•Manipulation• [BNHA × Male!OC]

Chapter 140: Daddy Issues

The group settled down at the dinner table, now accompanied by Shoto's older brother Natsuo.

Despite the warm, hearty buffet spread of delicious looking food lining the table before them, the air suddenly turned frigid.

"W-well! Let's eat before the food gets cold!" Fuyumi broke the silence and the group finally dug in.

"It's delicious!" Midoriya beamed.

"The karaage is marinated well, but the crispy outer coating is fried perfectly to leave a-" "STOP ANALYSING THE FOOD!"

Katsuki growled, "you're ruining the taste of the mapo tofu!"

"Katsuki, you like mapo tofu?" Shoto asked quizically.

"Hah? Yeah, I like anything spicy," the blonde replied simply, taking a bite of the food.

"Unlike some dumbass who only eats cold noodles."

Shoto remained silent, instead taking a bite of his soba, instantly proving Katsuki's point.

Fuyumi laughed, "he seems to know you well Shoto!"

Katsuki clicked his tongue, "yeah right."

"It's bursting with juice...!" Midoriya sighed happily after biting into a perfectly fried piece of gyoza.

"Of course it's good," Natsuo spoke for the first time all evening, "ever since the housekeeper retired, Fuyumi has been taking over the cooking."

"You made this?" Katsuki held up his bowl, filled with a healthy portion of mapo tofu.

"Well... yes," she laughed shyly.

"It's my first time making it so I hope it's alright."

"It's damn good," Katsuki cursed, earning a panicked 'Kacchan!' from Midoriya.

"You even toasted the spices beforehand, makes it kick!" for someone who complained about Midoriya's mumblings earlier, the chef in young Katsuki seemed roaring for a nerd-out too.

Shoto watched their exchange silently, making a mental note of all he'd learnt about the blonde in just this one dinner alone.

'Maybe I'll take up a cooking class,' he even thought.

"That's Fuyumi for you, she always does every step carefully," Natsuo grinned.

"Oh come on," Fuyumi seemed shy at all the praise, "we took turns, you cooked too Natsuo!"

Shoto paused.

"So I've eaten your food before?" he asked his brother.

Natsuo chuckled humourlessly, "I wonder, my food was always heavily seasoned, so Endeavor might have stopped you."

And suddenly, the chill returned to the room.

"Saying don't eat this, it's not good for you."

Everyone seemed to freeze as they awaited Endeavor's reply.

"I didn't realise." was all he said.

The next few minutes stretched on in a strained silence until Endeavor spoke once more.

"If possible, I'd like to eat your cooking one day Natsuo-"

Natsuo sets his bowl down on the table with a clack.

"I'm done with my meal," he said curtly, getting to his feet.

He padded across the tatami before glancing back at Fuyumi apologetically.

"I came, that's enough right?" he said before leaving the room.

That pretty much solidified the mood for the rest of the dinner.

Everyone ate in silence.

Even after handing their dishes off to Endeavor to wash, Katsuki and Midoriya were forced to whisper to avoid breaching the tense atmosphere within the house.

"Did you know what was going on with Shoto's familiy too, Kacchan?" Midoriya asked.

"I only found out because you dumbasses were talking in a place where I could hear it...!" the blonde seethed in reply.

That was half the truth.

He'd first overheard the topic when Shoto and Midoriya talked at the UA Sports festival.

Then he heard more when Ryo and Shoto talked, not that he'd admit it.

And he sure wasn't about to let his sworn childhood rival know about the few times Shoto had confided in him and Ryo with his family troubles.

As though to mock his reply, when the pair returned to the dining room and were about to open the doors, they heard snippets of a conversation that left them glued to their spots.

"Shoto, what do you think about dad?" Fuyumi's voice was muffled through the rice paper doors.

There was a long pause, then Shoto's voice.

"I think of this scar as being from him..." His voice was hollow, devoid of any hatred, or anger, it was just empty.

"Mom endured it, and endured it until she couldn't anymore... He ruined her. I can't forgive him so easily."

Katsuki gritted his teeth.

Somehow he felt like shit, like someone was kicking him in the gut, and he hated it.

"But you know, Mom's trying to overcome this herself right now..."

That seemed to give the boy a newfound strength.

"Honestly, I don't know myself what I want to do yet. I still don't know how I feel about the old man..."

So that was his answer.

Well, it seemed the conversation was over for now.

"You people..." Katsuki growled before throwing open the sliding doors.

"IF YOU'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT SENSITIVE SUBJECTS, DON'T INVITE PEOPLE OVER! THERE ARE STILL DISHES TO BE WASHED!"

Fuyumi pressed a hand to her mouth in surprise.

"Oh my! Sorry! It just sort of slipped out..." she mumbled apologetically.

Midoriya tried his best to ease the situation, mentioning how Shoto had spoken to them about it before.

But Katsuki's rampage was not to be stopped, continuing to grumble about how the Sichuan mapo tofu had been ruined as he grabbed a tray of cups to continue clearing the table.

Shoto gathered a few of the dirty dishes and followed behind the boy, leaving Midoriya to apologize about the situation to Fuyumi.

They walked down the long hallway in a brief silence before Katsuki huffed again.

"If you wanna forgive him then do it! If you're not ready then don't!" his feet stomped against the hardwood floor as he walked.

It was such a simple concept that it caught Shoto off guard.

"You're such a pushover, if you're thinking about forgiving him, you're probably already preparing to!"

The half-and-half boy stop in his tracks.

His eyes were wide with revelation as he stared ahead, but he was looking into his past.

Katsuki was right, it was like he knew his feelings better than Shoto himself.

"Oi!" Katsuki finally seemed to notice the boy was lagging behind.

"Stop dragging your damn feet-" "Thank you."

Shoto had a small smile on his face, like a huge burden had finally been lifted from his shoulders.

Katsuki stopped.

Then a large grin spread across his face.

"Anytime, Icyhot bastard."