time they'd ever eaten a meal together, and suddenly Kou remembered exactly why she avoided situations like this. "It's a bit unhealthy..."

She wants to lash out at her mom, telling her that smoking, drinking, and doing drugs for years probably wasn't healthy either- but she bites her tongue.

Katsuro pulls out a chair and sits at the head of the table, ordering his son to turn on the TV so he could watch whatever sports game was on.

The family eat quietly, the only sound coming from the sports announcer on the TV and the sound of Rei's wine bottle popping open. Kou knows she shouldn't be scared, but she can never be too careful when it comes to Katsuro.