Aizawa was beaming at Katsumi. She hadn't seen him look this happy in a long time.
"And? What type of hero do you want to be?"
"A kind, compassionate hero who can be depended on. A hero who helps those who are like me and show them that there is still kindness and love in this world. I'm not sure what avenue this will take me down, but I want to be a hero who loves those around me and protect them with everything I am."
The proud look on Aizawa's face made Katsumi perk up. He pulled Katsumi forward into a hug, and she smiled warmly as she wrapped her arms around him.
"I'm so proud of you, kid. More than you know."
When they pulled away, Katsumi wiped her eyes so she wouldn't start crying. Seeing the man she called her father be so genuinely proud of her filled her with so much joy she could hardly take it.
"We'll look into some options for a potential work study. I'll get back to you when I can. There's a meeting I'm going to be part of soon, so it'll probably be after that."
Katsumi nodded. She understood he was still a busy man.
She said her goodbyes to Aizawa before heading off towards the dorm, her heart feeling a lot lighter. Aizawa was always so supportive of her. She hoped to become a wonderful hero one day to make him proud.
When Katsumi got to the dorm, she saw Mina walking across the room, and as soon as the pink-haired girl saw Katsumi, she bounded over to her.
"There you are! I was looking for you!"
"Sorry, I had to talk with Aizawa," Katsumi smiled. "Did you want to talk?"
Mina nodded her head. Katsumi took in a deep breath, looking around. She only saw a few other students meandering around the common area, but she still aired on the side of caution.
"Can we go back to my room?"
"Of course," Mina smiled. "Wherever you're most comfortable."
The two walked to Katsumi's room, and right as they were entering, Katsumi caught movement from her peripheral. She looked over to see Bakugo, who was walking toward the couches with his hands in his pocket. He looked back at her, seeing Mina go into her room, and he gave her a small nod.
Taking that as encouragement, Katsumi smiled back at him before she walked in her room, closing the door behind her.
With a sigh, Katsumi sat on her bed. Mina sat beside her, a small smile on her face as she patiently waited for her friend to start.
"At this point, I honestly don't even know where to begin," Katsumi shook her head. "I can't seem to keep up with everything anymore."
"I get that," Mina let out a small chuckle. "Just take your time! Start wherever you feel like you need to."
Katsumi sat for a moment, debating on what to tell Mina and what not to tell her. She didn't think she wanted to rehash everything so soon, even though she felt Mina could be trusted with the whole truth. But for her emotional well-being, Katsumi didn't think it was a good thing to just spill everything out again.
"I don't really have parents," Katsumi decided to start. "Aizawa is pretty much my dad. Unofficially, of course, but he's technically my legal guardian. My real parents abandoned me when I was young because of my quirk."
Katsumi anxiously looked over to Mina. Her eyes were sad, but she was quiet and listening intently.
"My quirk isn't just darkness. I've been lying about that. It's called the Natural Elemental Quirk," Katsumi showed her ten aspects to her quirk on her fingers, watching as Mina's eyes grew wide in shock. "I have control over all of these; or at least partial control. But I had always hated my quirk and was afraid of it because nothing like this has ever been seen before."
Katsumi was quick to put her hands back down. "I was experimented on by villains because of my quirk. Aizawa was the one who saved me from that. But because of it, I had a complex about my quirk. I'm still trying to work on it. But those experiments left me with the scars you saw previously, which is why I'm ashamed to show my body. But now, there are people out there who want me for my quirk, and apparently will stop at nothing to try to get me."
Her extremely brief summary made her frown. There was so much more to it. So much. But she didn't want to say it all again. Katsumi was struggling to control her emotions as is; she didn't want to intentionally spiral just to tell her story.
Mina's arms wrapped around Katsumi, taking her by surprise.
"Katsumi, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry that's even happened to you! That's terrible!"
Katsumi returned the hug from Mina, a soft, sad smile on her face. When Mina pulled away, there were tears in her eyes.
