Kenji walked up to the front door of his own house, raising his hand to knock but he pulled back slightly—what should he say to his mother? What should he do? Is she cooking right now, because it smells so good.
Kenji swallowed the lump in his throat, and knocked three times. The sound of clattering utensils and the stove being turned off was barely audible through the door.
"Coming!"
Makoto opened the door and almost cried at the sight of her own son, biting his lower lip and looking away from her. To her, Kenji looked like a child guilty of breaking a specific vinyl record.
The thought made her smile and giggle softly.
"Have you had any breakfast yet sweetie?" She asked, stepping aside to let Kenji in. "I cooked your favorite breakfast, omelette with fish and miso."
Kenji closed his eyes and hugged his mother. Something he hasn't done ever since he turned 14 and angsty. Makoto was surprised, it's been so long since her own son hugged her, and it took her a while to register that she is being hugged by her son.
She smiled and wrapped her arms around Kenji, stroking his hair as she hummed the lullaby she sings to him as a child, which did the trick in calming him down.
"You and I have alot to talk about, but that can wait after school yeah?" Makoto asked, kissing Kenji's forehead. "So go and eat breakfast, get your uniform, and get going." Makoto said.
Kenji nodded, looking above Makoto's shoulder to see that she had already prepared both her and his breakfast, as if she was already expecting him to come back.
"It's scary that you kinda knew I was gonna come back." Kenji chuckled, walking inside and sitting down on his chair.
"I know you, Kenji. You also did the same thing years ago when you broke my vinyl record." Makoto replied, "It was so textbook too, you disappeared for 3 days only to come back, biting your lower lip, looking down at the pavement, and then hugging me." Makoto continued, making Kenji blush from the embarrassment.
"You haven't changed." Makoto sighs, taking a bite from her omelette. "You just grew up." She continued, chuckling before drinking her tea.
"Thanks...Mom..." Kenji mumbled, eating his breakfast.
After breakfast, Kenji sprinted up to his room to grab his uniform, leaving Makoto to clean up their plates and wash them, humming a song she had performed years ago when she was still an active idol.
Kenji opened the door to his room, his Endeavor-theme bed tucked in the corner, beside it is a computer desk with a custom-built desktop where he either draws, plays games, or watch movies and shows, the shelf on top of it is filled with the Endeavor merch and the custom merch of him and Katsuki that he commissioned to someone years ago.
Although he sleeps and plays in this same room for about 15 years, he almost can never get tired of walking into his room, his safe space. Kenji opens his closet and grabbed his uniform and quickly changed, fixing his tie and his hair, and reach out on the shelf for the locket that he made that resembled Katsuki's hero costume, wearing it around his neck.
"Have a good day sweetie!" Makoto exclaimed, waving goodbye as Kenji bolts out of the door, seeing Katsuki already waiting for him outside.
"Took you long enough." Katsuki complained, walking ahead of Kenji, prompting the other to catch up while drinking his apple juice. "Sorry, I had to rummage through some old stuff." Kenji sheepishly replied, reaching out to hold Katsuki's hand. Katsuki looked down briefly, how his hand is a bit larger and rougher than Kenji's smaller and smoother hand, before looking ahead as if he's acting unfazed and totally not flustered.
"When we get to school, I have to pay a visit to my old man."
"Just don't get lost coming back to the classroom."
"Hey! Did you guys watch the new last night? For a second, the entire class was on!" Hagakure chirped, Ojiro and Shoji nodding. "But, I didn't stand out at all though..." Hagakure sighed, and Shoji agreeing to her sentiment which caught Ojiro a bit off-guard. "Well, to be fair, it's oretty hard to stand out with your costume..." Ojiro replied.
"But still, all the channels were featuring that news, huh." Kaminari said. "I was a bit shocked." Kirishima replied. "It can't be helped," Jirou stated, Kaminari and Kirishima now looking at her, "The hero course that creates pro-heroes were attacked." She said. "But can you guys imagine if the teachers didn't arrive on time?" Sero asked.
"Stop it Sero! Just thinking about it is makes me pee my pants!" Mineta cried, "Shut the hell up scumbag!" Katsuki yelled, making Izuku and Mineta recoil from his loud voice.
