Cussed (Kacchako)

NINETEEN

Oh my gosh! Is it another chapter?! Finally?! Super sorry this took so long. Things have been crazy. A little disclosure: this past summer was rough, I was doing a pretty awesome stem cell internship, but I was juggling trying to coordinate a bunch of stuff for my father’s health, he had been diagnosed with cancer last December. He’s doing ok, but he lives a few hours away and keeping track of every thing was exhausting, especially as everything with the internship was coming to a close. Now I’m in my last year of school, and grad school applications are coming due (if any of y’all are genetic counselors, hit me up with some advice!). I will try to write more, but I really need to pass all my classes so I can get my dang degree! I’m also working in a lab on campus and my regular pharmacy job, needless to say I’m busy. But I really love reading all your comments, they are definitely what brings me back to writing each time =)

Just a heads up, there are some spoilers for the upcoming season of mha anime in here. It’s old news in the manga, but I don’t want to spoil anyone without giving a warning first.

I know given how long it's been, this chapter should be longer, but this is what I've got! I'll try to update sooner next time >_<

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“Take them out of the box and let me get this pad and a new towel down,” Katsuki said. There were six kittens. Six mewling, wriggling kittens that couldn’t be much more than two weeks old that he now had to keep alive because Ochako would fall apart if something happened to even one of them. He liked cats, he was furious that someone would abandon kittens like trash, but he didn’t want to be responsible for six of them.

Ochako set the kittens back down in the box and looked up expectantly. At least she wasn’t crying anymore. “Do you still not want me to leave?” When she just gave him an uncertain look he sighed. “Ok, I’m gonna make a phone call, I’ll be right back.” He stepped out of the room and ran into one of the students who hadn’t left for the weekend. She was tiny, even for a 15 year old, and had bushy black hair that looked like it could use a brush. She lacked normal, human shaped ears and instead had ears similar to a dog or cat that swiveled back and forth at each sound.

“Bakugo-sensei, are there kittens?” the girl asked. He couldn’t recall her name, but if he remembered correctly she had some sort of animal-related quirk, judging by the ears and her question, he guessed it was cat related. When he just looked at her blankly, she sighed at him. “I’m not going to tell.”

He quirked a brow at her. “Tell who? I’m a teacher.” When her brows came together in thought he decided to head her off before she could think of someone she could tell. “Yes, there are kittens. Uraraka-sensei found some that someone had abandoned.” Now the girl looked some mix of horrified and on the verge of tears. “God, they’re fine. They’ll be fine. They just need to be kept warm and fed until they’re old enough to adopt out. Once they’re weaned we’ll take them to a shelter or something.”

“Can I go see them?”

“That’s not an office,” Katsuki said dryly, “that’s my room. ‘No students in the bedroom’ has to be one of the first rules for teachers. We’ll bring them out when they’re older.”

The girl’s ears shifted towards him and her eyes narrowed, scrutinizing his face. “But Uraraka-sensei is in your bedroom,” she pointed out blandly. Ideally, he would have had a good response to that. Something about them being adults and having to work, and that it was really a suite and she was just in the living room, or perhaps just something pious about how as a teacher he didn’t have to explain that type of thing to a student. Instead, he was caught completely flatfooted with a flush burning his face as he thought about Ochako in his bedroom and all the things that would lead up to that, and all the things it would lead up to in turn. Her eyes lit up, “Bakugo-sensei, do you—”

“Scat!” he barked at her, trying to will the blush off his face. “Go terrorize someone else.” Instead of being intimidated, the girl giggled and trotted outside. So much for him scaring the students he thought, annoyed. He sighed and called Kirishima, giving him a list of all the things they would need from the pet store and a promise to send him money for whatever the total was. His friend was amused by the whole thing, but Katsuki was already feeling cranky about the prospect of waking up every 3 or 4 hours for the next week to make sure six kittens got fed and rubbed down after each feeding. The novelty of bottle feeding wore off pretty quickly and soon you just wanted sleep.