"I promise I'll do everything I can to help. Anything you need, I'll be there for you! Whether it be to protect you and fight with you, or even just to make you laugh and keep your mind off of what's going on, I'll be right by your side. I promise."
Her promise brought tears to Katsumi's eyes. "Mina...thank you. There's so much more...so much more about it I want to tell you. But not yet. I am sorry."
Mina shook her head and offered her a small smile. "Don't apologize! Never feel like you are forced to tell me anything. I'll be here and ready whenever you are. This is your story and your pain; it's not my place to force you to accommodate me. I can wait."
Katsumi hugged Mina again, astounded by the kindness and sincerity of her friend. Mina's arms wrapped around her tight, and both girls sat there, hugging one another, for a long time. Both of them had tears shed during their embrace, both for different reasons.
When Katsumi finally pulled out of the hug, she wiped her eyes and sniffled. She really wanted there to be a time when she wouldn't cry so much. But she supposed it was just part of the place she was in at the moment.
"I know when we were at that hot spring, I said your scars could be badges of honor," Mina murmured. She gave Katsumi a soft look. "I know where they come from now, and I can see why it would be so hard to think of them that way. I would struggle with it too. But...I still stand by what I said. I think you could overcome that and be proud of who you are and what you look like. It would show those horrible people just how strong you've become: they couldn't break you."
Katsumi stared at Mina with admiration in her eyes. She had thought, somewhere in the back of her mind, that once Mina learned the story behind her scars, her opinion would change. But it hadn't. She was still encouraging Katsumi to be proud of who she was.
She grasped Mina's hands, a wobbly smile on her face as she gave her a nod. "I'll...I'll try. I promise one day I'll be able to be proud about who I am."
Mina smiled back at her, squeezing Katsumi's hands. "That's all I could ever ask for. Oh! And your quirk? That's so cool!"
Katsumi fought the frown from her face, but Mina's enthusiasm didn't cease. "You realize how amazing that quirk is? No wonder you're so strong! You're going to make such an amazing hero. Kids are going to look up to you one day and just gush over how cool you are."
"H-huh?" Katsumi felt flustered. "You don't know that!"
"Think about it!" Mina grinned. "There are several quirks that are more unique and rare that attracts people. Not only does it show your versatility and control, but it also shows that you've overcome something that no one else has. If there's a kid who has a quirk like that, they're going to admire you so much. You'll be their hero."
Katsumi felt like her mind exploded. Her? Be someone's hero? She had liked the idea of being a pro hero and helping people, but she couldn't wrap her mind around the idea that someone would actually look at her as a role model.
"Th-that..." Katsumi blushed out of embarrassment. How would she even handle a situation like that? "I'm not sure that's the case."
Mina laughed at her shy friend. "Look at Aizawa! He's your dad, right? At least to you. You see him as your hero, don't you?"
Katsumi immediately nodded. Mina gave her a wink. "Do you think that makes him proud, in a way? That he's happy to be your hero?"
Katsumi nodded a little slower this time. "I think it does."
"Wouldn't someone looking up to you mean the world to you, Katsumi? That means they accept you for you and love you for it. Just as he's your hero for everything he's done for you, you could be that same hero for someone else."
A small smile touched Katsumi's lips. She tilted her head a little. "Do you want to be someone's hero, Mina?"
She gave two big thumbs up. "Of course I do! I want to inspire others!"
Katsumi looked down at her hands, thinking about that. She knew she had wanted to help those like her...but if that could inspire someone...
"Yeah," she murmured. "I think I want that too."
When she looked back up, Mina had a bright smile on her face. "Then we'll both work our hardest to be the best heroes!"
"Of course!"
Mina let out a small giggle before she clasped her hands together, giving Katsumi a look. "There's one more thing I want to talk about."
Katsumi already knew what Mina was referencing before she said it out loud.
