S&C : k.bakugou

Chapter One: Naoko Shimizu

Naoko shrugged her yellow jacket onto her shoulders, stepping outside and closing the door behind her. There was nobody in the house to inform she was leaving, and even if there was they wouldn't care.

She walked through the city at a medium pace, not in any particular rush to get to her destination. She would have some waiting to do either way, best to take her time.

People bustled on the street, a few giving Naoko judging looks. A random girl leaning against the wall of Endeavour's hero agency and clearly waiting for someone was kind of abnormal. Enough for someone to suspect she might be a villain, but she wasn't really doing anything wrong; not yet, at least. They couldn't prove anything.

Activating her quirk, Naoko slipped into the building behind a woman unnoticed. She'd been waiting for someone to enter the place for around ten minutes. Endeavour's agency didn't have many visitors that weren't workers, and most people who worked for Endeavour started earlier than this. Thankfully, this hero - Burnin', she recalled distantly - seemed to be running late for work. Very late, actually. Naoko was almost curious.

She didn't really have any reason to be here, and certainly no reason that would make them let her in. Thankfully, she was blessed with an invisibility quirk. Seriously, she was grateful every day that she had inherited her father's quirk. She was also grateful that unlike him, she could turn other things invisible as well - meaning, no stripping for her.

She slipped away from Burnin', who was approaching the receptionist at the front desk, and made her way around the place, swiping the occasional wad of cash from someone's bag or off their desk. There was nothing wrong with getting a bit of money while she was out and about. Besides, Endeavour only hired the best and he payed them well for their services; they had money to spare.

She slipped into the elevator behind a blonde man - thankfully there was no one else in there. That would result in having to wait further, and she really wasn't much of a waiter. It was boring, sue her. The man clicked the button for the top floor, which she assumed was Endeavour's office. It was common knowledge that he was arrogant like that. The Number Two Hero wasn't very well-liked by the pulic - perhaps the reason he had always been and always would be number two. In the hearts of the people, at least.

The blonde departed, heading for the door at the very end of the hallway. Naoko looked at the traffic below idly through the window. It would be a shame if I fell, she thought as she opened the window, pushing it as far to the right as she could, oh well. She smiled lazily as she climbed out of the building, fingers gripping the roof as she hoisted herself upwards, watching the people go about their business below...far below.

Naoko contemplated what would happen if she were to jump off and simply fall. She could even use her quirk and nobody would see her until she hit the ground. After all, you couldn't use your quirk if you were dead. It was a tempting thought. Her mother would cry and her father would grieve somewhat but life would go on. Perhaps her uncle would miss her, to an extent. Her cousin defintely would. Sighing at the thought of her cousin, she stopped thinking about it. The urge was there of course, but she couldn't.

She didn't know what to do with herself. The end of her third year in middle school was fast approaching and she had no idea where she wanted to go and what she wanted to do. Hard to plan your future when you don't want one, she mused. She could apply for the UA general studies course, she supposed. She wanted to, just to prove that she could, really. She was certainly smart enough - she might be a self-deprecating bitch, but she knew she was intelligent.

She took out her phone, a text from her uncle catching her eye. He had stopped speaking to his sister - Naoko's mother - so much when she had fallen ill and it was revealed she likely wouldn't make it. She supposed running from your problems was a family thing, with a dry chuckle. Apparently her cousin had been causing trouble.

She sighed, standing up and reactivating her invisibility quirk; Naoko didn't want any heroes to bother her and lecture about how roof parkour was dangerous and it was irresponsible of her and what would her family think. She knew exactly what her family would think - nothing. They wouldn't care. Well, perhaps her mother might sigh in the knowledge that there was nothing she could say to make Naoko stop. Any sense of authority she had once had was dying with her. Was it bad that the pun made Naoko laugh? Perhaps.

Many roof jumps later, Naoko found herself kneeling to be on her cousins level. Her uncle had left to do whatever it is he needed to do and she was thankful for that. Taking the little girl's hand in hers, she smiled sadly, causing her cousin to return a worried and sorrowful look.

"You know as well as I do that it's better to just give him what he wants. Resisting is futile, princess. I love you, but there's nothing you can do..."

She took out her phone, opening her notes app and typing quickly. I'm trying to think of something, I promise, but to attempt something without a plan won't end well. We need to be patient. The girl nodded, giving her a smile and a tight embrace. Naoko chuckled as her cousin squeezed her with all her strength - which wasn't much - planting a kiss on the top of the other girl's head.

She's only six, and yet she's living a life like this... I can't let her turn out like me. I have to do something. I'll find a way, princess, I promise.

It wasn't as simple as just telling the police...they would question her, potentially send her to juvie for not doing something before. Besides, if they investigated her uncle, it would lead them to her father's not-so-clean hands and potentially even her own if they used lie detector quirks or equipment. Besides, her uncle had associates who would certainly come after her if they realised that she had tipped off the police.

Naoko would think of something. There has to be a way. She wasn't an inherently positive person, but she would rather puke rainbows than let her cousin lose hope. She's too young to give up.

Blinking a couple times to make the unshed tears go away, Naoko pulled away and smiled at the six year-old. "You wanna hang out with your big cousin?"

She grinned in response, nodding furiously.