Chapter Text
To say Kathrine Monoma was pissed was an understatement . She was furious . She dropped everything she had planned for that day, clients, and appointments, all pushed to another day as she raced to UA. She was angry and highly upset as tears poured out of her eyes on the way there. ‘She’s okay, they stopped her from jumping, she’s going to be okay.’ Kathrine reminded herself as she drove to UA.
Kathrine was sure she broke several speeding laws on the way to the school. ‘It’s fine. I’m a lawyer.’ She told herself knowing full well it wasn’t fine but that didn’t matter. Kathrine skirted into an empty parking spot in the UA parking lot, her tires squealing as this happened. She got out of the car, saw it was parked wonky, and then just waved it off, and then marched straight to UA. Her heels nearly snapped on her way to the office.
Before the receptionist could even speak Kathrine cut her off with a very direct request. “I need to see Principal Nedzu, now . Not this week. Now . Do you understand me?” She seethed while she put her hands on the desk, her dark red acrylic nails gently tapping against the wood.
The receptionist opened her mouth, probably to try and send Kathrine away, but they never got to speak.
“Ah, right on time Mrs. Monoma.” Nedzu walked down the hallway with his furry paws behind his back. “I’ve been expecting you, please, let’s have a talk in my office.” Nedzu gestured Kathrine towards his office. Kathrine noted a notebook in his furry paws.
“What is that?” Kathrine inquired as she walked behind Nedzu.
“This? An unfortunate tipping point for Ms. Midoriya, but fret not. We’re going to punish those responsible.”
“Izumi-”
“Is resting along with your son. Don’t worry, we’ve made sure that she won’t take off running.”
The door shut behind them leaving her and Nedzu alone; where Kathrine will make a deal with the devil himself she was sure.
Izumi woke with a sharp gasp. ‘I…fell asleep?’ Her mind spun for a moment as she looked around and realized she was in the infirmary. Izumi went to sit up and the sound of metal clinking made her look down. She had been handcuffed to the side of the bed bars. This made her frown as she tugged on the cuffs.
“It’s just a precaution-”
Izumi gasped as she turned towards Mr. Aizawa. 1-A’s beloved homeroom teacher was sitting in a chair and watching her. Izumi frowned at him before she turned away from him.
“...Can we talk?” He asked her and she just moved her head to indicate that she was listening but didn’t trust herself to give a verbal response. “I’ll take that as a yes… let’s start simple. Shinsou, Mineta, and Sero are out of the hero course because of what they did. As their teacher, I want to apologize on their behalf. We at UA have a strong anti-bullying policy.” Izumi looked down at the bed covers and slowly she shook her head. There was a silence and Izumi could feel Mr. Aizawa’s confusion. “No…what?” Mr. Aizawa finally asked.
“I… don’t want them out of the hero course. I…I just want to be left alone.” She whispered while picking at the blanket.
Aizawa sucked in a slow breath and paused as he leaned with his arms on his knees. “Midoriya, do you remember when your mother stuck up for Kaminari? Do you remember how you didn’t want that? So…why are you doing it to yourself?”
“... Because despite what Hitoshi did to me…I know he can still be a hero. I know they all can. Denki was different, he… he nearly killed me.”
“In a way, they almost killed you,” Aizawa explained and Izumi shook her head again.
“Suicide…was never out of the question for me.” She told the teacher. “I’m quirkless… I’m… a statistic.”
“That’s not true. You’re a human, you’re not a statistic.”
“I feel like one.” She admitted in a weak voice while she reached up and wiped her tears away. “I just… I’m more upset at myself than at Hitoshi or even his stupid friends.” She whispered while covering her eyes so she wouldn’t have to look at Mr. Aizawa. “I knew it was too good to be true!” She sobbed into her hands. “I was so wary of him at first but…I just… I was so happy that someone saw interest in me.” She wiped her tears quickly and moved her hands from her face to softly sniffle. “I should have known that it was too good to be true.”
“It’s not your fault.” Aizawa was gentle as he put one hand on top of hers. “ They are at fault and need to be punished as such. You had no way of knowing that they were going to use you for a bet. No way. I’m their teacher and I had no idea that they’ve been doing this since the start.”