"Bakugo."
"Yeah..." Katsumi rubbed the back of her neck.
"So you really do love him?"
Katsumi blushed. "I...I really do. I think I've known for a little while, I just...I just have no idea what to do. Love is kind of a new emotion for me, especially like this. So I'm scared for several reasons. I don't want to mess something up. I'm not 100% sure of his feelings, or if they're to the same extent. And I don't even know what I would do after I tell him. I don't know anything about this stuff!"
Mina had her hands over her mouth, desperately trying to keep from laughing. She wanted to tell Katsumi so badly that Bakugo felt the exact same way, but she knew unless it came from Bakugo himself, she would be less likely to believe it. And because of how sheltered she was, her lack of knowledge in the dating field and what it meant to be in love made Mina want to laugh.
"You're so cute, Katsumi!" Mina finally cried out, hugging Katsumi and rubbing her head against hers. "You're so flustered and so cute because you're in love!"
"M-Mina!" Katsumi whined. "I don't know if that's a compliment!"
Mina pulled away, a broad smile on her face. "It is a compliment! And let me tell you something. When two people love each other or like each other, they start dating. That begins a relationship different than just friendship. It's something the two of you kind of figure out together. I can't tell you an exact formula for what it's supposed to look like."
Katsumi was about to respond when she felt a heavy weight press on her heart and her shoulders sagged. Dating.
She recalled the conversation she had with Bakugo about dating all those months ago. At the negative connotation he associated with it, Katsumi let out a heavy sigh, burying her head in her face.
"Dating's no good."
"Huh? Why?"
"Bakugo said he hated dating because it was so shallow. I had to have him explain dating to me a long time ago, and he was infuriated with the idea, apparently. He said our relationship and friendship was deeper than that; dating was too superficial."
Mina busted out laughing. Katsumi jolted up, looking at her hysterical friend with wide eyes. Tears built up in the corner of Mina's eyes as she held her stomach, her laughter echoing through Katsumi's room.
"W-what? Did I say something wrong?!"
"You mean...you mean that guy tried to explain dating? To you?!" Mina howled. "He was probably pissed because he was so flustered trying to explain it!"
At this point, Katsumi was beyond confused and lost. She stared at Mina with a blank expression, waiting for her friend to settle back down so she could explain what was so terribly wrong about the explanation Bakugo gave her.
"Dating..." Mina coughed, shaking her head and forcing herself to take a deep breath. "The type of dating he was probably thinking about isn't at all what real dating is."
Mina let out a sigh, turning her head to the side. "Of course he wouldn't give you a good explanation. Poor boy probably couldn't say anything right."
"I...I don't follow." Katsumi deadpanned. Mina snickered at her honesty, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"He didn't want you to think dating was something superficial or that people just did for the fun of it, probably," Mina tried to detangle the horrid explanation Bakugo had put in Katsumi's mind. "He's not one for something like that. Neither are you. If you two dated, it would be deep and meaningful. With a strong connection and basis for why you two are together."
Katsumi pursed her lips. It was nice for Mina to say it, but without Bakugo's confirmation on how he truly felt about them being together, she didn't know what to think for sure.
"I guess I can ask him," she muttered. "But I wouldn't know how."
"Think about it before you approach him," Mina cautioned. "You don't want to go to him with a half-baked idea and then have it fall through if either of you get flustered."
Katsumi huffed and pouted her lips. She was thinking she could have a normal conversation about it...but the more she thought about it, she realized that was probably a poor foresight of hers. As awkward as she had been around him lately with matters like this, she'd be a blushing mess before she could even get the words out of her mouth.
"Yeah, you're right. I'll think about it. But I just wanted to talk to you about it," Katsumi gave her a pleading look. "Please, please don't tell anyone!"
Mina winked at Katsumi and put a finger over her lips. "I won't tell a soul! About this or anything else you told me."