“Oh! Before I go,” Kirishima said, stopping Katsuki from hanging up, “Remember Melissa Shield? Mina brought home some of those ridiculous gossip rags that she reads, and one was saying that Shield and Midoriya have been seen a lot together. There’s probably nothing to do it, but you might have to deal with a mood from Ochako-chan whenever she hears of it.”

Katsuki grunted in acknowledgement and hung up the phone, figuring that the sobbing over the kittens was probably part of that “mood”. She must have seen one of the tabloids at the store or something. What had she said while she was sobbing? That they had been abandoned like they weren’t good enough? He groaned and rubbed his eyes; that bastard Deku had done a number on Ochako’s view of her worth to other people, and him hooking up with another woman several weeks after leaving her would only solidify that view more. He dragged his hand down his face, feeling exhausted. Him not giving her a clear answer on things probably played into that narrative as well, but dammit it should be clear to her that he wasn’t like that shitty ex of hers. Right? Unbidden, an inner voice reminded him that he had just detailed essentially being happily in a relationship after telling her he didn’t want specifics with her. It didn’t matter that it was complicated, she wouldn’t be aware that he hadn’t shared the entire thing and that was his fault. Ugh, fine, he thought, I’m just as shitty.

He stuffed his phone into his pocket and went back into his room. Ochako had the box on the floor and was laying on the couch so she could look down into it. One of her hands was fussing with the blanket trying, he assumed, to keep the kittens warm. He opened his mouth but found he didn’t know what to say, he closed his mouth and walked up to her instead.

“I’ve never understood how people could devalue the existence of others so much,” she said, not looking at him. “It almost seems like if the person, or animals, aren’t of direct use, then people find them worthless, not worth the time or energy in keeping them around.” He knew she wasn’t just talking about the kittens, but he also knew that what she was saying described a lot of people. They would be out of a job if it didn’t. Well, out of their old job, he supposed. The world always seemed to need teachers.

He leaned over the back of the couch and tucked some loose hair behind her ear. He was breaking the rule, but she had broken it earlier. “You saw worth in them, and we’re going to take care of them until we can find families who will value them too,” he said 1¹softly. She sniffled and gave a slight nod. “Kirishima is on his way over with the stuff we need to take care of them. I’ll watch them, you go take a warm shower.”

Ochako didn’t move for a moment and then let out a gusty sigh. She managed to flop herself off the couch without landing on the box. “We need to name them.”

“Please don’t,” Katsuki said, pained. Naming meant keeping. It always meant keeping. Every stray he had found as a kid that he managed to stick a name to ended up staying at the house. He knew how that game went; he had been a master at it decades ago.

Ochako harrumphed and pulled herself to her feet. “I love Eijrio-chan, but I don’t feel like seeing other people. Is it bad if I hide?”

Katsuki gave her a soft smile, “No, you can hide. I’ll text you when the coast is clear.” He paused for a moment, and then ventured, “You could also try and take a nap. I can get everything settled and when you wake up, I can teach you how to feed them. I’m way better than Google.”

She gave him a soft smile and a noncommittal nod. She slid out the door and as she shut it, he heard her set upon by the same girl who had accosted him earlier. He really should learn all their names. There were only 20 of them, he shouldn’t make a habit of referring to people by their characteristics…calling a student “cat ears” wasn’t exactly professional. He let out an explosive sigh. It’s not like he had exactly had time, he hadn’t been given much time to do the whole “teaching” thing, or the training to do it for that matter.

Ostensibly, he sat down to study the roster that Ochako had put together until Kirishima gave him a call letting him know that he had arrived. Instead, he spent the next twenty minutes grumbling at the mewling kittens while keeping them tucked under the blankets. His phone buzzed. K: Here. And I think you want to come out. I’m not the only one that has shown up. Katsuki blinked at his phone. Someone else? Who else would have come out to the dorms? On the weekend? He got up and walked to the door.

