CONFRONTATION —
chapter sixty
"I can't believe the hero courses were attacked again," Korei mumbled as she snuggled up next to Shinsou on the couch. It was early in the morning, neither of them having gone to sleep after last night's emotional rollercoaster. "It's like the villains are targeting someone."
"Well, they did kidnap that smartass, Bakugo." Shinsou pointed out, listening to the news reporter continue on about some sort of mission to get him back. "His summer just got a whole lot more traumatic."
"I heard that trauma makes certain people more attractive. Maybe this'll make him likable?" Korei joked, bumping her shoulder with his. Shinsou chuckled and nodded, mumbling his own remark about the angry first year.
"He doesn't deserve the amount of praise he gets. I acknowledge that he's determined and he's good, but he's really just a shitty person." Korei giggled in agreement, hearing Katsuō's bedroom door open and suddenly tensing up. She shuffled away from her boyfriend by just a little bit, still close enough for him to touch her if he wanted to. Noticing this, Shinsou's jaw clenched. He put his arm around her and Korei just looked at him with sad eyes. When she explained to him what his mother had said, Shinsou nearly went ballistic. How could his mother say such things to a sixteen-year-old? All because he calls her 'mommy'? It could have been for an entirely different reason than Katsuō thought!
"Morning you two. Are you watching the news?" Katsuō asked, rubbing one eye as she headed towards the kitchen. Shinsou made a noise of confirmation while Korei explained to her what had happened last night. Katsuō was shocked, listening to the terror that most likely tormented those young kids. Thank God her son wasn't involved. "Those poor youngins. Yuuei should really give those kids a break."
Korei dismissed herself to get a shower, leaving Shinsou with his mother. He planned on talking to her about the things she has said about Korei, but he was also pretty scared. He didn't want Korei to get banned from the apartment! "Hey, mama?" He asked, leaning against the counter of the kitchen as he watched his mother whisk some eggs together.
"You're talking to me, right?" Katsuō asked, partly joking with her son. Shinsou let out a frustrated sigh, not finding the joke funny at all. This made Katsuō realize that maybe it was a bit much. "What's up, Hito?"
"Why'd you call Korei a whore? An-and a slut?" He jumped right into it, not bothering to sugarcoat it. Korei is his girlfriend and she's not a whore or a slut! She's just a young kid, like himself, trying to figure out what her interests are. "That was seriously uncalled for."
"Hitoshi, we are not having this discussion," Katsuō tried to demand, recovering from her slight freeze and returning to seasoning the eggs. Shinsou rolled his eyes, scoffing at her response.
"Yeah, actually, we are. You can't just sweep it under the rug unless you use your quirk," he taunted her, tapping the counter very aggressively before calming himself down. This is his mother, after all, he can't be too disrespectful. "Korei did not deserve to be called such things by someone she sees as her own mother."
"Hitoshi, you don't understand, okay? She's probably overreacting and exaggerated the situation. It wasn't uncalled for." Katsuō tried to explain even though, deep down, she knew she was in the wrong. She saw the look in Korei's eyes, she witnessed the fearful flinch and scurried exit. She had made herself into the bad guy.
"No, she really didn't. She thinks she deserved to be called the shit because of what happened. I think I understand it pretty well," he nodded as he glared at his mother's back. Katsuō stared down at the egg mixture, unsure of what to say now. "Korei isn't a bad person, mom. She helps me study and reminds me to take care of myself. Don't write her off as something she's not because of a little slip-up. The fact that she answered to me saying that could just mean that she sees herself as a motherly figure. I mean, you used to take care of dad like that all the time. Hell, he called you it!"
"That's different, Hitoshi. Your dad and I had a child together, that's why he called me that," Katsuō clarified, turning around with a pointed gaze. Seeing the pain in her son's eyes made her feel kind of bad. "Don't guilt-trip me into apologizing for calling Korei out. She has lingerie delivered to the apartment, wears that super short skirt, and she's always saying such lewd things and claiming not to know what they are! I adore her, Hito, I really do, but there are boundaries."
"Oh my God, mom, what the actual hell?" Shinsou groaned, facepalming. "Pretty sure you're the reason she even likes that kind of underwear. She said you gave her some when you first met her and I know she's not a liar–" Katsuō nodded hesitantly. "–and that 'super short skirt' is part of our school uniform. It literally reaches the tops of her knees! You've worn dresses that show more!" Shinsou was very upset with his mother's hypocrisy, but he was doing a really good job of not getting too angry. If he crossed a certain line, he wouldn't be able to apologize for it. "And she really doesn't understand what those things mean, mom! She doesn't even know how babies are made! Her grandmother never gave permission for her to take those classes in middle school and she's never even thought about sexual things! She gets embarrassed when I don't wear a shirt because she thinks it's sexual when I'm really just overheating in this hot ass apartment." The was a slight chuckle in Shinsou's voice as he thought about Korei and her innocent actions. The cute blush she gets when he explains an innuendo makes his heart skip a beat. "If you're worried that I'm being influenced by her then you should really fix that, mom. If anything, I'd be the whore because frankly, I do want to be with Korei in every way possible." That might actually be the line he shouldn't have crossed.
"Hitoshi, you know that sex before marriage is a sin," Katsuō explained, shaking her head at him. Shinsou shrugged, a dreamy smile claiming his lips as he pictured his girlfriend in so many dirty positions just for him. "What are you thinking about? You better not be thinking about that! Hitoshi!"
"Mama, seriously, she's...amazing. I don't know if I'll actually marry her one day but I hope I do."
"Okay! I get it! I'll apologize to Korei for saying such mean things without letting her explain herself. After all...I did sort of give her permission," she muttered that last part out and then sighed heavily. "But that does not mean for you to go basket-making." Shinsou's nose scrunched up as he tried to make sense of what his mother had said. "It's something my...parents used to say. Just, shut up and get outta my kitchen."
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