"But...I can't help but also wonder what happened with Murata." Yaoyorozu said, the class now silent and looking at her, except for Katsuki. "Although we didn't get to see much of it, we did see pro-hero Joy fighting off what seems to be Murata's own monster." Tokoyami replied. "Only Deku and Bakugou were allowed to help out." Uraraka pouts, wanting to get a peek of what was happening, "What did happen with Kenji?" Kirishima asked Izuku, but Izuku hides away in his notebook.
"He lost control, and that's it, okay?" Katsuki answered, not bothering to even look up from his book, "That's all you need to know." He added.
And as if staged, the door swings open, it was Kenji.
5 minutes earlier
"Damn it Kenji, why is it so hard?!"
Kenji stood in front of his classroom's door, hearing the commotion on the other side as he hovered his hand on the door knob. He tried breathing deeply, using his quirk to overcome his anxiety, he tried biting his lip, he tried everything.
No matter what, he couldn't open the door.
From the distance, Kyoujurou and All Might were watching Kenji attempt at entering his class, both adults sighed at the sight of Kenji pacing back and forth, trying to muster up the strength the make the first step.
"Come on kid...just do it!" Kyoujurou mumbled, pumping his fist each time Kenji stepped a foot closer at the door, while All Might was just there for emotional support. Suddenly, Kyoujurou silently cheered as Kenji finally grasped the door knob and slowly opened the door.
"That's my boy!"
"Why are you two acting like high school girls stalking their crush?" A muffled voice asked from behind, making the pro heroes to turn around. "Aizawa! Haha, good to see you too, could you give Kenji five minutes to talk to the class alone? Thanks." Kyoujurou smiled, making Aizawa shake his head.
Back to Present Time
Kenji bursted into the room, chest puffed out, and holding his breath. Filled with confidence and determination, he walked up to the front of the class.And then he immediately deflated now that everyone is staring directly at him.
A few moments of silence later, Kirishima was the first to chime in.
"Dude! How have you been?! I've been trying to text you for the past three days!" Kirishima exclaimed, running up to Kenji, cupping his cheeks, and squishing his face. "You're alive!!!!" This time it was Mina, running towards Kenji, hugging him.
The next thing Kenji knew, the entire class was asking if he was okay and what happened. It's like a different feeling to what Kenji was used to. "Wait, you guys won't avoid me or be afraid of me?" Kenji asked, trying to pry Kirishima's hands away from his cheeks, "What makes you think that bro?" Kirishima asked, pulling away and giving Kenji some space.
"Yeah! It's not like you actually hurt anyone, and besides, we all lose control of our quirks from time to time." Kaminari added, "From what Midoriya has told us, your quirk is a medium for your inner turmoils, your pain, and letting it all out is a sort of healthy way of going through it." Tokoyami said "I agree with Tokoyami, with a quirk like yours, I would understand if it's difficult to keep it controlled." Yaoyorozu added. One by one, the class pitched in their thoughts, and not a single was a negative thought.
Well, except for Mineta who was screaming at how scary Kenji looked. But Kenji laughed, because he also agrees that his trauma is scary when manifested.
Kenji's lips curled into a soft smile as his classmates showed empathy and compassion, something he's not used to, he looked around and his eyes landed on Katsuki, a smirk plastered on the blonde as if he was saying 'I told you so.'
"Besides, you looked so cool Murata!" Uraraka chirped, imitating a huge monster, "With a quirk as versatile as that, you'll be one amazing hero Murata, ribbit." Tsuyu said. And there it was, Kenji's breaking point.
He started sobbing, trying his best to wipe away his flowing tears as he choked. Kenji was really ugly sobbing, his body leaning against Kirishima for support, covering his face with his hands while the red head just pats Kenji's head.
"I'm so sorry..." Kenji sniffled, "What are you apologizing for dude?" Sero asked, "One, for crying like this in front of everyone, and two, for thinking that all of you will start pushing me away." Kenji confessed, pulling away from Kirishima, not before apologizing for making a mess of his uniform, which Kirishima didn't mind.
"Crying is totally manly Kenji!" Kirishima smiled, patting Kenji's back. "You're right. From now on, I'll do my best!" Kenji announced, not really knowing what to say. The class erupted in cheers and whistling, making Kenji laugh and clapping his hands. "Alright! Waterworks aside, as your class representative, I urge everyone to be at their best behavior! We don't know if Aizawa-sensei will be here for homeroom, but even if it's a substitute, everyone to your seats!" Kenji announced, the entire class (except for Katsuki) yelled out their acknowledgment and went back to their seats.