As he opened it, he heard several voices. The first was Kirishima's. “—no I get that, but I dunno man, I think you should have called first—”

Kirishima’s voice was interrupted by the higher pitched voice of a teenage girl. “Oh my gosh! Is that who I think it is? Is it really you??”

The next voice had Katsuki seeing red. “Hi. I’m Deku. You must be 9ne of the students from Class 1-A. I was in—” Katsuki burst out of his room. “Oh, excuse me. I have some business with Bakugo-sensei. Kacchan, I was hoping we could—"

“Kirishima, got feed the kittens,” Katsuki barked.

Deku gave him a shocked look, “Kittens?”

“I don’t know how to feed kittens,” Kirishima protested over Deku’s question.

“Google it,” he growled at him. He looked over at the same girl who had accosted both him and Ochako earlier in the day. “Do you know how to feed kittens?” she stared at him for a moment with huge eyes and then nodded mutely. “Go show that idiot what to do.” A huge smile split her face and she nodded more enthusiastically before darting towards the room. “And don’t fucking name them!” he shouted towards her back. He glanced back at the red headed man and cocked an eyebrow. Kirishima sighed, defeated, and followed the girl into the room with the bag of supplies. Finally Katsuki turned to the man who had dropped in unannounced. “You, out.”

“Kacchan, I needed to talk to you about—”

“Out. Side. Now.” Katsuki bit out, trying—and failing—to hold on to his temper. He stalked past the other man and to side door that led outside. He swung the door open harder than he needed to stepped outside. He needed to calm down. He heard the door shut behind him and steps as the other man walked up behind him.

“Kacchan, what are you upset about this time?”

Fuck calm, Katsuki thought as he spun around and his fist connected with Midoriya's face. Midoriya stumbled back a few steps, unprepared for the hit. He had All Might’s constitution though, damn him, so the hit didn’t damage the bastard nearly as much as he deserved. “What the fuck doing here, Midoriya?” Katsuki demanded.

Midoriya took his hand away from his face and gave Katsuki a flat look. “I told you a long time ago, Kacchan, I won’t just be your punching bag.” He shook out his shoulders and fell back into a casual stance. “We need to talk about the investigation.”

“So call first, don’t just show up. This is where I work.”

“Yes, you’re quite the professional,” Midoriya responded wryly, rubbing his cheek. “What has you so upset?”

“Uraraka lives here too,” Katsuki said, clenching his fists. Deku was supposed to be the smart one. Could he really be this stupid.

The other man gave a slight frown. “But I’m not here to see her.”

“Do you know what the rags are printing about you and that Shield woman?” Katsuki demanded. “Do you have any idea how that makes Uraraka feel?”

The frown grew. “Melissa and I have…reconnected and been spending some time together. But I don’t see how that’s your business. And Uraraka is an adult. She and I are fine.”

Katsuki stared at him. “She feels like you threw her away and replaced her with another woman. It’s only been a couple weeks. And you guys broke up because—"

“That’s ridiculous. Don’t pretend you know anything about what Uraraka and I shared. You barely know her,” Midoriya interrupted, finally getting irritated. “I doubt she feels that way, but even if she did, she’s an adult. It’s not anyone else’s job to baby sit her emotions and her views of herself. You can’t go through life letting what you imagine other people are thinking of you define you. I can’t give her self worth, she has to give herself that.”

Katsuki clenched his fists. “You can’t give her a sense of self worth, but you sure as hell can reinforce her negative views of herself. Which is exactly what you did.”

“I can’t put my life on hold just because it might hurt someone else’s feelings. I have a right to live my life and look for happiness too.”

“Its only been a few weeks!” Katsuki almost roared. “And you didn’t have to come here and force her to confront all of it.”

“I’m not forcing anything,” Midoriya responded stubbornly. “Uraraka and I are fine. She would say something if she wasn’t, and I would be able to tell. And frankly, it’s not really any of your business, is it? She’s just your coworker, right?”