Izumi put her knees to her chest and shook her head as she pushed her tears back. “I… the thing is… I still like Hitoshi despite what he’s done and… I want him to succeed. All I want is to be left alone.”
“I see…” Aizawa whispered as he looked away from her.
“I also know… he’s your personal student. He mentioned it once or twice I think…” She sniffled. “All that hard work-”
“He was my personal student. After this stunt…” Aizawa shook his head slowly and sternly. “It’s a shame but even if you do manage to convince me not to expel them, which I doubt you will, I will have nothing to do with him. He’ll have to find his own way.”
Izumi let her head hang slowly. “I just… I don’t want to ruin his reputation. I don’t want UA to throw Hitoshi to the wolves… I don’t want him to… actually be a villain. I…”
Neito’s words came back into her mind. ‘Be selfish for once in your life!’
“Maybe we can come to a compromise!” She yelled suddenly as she looked at him. The sad thing was this was her being selfish. She was being selfish for Hitoshi’s sake. As unfortunate as it was.
“A compromise?” Mr. Aizawa crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m listening.”
Neito entered the infirmary, a bouquet of flowers in his hands; chrysanthemums. He saw her awake and smile as he approached her. “Hey.” She looked at him and smiled back. It wasn’t a full smile but it was a smile nonetheless. “I got you flowers.” He told her as he put them down on her lap and sat in a chair beside her bed. He pulled the chair up next to her and then there was silence between them. She pulled the flowers to her face and smelled them.
“Chrysanthemums. You remembered!”
“I never forgot.” He told her in a soft voice.
“... I’m sorry.” She whispered and put the flowers back in her lap. “I broke my promise.”
Neito reached over and grabbed her hand. He ran his thumb over the back of it and she turned it so they were holding hands. “How are you?”
“Better. Not great, but better,” She admitted and there was a rattle of chains. He saw that her left hand was cuffed to the bed. She noticed that he was looking at the cuff and gave a smile. “It’s temporary.”
“Well, I would hope so.” Neito gave a tiny laugh before his smile dropped. “I… would like to apologize.”
“What for?” Izumi blinked.
“For kissing you on the roof. I never should have done that-” Neito blinked when Izumi cupped his cheek with her hand in a gentle caress.
“I’m glad you did. Neito, I’ve had feelings for you too, but…I never thought you would ever want to be with someone like me.” She admitted to him while gently caressing his cheek with her thumb. “When you told me you cared for me like that I didn’t believe you. If you wouldn’t have kissed me I never would have.” Izumi then looked at the flowers in her lap before she wiped her tears away. “I feel blind. It was all right there, but I never saw it.”
Neito sighed and stood from his chair. He then got into bed with her and pulled her into a hug. There was silence as they just lay there in an embrace. “The moment I met you. The day I stopped Bakugo and his ‘friends’ from beating you up; I fell head over heels for you.” He confessed to her. Izumi grabbed his shirt and gave a sniffle as she pressed her face against his chest. “I was just too much of a coward to ever confess. I tried to do so secretly, but was blocked both times.”
“You were blocked? By what?”
“It doesn’t matter.” He ran his hand down her soft, but knotted, curls. Izumi placed her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. “What matters now is that we get you passed this. My mother is working hard to get you some therapy as she doesn’t think Hound Dog will cut it.”
“That…would be nice,” Izumi admitted softly. “I think…I’m going to start working out as well. Maybe I could join you during one of your training days?”
“I’d like that, you have the muscle width of a toothpick.” He teased her and that made Izumi give a tiny smile.
“I don’t disagree. I think I need to be a bit buffer for my own self-confidence. I also want to be stronger for the next Sports Festival.”
Now that made Neito blink when Izumi sat up. “You want to try and get into the hero course next year?”
“Maybe not the hero course, but I’m not happy with Gen Ed, I settled and dammit, you’re right. It’s time I be a bit more selfish. Besides there are now four empty spots in soon-to-be 2-A.” She told him matter-of-factly and that made Neito smile.
“Your right, however, I bet I could get Kendo or someone else in 1-B to try and transfer then there will be an opening in my class and I think that would make you much happier.”
Izumi giggled behind her hand. “I guess we’ll see.”