Katsumi let out a small sigh of relief, a quiet smile on her face. "Thank you, Mina. I mean it. I value your friendship so much, honestly."
Mina placed a hand on hers, a bright smile on her face. "Of course! I value yours as well, you know. Friends are always there for one another."
Katsumi nodded with a smile before she took in a deep breath. "I still need to tell Sero and Kyoka about the other night. I'm sure they're curious. I'm not sure what Aizawa even told you guys in the first place."
"He only said it was a villain attack and they had targeted you for your quirk. We all assumed it was because of how strong your darkness ability was."
Katsumi put a hand to her forehead. "Well, it's not entirely a lie. But I suppose they deserve to know about my quirk. I'm...trying to accept that it's something that should be known. Even if I hide my past, there will come a time I can't hide my quirk. Might as well start with the people I trust."
"That's a good attitude to have," Mina jumped to her feet, looked at Katsumi with a radiant positivity. "We should go to them now! You have the momentum! And whatever you don't tell them, I won't be shocked or anything like that. You choose what you tell to people. No matter what, I'm right here for you!"
Katsumi nodded, a smile on her face as she got to her feet. "Okay. I can do that."
Mina grabbed Katsumi's hand and tugged her along. Katsumi stumbled over her feet at first, taken by surprise by Mina's boundless energy. She remembered that at one point when she had talked to Aizawa about her friend group, he mentioned Mina as being an 'extrovert' and full of energy. He also said Katsumi had been taken in by a group of extroverts and would be pulled along by them.
She kind of understood what he meant now.
But it wasn't a bad thing.
As they left her room, Katsumi still stumbled behind Mina as she rushed over towards the couches, waving her free hand to the people who were sitting on it. Katsumi peeked around Mina after she came to a stop, seeing Kirishima, Kaminari, and Kyoka on the couches.
She looked around. Where were Bakugo and Sero?
"Hey, where'd the others go? I swear they were out here before." Mina voiced. Katsumi let out a small breath of relief. It was nice having someone who could say what she was thinking.
"Oh, Bakugo will be back in a bit. Sero just went to the kitchen to grab snacks." Kaminari gave the two of them a thumbs up and Mina nodded. She turned her head and looked at Katsumi.
"Is it okay for them to be here? I mean, I figured they knew something because of how quick they were to react helping you. But I just wanna double check."
Her voice was low enough that no one could hear, and Katsumi gave her a soft smile. It was sweet that Mina was so concerned for her.
"It's okay. They know, and Katsuki does too...obviously."
Mina smirked. "Obviously."
"Hey, what's up Miyamoto, Ashido!" Sero's voice called out and the two of them turned, seeing him walking back towards the couch with a bag of snacks. Katsumi wondered if the staff of U.A. knew half of their snacks got eaten leisurely instead of for nourishment.
Katsumi sat down and Mina took a seat beside her as Sero passed out some snacks. He offered her a bag of chips, and Katsumi kindly shook her head.
"No thank you, Sero, I'm go-"
"If you want that one to eat, you gotta give her something else. Chips aren't gonna cut it, Tape Face."
Katsumi looked over her shoulder to see Bakugo now standing there with his hands on his hips. He must have just walked up. Sero shrugged off his comment before he looked at Katsumi.
"What in here do you like, then? Take whatever you want." His friendly smile was contagious, and Katsumi timidly reached in the bag, rummaging around until she pulled out a granola bar. Sero looked at her confused.
"That's your favorite snack?"
Katsumi blushed a little. "We-well...actually my favorite is...cake."
Bakugo, Kirishima, and Kaminari froze as if someone had dropped a weight on their head. The three of them looked at the bashful girl, who was awkwardly holding her granola bar.
"Cake?" Sero tilted his head. "That's not really a-"
"Y-yes it is!" Kirishima lunged forward and slapped a hand over Sero's mouth, startling the boy. "It's a snack! It's totally a snack!"