Katsuki blew out a breath, feeling deflated. He didn’t want to go into why he felt it was his business or why he was so angry. Midoriya, despite all his famed empathy, seemed to have a serious blind spot when it came to the emotions he made others feel. “Why are you here?”

“Can we go inside and talk?”

“Fuck no.”

The other man sighed. “Fine. Fuusen was spotted last night.”

Katsuki wanted to stay angry, but he also wanted—almost painfully so—to go back to being a professional hero. It had only been a few weeks, but he missed the work of a hero. Luckily, he could be both interested and angry at the same time. It was an art he had perfected long ago. “Where?” he asked, tersely.

“Near the east wharf. Some security guards found him emptying out some containers.”

“What was in them?”

“That’s the thing, we don’t know. We contacted the owners of the shipping containers to get a list of what was missing, but they claimed it was proprietary and said they couldn’t help us.”

Huh. “Could you at least find out what type of businesses they were?”

“Biotech. But it could be anything from a new type of microscope to the next super bug. They want their property back, but they also don’t want us to know what exactly was in those containers.”

“Illegals?”

“Again, hard to say. The company is pretty well established and I checked with my contacts on the police force, and there’s no record of illegal activity within that company. Their reticence is questionable, but not illegal.”

Katsuki spit to the side, ignoring Deku’s affronted grimace. “They’re large, successful biotech corporations. 100 to 1 they’re dealing with illegals. Just hopefully none of that shit you had to deal with with that beak nosed fucker however many years ago.”

Deku stared at him blankly for a moment before it clicked. “Oh, you mean Chisaki—Overhaul. No, the means he used are….well, they can’t be used again.”

Katsuki spit again, “You’re thinking too small again. There’s more than one way to skin a cat. I don’t think we’re in the clear just cuz that guy Overhaul lost access to his left and right hands.” Katsuki let out a gusty sigh. “I won’t be much help in the field, but I’d suggest leaning on those tech guys and figuring out what’s been taken. If it’s anything like Europe, they’re taking pieces from here and there in order to put something new and more complicated together. Find all the pieces, and you’ll be able to figure out where they’re supposed to go and how they’ll be used. Put IcyHot's wife on it. She’s the only one in the group that seems to be able to rub two brain cells together and get a spark.”

“You’re part of that group too, Kacchan, just so you know.” Deku  pointed out dryly.

“I’m aware,” Katsuki responded drolly, “Ponytail was always the brains. Put her on it,” he said again. He wasn’t an idiot, but science wasn’t his area; it wasn’t any of their areas, except for her. And if this particular side of science wasn’t her area, she was the perfect one to make it her area and to do so quickly. “Anything else?”

“I want to talk to Uraraka.”

“You said you weren’t here to see her,” Katsuki responded flatly.

“And I wasn’t. But what you said makes me think I should clear some things up.”

“No.”

Midoriya sighed. “You’re not Uraraka's keeper, Kacchan.”

Katsuki frowned. He wasn’t her keeper, and he didn’t want to be. One of the things he lo—well, one of the things he liked most about her was that she didn’t need a keeper. But that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to protect her from things he could protect her from. And, for today at least, he could protect her from having to deal with fucking Deku. “She’s not feeling well. Said she was going to shower and take a nap.”

Midoriya frowned but nodded. “I’ll let her rest then.”

“Call ahead next time.” Katsuki said as a way to end the conversation before his temper returned full force. He turned around, not waiting for an answer and went back into the building.

He went back to his room to find the cat eared girl giving directions to a bemused Kirishima who was rubbing down a kitten with a wet washcloth. The man looked up at him when he walked in. “What kind of animal is born not being able to pee or poop?”

“A lot, actually,” the girl answered. “Just be glad you’re not the mama cat, you’d be doing it with your tongue.”

Kirishima chuckled, “Yeah, yeah, Nyanko-sensi, whatever you say.”

Nyanko? Of course that was her name. “Have they all been fed?”