“So, speaking of the dickweeds: What happened? Rumor is that they’ve been expelled?”
“At first, they were,” Izumi told him and looked out the window. Neito’s smile quickly turned into a frown.
“They’re still enrolled?! That’s-”
“-My idea.” She turned to look at Neito with a serious face. “Mr. Aizawa and I spoke in length as to what should happen to Hit- Shinsou, Sero, and Mineta. So, we reached a compromise. I didn’t want them expelled-”
“Izumi-” Neito started to shake his head but Izumi shushed him by putting her hand to his lips.
“Hear me out before you judge. They’re out of the hero course, that much is for certain as neither Aizawa nor Vlad want anything to do with them. They are not allowed to re-enter through the Sports Festival, in fact, they’re not allowed near the next two Sports Festivals as they’ve been excluded.” Izumi then lowered her hand from Neito’s mouth.
“Yeah, but now they’re in Gen Ed with you! Do you want that?!”
“They’re not. Here’s the rundown of the agreement between Mr. Aizawa, Nedzu, and I. They’re being moved from their dorm and into an empty dorm. One big empty dorm with just the three of them. They are not allowed to visit any of the other dorms and nobody from the other dorms is allowed to visit them and a non-hero teacher is going to be teaching them in the dorms they’re staying in. This way they can stay in UA and at least get a decent education.”
Neito stayed quiet as he thought about it for several seconds. Then it hit him. “You made them untouchable .”
Izumi’s mouth quirked up in a sly smile at his words. “I did. Nobody will touch them for as long as they’re in UA. They’re in isolation away from the other students all alone in a big dorm with just the three of them and out of the hero course.”
“How clever.”
“Oh, and Kathrine made Hitoshi sign a restraining order. So, he’s personally not allowed within a hundred feet of me and if he does, he’s out. Expelled on the spot.”
“You’re an evil genius.” Neito smiled while he leaned back against the pillows and Izumi laid awkwardly on her side as she stared at him with a bigger smile than before.
“They fucked around and they sure as hell found out.”
“That they did, my friend, that they did.”
Kathrine stared at the money in her hand. It was a thick wad of cash, but it wasn’t hers. No, it was supposedly Izumi’s final gift to her. The girl, allowed out of her bed handed Kathrine the money with a bow. “I take it this is what you had that job for?” Kathrine asked.
“It was my mother’s idea. To pay you back for sending me to such a good middle school. I know it’s not nearly enough but I kinda sorta quit my job so it’s all I have at the moment.” Izumi looked away from Kathrine and nervously fidgeted with her fingers. “But I’m working on getting another job-” Kathrine then grabbed Izumi’s wrist, turned her palm upwards, and put the money back into her hand. “Huh?”
“Izumi, what I did for you was a gift. You do not have to pay me back for that and if anything your mother should be the one paying me not you .” Kathrine told Izumi sternly but not unkindly.
“But-”
“No. No buts, please-” Kathrine put both of her hands over Izumi’s hand. “-Spend the money on yourself, sweetie.”
“...” Izumi didn’t look so sure as she looked down. “I… don’t know. It feels wrong-”
“It’s not. Trust me, it’s not.” Kathrine then moved her hands up and cupped the sides of Izumi’s face with both of her hands. Her nails gently scratched against Izumi’s face. “Now, speaking of your mother, I have to talk to her today.”
Izumi hung her head. “She’s gonna be mad.”
“Perhaps, but not at you,” Kathrine whispered to Izumi as she gently ran her fingers through Izumi’s hair.
“What do you mean?” Izumi inquired with a curious head tilt and Kathrine only winked .
“I made a deal with the devil.”
Kathrine sat across from Inko, the two of them inside the apartment. Kathrine had a rather smug look on her face as she had her arms crossed over her chest while Inko sat there looking ashamed as she should be. After all, sleeping with an intern is often frowned upon in the workforce. Sleeping with an underage intern is cause for arrest. The teenager, a sixteen-year-old working for exposure and experience was sitting next to Inko staring blankly at the table. Both were in their underwear as Nedzu predicted they would be to Kathrine.