The door swings open and it reveals...
"Morning everyone." Aizawa greeted, albeit muffled by the bandages wrapped around his entire body. The class was equally shocked while Kenji walked over to the wobbling mummy, "I can walk just fine, Murata." Aizawa said to the concerned brunette, as he wobbled and trembled on his way to the teacher's desk? Podium? The thingy at the center.
"Sensei! Are you okay?!" Iida asked, raising his hand. "In what dimension is being wrapped in bandages considered okay?" Kenji thought, making his way to his desk. "My welfare is none of your concern. More importantly, our battle isn't over." Aizawa stated, "The UA sports festival."
"Finally!! A normal school event!!" The whole class cheered. "Wait, is it really okay to host a sports festival when we just had a villain attack?" Jirou asked, "Exactly, what if they attacked again?" Ojiro added.
"By going through this event, we want to prove that UA's crisis management system is outstanding as ever. Moreover, the security will be five times stronger this year. Above all, our sports festival is a big chance, it shouldn't be cancelled over some villains."
"No... let's cancel." Mineta said, an air of worry and cautiousness surrounded the midget. "The UA sports festival is one of Japan's biggest events. The Olympics used to be called the festival of sports and it excited the country. Now, it's reduced in scale and population and it's just a mere formality, and currently, UA sports festival has taken place of the Olympics."
Kenji already knew about this all, being the son of a teacher in UA, he already knew beforehand why they were still hosting this and all the works. Kyoujurou even told Kenji that winning is a bonus, but the true goal that Kenji should do is...
"All the top heroes in the country will be watching for scouting purposes."
That's the main goal Kenji should achieve, even though his aunt already has a reserved spot for Kenji at her agency, he should still attract as much attention to him...which is usually what he does the opposite of.
"Naturally when you're picked by a top-notch hero, you'll gain more experiences and popularity, but your time is limited, this is your chance every year if you aim to be a hero this is an even you cannot overlook!"
"Yes sir!"
"Homeroom dismissed."
The rest of the day was pretty boring for Kenji. Class was dreadfully slow for Kenji—only managing to stay awake in Math because of Katsuki's constant nagging about how Kenji screwed up 9 + 9.
"Seriously how did you get 21 from 9 plus 9 Kenchan?" Izuku asked, putting his books in his bag while Kenji just groaned, "You can't move on from that huh?" "Well no shit! How the hell even, are you a dumbass or something?!" Katsuki yelled, smacking Kenji with a math book, which the brunette blocked with a barrier of positive emotions. "I'm not just a dumbass, I'm your dumbass." Kenji smirked, wiggling his eyebrows as the blonde.
Izuku and Katsuki deadpanned at Kenji's brazen display and attempt of flirting, which Katsuki shuts it down with a smack using the much thicker Foundations of Basic Hero Work which Kenji was not fortunate enough to dodge.
Speaking of unfortunate things, once Uraraka slides the door open to leave, a horde of students blocked the way out. "W-what's going on?!" Uraraka exclaimed, the rest of the class now looking at the crowd outside. Noticing the commotion, Kenji wiped his bloody nose and walked up to the door with his bag. "What's your business with Class 1-A?" Iida asked "What's with all this? You're blocking the way!" Mineta exlcaimed.
Kenji, being the class representative that he is, stands between Uraraka and the crowd, "If you all want something, I suggest saying it now instead of blocking our way out. People have somewhere to go you know?" Kenji said in a light hearted tone, but his eyes pierced daggers into the students in front of him.
"They're obviously inspecting the competition scum." Katsuki answered Mineta's question, walking to Kenji's side with a faint scowl on his face. "Cuz we survived a villain attack, they came to check us all out." Katsuki stated nonchalantly.
"Move it cannon fodder."
Kenji mentally smacked his forehead, but he guessed that Katsuki didn't like the idea of wastig time for something like this. "Katsuki!" "Can we please not be rude to be people we do not know?!" Kenji and Iida scolded the blonde.
"I came here to check out the rumored Class 1-A, but you lot sure are arrogant. are all the kids in the hero course like this?" A tired and monotone voice spoke from the crowd, pissing off Katsuki while Iida, Uraraka, and Izuku tried to deny the claim. "Seeing this just disillusions me." The boy with messy purple hair and tired eyes now stepped to the front.