Nyanko answered. “Yes Bakugo-sensei. Once Kirishima-san finishes with this one, they’ll be ready to sleep for awhile.”

“Alright then, get. The adults need to talk.”

“About what?” the girl asked, not looking away from Kirishima’s ministrations to the kitten.

“Adult things,” Katsuki said, trying to put some sternness into his voice.

“About Uraraka-sensei?”

Katsuki felt his face heat, and it didn’t help when Kirishima burst out laughing. “Out!” he barked. The girl sighed, her ears wilting. She stood, took her time petting each of the kittens, and then walked out of the room, shutting the door a little more firmly than strictly necessary.

“So, are we talking about Ochako-chan?” Kirishima asked, grimacing at his soiled wash cloth before standing up with a groan. “I’m putting this in the sink, you can wash it.”

“Shut it,” Katsuki growled, more for form than anything else, while the other man walked towards his bathroom to toss the washcloth. “Thanks for the heads up about Deku.”

“I thought you guys had patched things up while we were still in school.” It wasn’t a question, but it seemed like Kirishima was looking for an answer nonetheless.

“He sided with that shithead at the department once to often,” Katsuki said. It was more or less true.

“And then there’s Ochako,” Kirishima added, matter of factly.

After a pause, Katsuki responded grudgingly, “And then there’s Ochako.”

“Any progress?”

“I told her about Delphine.” He hadn’t planned on talking about this, but since his friend was here, he might as well get some advice. The man was happily married after all, even if it was to that pink girl.

“Are we calling that progress?” Kirishima asked slowly.

Katsuki's scowled, “I don’t know, maybe?”

Kirishima rubbed his forehead in what was ostensibly thought, though it looked awfully close to a facepalm. “Well, I suppose it progress on the you-front, if not the you-and-Ochako one.” He sighed. “Me not wanting to butt in still stands. But…”

“But?” Katsuki asked, cocking a brow.

Kirishima sighed again, “But I will say that I think you might be what she needs right now.”

Katsuki frowned again, “Just right now?”

“I don’t know what you want me to say, man. I know it’s been awhile, but I’m not convinced you’re ready for anything more than just right now either. All that stuff with Delphine really messed you up.”

Katsuki had a nagging feeling that his friend was right. The whole mess surrounding Delphine had scarred more than just his back. And no matter how many times he told himself that Ochako wasn’t Delphine, he wasn’t sure if his subconscious agreed with the assessment.

“Who knows, dude. Maybe 'right now' can morph into something else as time passes, for both of you.” Kirishima shrugged. “I need to head back, hit me up when Ochako-chan is feeling better and we scan reschedule dinner. There’s a ramen place that opened up near here that’s delicious.”

“Yeah, see ya.”

After Kirishima left, Katsuki checked on the kittens. They were asleep in a mound on the towels in the box. They should be fine for the next three or four hours. He flipped the flaps on the box so that were covering the top. He doubted the kittens were strong enough to climb out of the box, but they were definitely too weak to push the flaps open.

He stepped out of his room and glanced around. No signs of Nyanko lurking around to accost him, thankfully. He walked over the Ochako's rooms and knocked on the door lightly. When there was no response, he tried the door and found it unlocked. He poked his head inside. She wasn’t in the living area. He stepped the rest of the way in and shut the door behind him.

The bedroom door was open a crack, so he knocked lightly on that and stuck his head in. “Ochako?” he asked quietly, “You awake?” He heard a sniffle, a sigh, and finally some mumbling that might have been an affirmative. He stepped into the room. She was curled up on her bed with her back facing the door. He paused by the threshold for a moment, considering how wise his next action was.

He walked over to bed. “Scooch.” Ochako didn’t say anything, but she shifted closer to walk without turning around. He pulled up one side of the blanket she had wrapped around and climbed into the bed.

“You let cold air in,” she said, her voice sounding a little hoarse.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. “My bad. Let me warm you up.”