~BNHA~ Everything That I Am

Chapter 20

Inko was waiting for them by the door when they arrived, her arms reaching for Kacchan, pulling him into a hug that the blonde did nothing to avoid.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine, auntie. Don't worry so much," Kacchan said.

"Mom, we need to pack. Is everyone getting everything together?" Izuku asked.

Inko nodded as she ushered the three of them back inside.

"Hatsume and Denki are still working on her equipment. It's been difficult convincing her to leave some of the bigger things behind."

Izuku sighed, turning to head towards Hatsume to work on helping to convince her when he heard his mother cough, and he turned back to her in worry.

"Mom, are you okay?" Izuku asked.

Inko cleared her throat, waving Kacchan off, who was patting her back, his face pinched and grave as he hovered near her in case she needed him.

"I'm fine. It's just this dusty house getting to me. I'm more worried about you, Izuku. You need sleep." Inko said.

"There's no more time mom, they could have followed us back. We can't risk staying here much longer. We need to be out by tomorrow morning." Izuku said.

"I know, and I'm making sure everyone gets everything ready, but you won't do anyone any good if you pass out from exhaustion." Inko said.

"I'm fine." Izuku argued.

Kacchan interrupted with a huff, grabbing Izuku's wrist and dragging him towards the upper stairs.

"You need sleep, you idiot. I'll make sure he gets a few hours, auntie." Kacchan said.

Inko let out of breath of relief, trusting Kacchan to do as he said. Inko returned to the kitchen to pack up the little food they had left. Shinsou offered to help her and they disappeared from sight as Kacchan pulled Izuku around the corner.

"Kacchan, we don't have time for sleep." Izuku argued.

"And we can't afford for you to be useless or worse, lose control of One for All during a fight." Kacchan shot back.

Izuku's jaw snapped close at Kacchan's jab. He knew he couldn't argue with that kind of reasoning, so Izuku stayed quiet. As they reached their rooms, Izuku noticed the sounds of someone packing clothes into trash bags. There were subtle shifts of the makeshift curtain that let Izuku know Chieko was here.

"Whose there?" Chieko asked.

There was a pause in her movements as she waited for a response, but she didn't pull the curtains back to reveal herself.

"It's just us Third-wheel." Kacchan said.

"Baku, welcome back, you good?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm good." Kacchan replied.

Izuku felt awkward standing there, unable to bring himself to say anything. He would rather be downstairs helping the others than to be here. Izuku shifted away, unsure of how to join in the small talk, but Kacchan still had a firm hold of his wrist, keeping him trapped to endure in silence.

"You mind giving us the room? I think Auntie needs help to convince Hatsume to let go of some of her shitty contraptions." Kacchan said.

Chieko sighed as if she didn't want to. "Jeez, it's not like she can't build more when we get to U.A."

"Try convincing her of that." Kacchan chuckled.

Chieko pulled back the curtains, the girl's side already packed and ready to go at a moment's notice. She had dressed in a hoody they had found for her, feet bare but otherwise ready for the trip. She passed them, giving Kacchan a small pat but otherwise ignoring the two boys without a second glance.