Kaminari got to his feet, looking around.
"There's gotta be some sort of cake around here somewhere, right? Sato always has extra. He's always got cake. We should go get some from him."
"Then go get some," Bakugo muttered as he sat on Katsumi's other side, unusually bothered by her comment. "It would be a good snack."
"Umm, did we miss something?" Kyoka asked as Kirishima let go of Sero, who gasped for air.
"What the hell, Kirishima?!"
Katsumi looked at the group of friends, an odd feeling bubbling in her stomach. Kaminari gave her a big thumbs up.
"Don't worry, we'll get some cake! You don't have to worry!"
Katsumi wasn't all that worried. Seeing the looks on everyone's faces around her, and the random situation that had suddenly popped up because of something she didn't completely understand, made her lips wobble.
"Pff," Katsumi put a hand to her mouth. Her shoulders began to shake as she laughed, the odd feeling of humor bubbling through her body and she felt her face heat up as the foreign noise met her ears.
"Hahaha!"
Bakugo watched Katsumi in shock: he had never heard her laugh so purely and naturally before. The others looked at her surprised as well, seeing as they had never heard Katsumi laugh before.
"You guys are so funny!" Katsumi joyously said, clutching her stomach. It felt odd that her stomach could hurt because of laughter. She didn't realize the action would make her so breathless, her stomach tighten, and fill her heart with such happiness.
Katsumi took in a breath, looking up at her friends with a bright smile on her face. She used a hand to wipe her eyes, which had teared up because of her laughter.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know why I'm...laughing."
Had it just been her and Bakugo, he would have swept her in a hug and held her tight to him. His heart was overjoyed seeing her laugh like that.
Instead, he gave her a grin, putting a hand on her head to ruffle her hair. "The hell you apologizing for, huh? Laughing isn't a bad thing."
The others smiled back at Katsumi. Kirishima and Kaminari shared a happy look with one another. Kaminari came up to Katsumi, getting her attention before giving her a wink.
"I'm glad to make you laugh, but I'm still going to grab your cake."
Katsumi found herself beaming. "You really don't have to."
Kaminari slid his eyes over to Bakugo before he looked back at her. The fact that she was this happy just from the smallest thing meant everything to those who knew her story.
"Actually, I think I do."
With that, he bounded away in search for her cake. Katsumi looked after him, about to call after Kaminari when Mina gave her a small hug.
"I had no idea your laugh was so cute! You have such a cute laugh, Katsumi!"
"Yeah, for real!" Kyoka leaned forward on her knees. "This is the first time I've heard you laugh!"
Katsumi gave them a smile before she looked down at her hands. "Yeah...me too."
Bakugo and Mina overheard her comment, and the two ended up sharing a look with one another before Bakugo put his hand back on her head.
"Oi, what're you looking down for?"
Katsumi looked up at him, and she could see the happiness in his eyes. Her heart thumped a little louder in her chest as she looked at the rest of them, the bright smile from before returning to her face. Her friends meant everything to her. They made her feel joy, humor, love, and so many positive emotions she'd never felt before in her life.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm just so happy. I don't even know how to express it."
"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that," Sero said with a grin. "You really had us worried there a few days ago. To see you happy like this must mean you're okay, one way or another. It makes me glad."
Katsumi gave him a grateful smile. She looked from him to Kyoka and steeled herself. If it weren't for these friends, for the people she loved and cherished, she would have never been able to know what it is to laugh.
She wanted to tell the ones who had brought such light into her life why she had been surrounded by darkness before.
"About that," she gave them a small smile. "The others here know, but it's only right for you two to know as well."
This caught Kyoka and Sero's attention. Katsumi took in a breath.
"I'll tell you what happened."
I thought this was a lighthearted and sweet chapter. Good friendship and development. Katsumi has fully acknowledged her feelings for Bakugo, so it's only a matter of time until it's all out in the open. Please let me know what you think of the chapter!