“...What do you want to keep me silent?” Inko asked as she worriedly tapped the table with her middle finger. “Money? My daughter is working on it, you’ll get your money.” Inko couldn’t meet Kathrine’s gaze as she stared intensely at the table.
“Oh no.” Kathrine laughed as she slapped a piece of paper on the table and pushed it toward Inko. “I want your daughter. Now, before you protest, because I know you will. Just know not only are in unprofessional contact territory here, but if this gets out you will not only lose your job, but you’ll also be prosecuted because he’s underage. Oh, and in HIPAA violation as who knows what you could be telling your little boy toy here all a good chance you’ll probably lose your license…and I don’t think you want that. Do you, Inko?” She whispered lowly while Inko’s cheeks flushed a bright pink.
“Why are you doing this?” She asked while tapping her finger just a little harder on the table.
“Why are you resisting? You clearly don’t love your daughter-”
“No. I love her, I just don’t like her. There’s a difference.” Inko seethed and Kathrine was sure she heard the intern suck in a sharp breath through his teeth at her comment.
“Then this should be easy. Sign the paper.” Kathrine demanded as she pushed the paper towards Inko again.
“...” Inko glared at Kathrine.
“Well?”
“...If I sign this… it tells the world that I was a bad mom.”
“You are a bad mom.” Kathrine hissed.
“Ouch-” The intern said and Inko snarled-
“Shut it, Tomaka!” Inko then shut her eyes and squeezed the bridge of her nose with her fingers. Finally, she just huffed, snatched the pen, and started to sign. “Fine. You want her so bad, she’s yours.”
“Good, sign here. And here. And here…”
It wasn’t perfect. But it was a start . Now Kathrine can do all the things Inko never did for Izumi. For starters, getting her the therapy she needed and- possibly- spoiling her a little down the line. But for now: Therapy.
Finally, things were going to look up for that poor girl. All Kathrine had to do in return for the information given to her by Nedzu was: Not to sue his school into the ground because he knew she held that power given all that transpired. And do one thing: Should Nedzu need her for anything she would be his lawyer. Granted, Nedzu could be his own lawyer with how smart the rat was, but knowing him…he had something up his furry sleeves no doubt.
A deal with a devil.
But it was worth it as Kathrine collected the papers stating that Inko waived her parental rights over to Kathrine. “Thank you, My husband will be by later to pick up any of Izumi’s things.” Was the last thing Kathrine Monoma would ever say to Inko Midoriya.
Gifts!
That’s all Izumi could say when she opened her dorm door after being gone and excused from the class for a week. Her room had a bunch of gifts in it. Some from 1-A, some from 1-B, most from her Gen Ed class, and a couple from Rio of all people. How he found out is beyond her.
Yet, amongst these piles of ‘get well soon’ gifts there was one that stood out.
Thank you. That was all the note said. The gift was in a rectangular box and the note itself was from a piece of copy paper and written with a black sharpie.
Izumi sat on her bed as she opened the box. Inside the box was…a picture. Hand drawn.
It was a picture of her clearly holding hands with Neito as they walked together toward UA. It was colored with colored pencils and shaded nicely. She already knew who gifted her this picture and she was tempted to rip it down the middle and never think about it again…
But instead, she turned it over to read the writing on the back.
Thank you for giving us a second chance at UA. While I know you hate me and I deserve your hate and ridicule, I still just want to thank you. If not for your kindness, that I don’t deserve, I don’t know where I’d be. This will be the last time I ever attempt to contact you and I hope you and Neito have a happy life together.
Izumi quietly wiped the tears out of her eyes with her sleeve and put the picture back into the box. “Idiot. If-” She sniffled. “If I ever see you again I’m going to punch you, I swear.” She didn’t know if she meant it but the point stood regardless. She closed the box and debated about what she wanted to do. Did she want to throw it out? The picture was nice as much as she hated Hitoshi…
In the end, she elected to slide the box, and picture, under her bed. She just… needed to think about what she wanted to do. She was going to start therapy soon and maybe she could bring it up to her therapist? Well if she brought up the picture then she’d have to bring up the bet and…
…It was hard to say.
But.
It was a start. Izumi was going to reclaim her life one way or another. She wasn’t going to let her quirklessness define her anymore and with the Monoma’s on her side… it just might be possible.