'He doesn't seem to house any malicious intent, a quick sweep of this crowd tells me that they're just genuinely curious or jealous even." Kenji thought as he activates his quirk subtly. "There are alot of students here from different courses all because they couldn't get into the hero course. But of course, the school has given us a chance depending on the results of the sports festival, they might consider transferring us to the hero course." The boy said.
Kenji then cuts him off, "I'm gonna assume the reverse is also possible." He said, stepping forward to look at the purple-haired boy directly in the eye, "If that's what you're trying to get across then it's safe to assume this is a declaration of war yeah?" Kenji once again stated, prowlers now appearing behind Kenji, an act of intimidation.
The tension in the doorway felt palpable and heavy, and Katsuki seeing Kenji being pissed off made him blush slightly. Just slightly.
The silence was uncomfortable; Kenji emitted an aura that dominated the hallway making some of the students to start leaving or back off, that is until. "Hey! I'm from Class 1-B from next door!" Kenji looked over at the crowd to see a boy with spiky silver hair and..something around his eyes. "I heard you guys fought villains so I came here to check it out! But you all are getting ahead of yourselves!"
Katsuki was so done with all of it that he grabbed Kenji by the collar and started dragging him through the crowd. "Wait! Bakugou what are you doing?! Because of you we're amassing hate!" Kirishima exclaimed "Why should I care?" Katsuki retorts.
"I'm heading to the top anyway.."
"...things like this won't matter."
Katsuki started while Kenji finished Katsuki's sentence. Izuku looked at the two as Katsuki dragged Kenji out of the crowd, sighing that Kenji is finally comfortable enough to show his real self to the class.
"I wonder what I'm gonna do about those two."
Upon arriving at Kenji's front door, Katsuki plants a small kiss on Kenji's cheek before saying goodbye, muttering a 'talk to you later' before the blonde walked into his own home. Kenji smiled stupidly at Katsuki's showing of affection before twisting the doorknob and opening the door.
"I'm home!" Kenji announced taking off his shoes, "Welcome home moonlight!" Makoto greeted, making Kenji flinch a bit at the mention of his old nickname that his mother would use. Kyoujurou would call him 'sunshine' while Makoto called him 'moonlight' because that were the times of day where they would take turns to watch Kenji as a baby until he was able to sleep on his own.
"So....Katsuki huh?" Makoto started, not even glancing at Kenji as she washed dishes, "W-what about Katsuki?" Kenji asked, acting clueless. Makoto laughs softly before facing her son, "I'm glad you two are together." Makoto's lips curved into a smirk, a smirk that told Kenji that she knows everything.
Kenji sighed in defeat, "How did you know?" "I know now." Makoto pulled a fast one over her own son, now there's no denying it. "To be fair, I've always had an inkling on your feelings for each other." Makoto said, handing Kenji a glass of apple juice. "Are you mad? Against it?" Kenji asked, nervous at what his mom's thoughts on him dating a boy.
"Well, your father might have some protest about it but he'll come around it. As for me," Makoto said, hugging Kenji tightly, "As long as you're happy then I'll support your decisions." Makoto said kissing Kenji's forehead.
Kenji smiled softly, it felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulder, knowing that his mother won't disown him—that she won't kill him or Katsuki. The two chatted for a good 5 minutes about how Katsuki has been trying to keep the relationship under the radar, how he felt happier for some reason.
Makoto smiled at her son's ramblings, it's been years every since he spoke like this, she remembers how a 7-year old Kenji would ramble on and on about how his favorite hero won the battle, how Kyoujurou burnt an egg in an attempt at cooking egg drop soup, or anything at all. "Speaking of my quirk...I know I inherited both of your quirks." Kenji said, the conversation shifting to a more serious tone.
"What about your quirks Kenji?"
"I want to learn how to use your quirk."
HEY HEY HEY AUTHOR HERE!!! wooo....YIPPEE!
Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter, I think I changed how I write? At least to me I did, anyway I can't wait to write Sports Fest Arc AND Kenji's OTHER quirk!
I should be uploading more The Promises We Made and also Moonlit Hijinks now that I got out of a creative block! Don't be afraid to give out constructive criticisms in the comments!