Chapter 11

The two boys stared at Mrs. Bakugou for a brief moment before looking at each other in unison. They hadn't planned for her to ask questions.

Shoto opened his mouth slightly to reply, his response at a pause as he articulated his thoughts, "The sports festival, I think." he decided to reply honestly. It will feel more believable if he genuinely tells the truth, even if to Katsuki it only seems as though he's acting.

…

Katsuki processed Sho's reply to the Old Hag's question. It was a believable answer, Katsuki wondered, where were these acting skills earlier?

Well, it didn't matter, as they couldn't change what has happened already anyway.

Katsuki decided on his own reply, as his mother was now looking at him expectantly, "My answer is the same as his." he decided to tell the truth, as it will be more convincing. His mother is very good at sensing deceit, Katsuki knew this very well.

While he was confident in his acting abilities, he was not confident in his ability to fool his mother.

This lie will be hard to uphold, so even if these feelings are only his, he will give the lie all he has. To exist in the reality he wishes were real, even if only for two weeks, would be a dream come true.

His mother glared at him intensely, searching his eyes for any hint of falsities.

When she leaned away with a smirk, he knew he'd succeeded in tricking her.

"You two must be soulmates, huh?" she smirked warmly and rather softly, ruffling Katsuki's hair, "Okay, now shoo, I wish to speak with your boooyyyfrrieeeend alone."

…

Shoto watched Katsuki roll his eyes before grabbing his food and walking away, supposedly to wherever their dining room may be.

"Soo, how'd my son snag somebody like you? Is he blackmailing you? Are you in danger?" Mitsuki pressed.

"Uh… no, he is not blackmailing me, and no, I am not in danger." Shoto replied hesitantly.

"Then why? I know damn well my son has a nasty personality. I can bet he doesn't have any friends, so I don't get how he'd have a lover."

Mrs. Bakugou raised an eyebrow at Shoto, pegging him to explain.

"Well, I guess we're like kindred spirits but at the same time opposites attract." He said, fiddling with his fingers and avoiding eye contact. This would be really hard to explain to her.

"How so?"

"Well, Katsuki doesn't like to show it, but I can tell he feels incredibly inferior to others. Not to quote Marina or anything, but he feels like he's the worst so he always acts like he's the best."

Shoto explained, "Katsuki puts his all into everything he does. He studies really hard while training really hard, he practices every skill until he's mastered it, and he hones his body to constantly be at peak performance."

Mrs. Bakugou stared blankly at Shoto as he explained, processing every word he said. And so he kept going,

"I'm the exact opposite. I was raised being told I was better than everybody else, which I ended up believing for a while. I was forced to train until I vomited, even if I didn't want to. I was forced onto a strict diet and into a good sleep schedule. My studies come incredibly naturally to me, as natural as breathing sometimes," Shoto paused, remembering he needed to breathe, "I've never actually struggled to get where I am. When I was fighting Katsuki at the sports festival, I could feel how desperate he was to prove he was genuinely worthy. He wanted to work toward his goal, to earn his goal."

Shoto quickly glanced at Mrs. Bakugou, she seemed enthralled with his speech. Shoto got a sudden wave of confidence wash over him like the lazy ocean hugs the shore, tugging him to say something he'd never been inclined to say to anyone.

"I haven't known you for very long, but from what I've seen and heard, you're not treating him the way he needs to be treated," Shoto stated bluntly. "I overheard Aizawa-sensei talking to some of the faculty members about you and Katsuki a little while after the dorm system had been implemented. Apparently, he was asking them to keep watch over Katsuki's behavior. Claimed that during his meeting with you, you hit him over the head multiple times and blamed him for his own kidnapping. Said it was his fault for being too weak." Shoto stated.

Mrs. Bakugou looked inclined to reply, but Shoto didn't give her the chance before he started talking again.

"Your son already feels as though he is weak and inferior. You could be one of the reasons for that. I know you think you're giving him the drive to improve, and while you are by a degree, you're also inclining him to push himself too far. He comes close to killing himself in every battle he fights. You're his mother, he, by nature, looks to you for guidance. You are guiding him to think he is nowhere near as strong as he actually is." Shoto paused, glaring at the woman with a strength he doesn't usually have, "Children's brains are incredibly malleable, like play-doh, you've raised him with a mindset towards violent and self-destructive behavior. You've raised him to never be content with himself and to never feel like he'll be enough, no matter what he does. I hope I've convinced you to revise your parenting strategy."

Shoto finished his lecture, before deciding to add another access comment, "Also, while you've made it apparent you don't think this, Katsuki has many friends who would die for him. You need to start giving him more credit."

Shoto proceeded to bathe in the awkward silence, as Mrs. Bakugou seemed taken aback by his words as she also pondered them.

Instead of replying in words, however, she snorted. Like a pig. Thereafter she abrupted in a symphony of cacophonous, nasally cackling. On and on, for what felt like an internity as he'd been preparing for her to scream at him before grabbing him by the collar and throwing him out of the house. But none of that happened.

As her laughter died down, she wiped the tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

"You're right." She said, smiling sadly at him, "To be honest, I never wanted children. Katsuki's birth was unplanned. When I found out I was pregnant with him, I was ecstatic, but I was also incredibly petrified. I knew I wouldn't be able to raise a functioning member of society. That was why I didn't want children." She paused, configuring her next sentence, "I was planning on giving him up for adoption. I knew it was what would be best for him. But when I held him in my arms on that hospital bed after ten strenuous hours, I couldn't let him go. I wouldn't give him back to the nurses, I was so enthralled with this small being I had carried for nine months, that I just couldn't let him go."

Shoto processed her words. She knew she was bad at parenting, she knew she was doing it wrong, but she didn't know what part of it she was doing wrong. Shoto had actually helped her by laying it all out the way he did, he answered a question she had been too scared to ask anybody.

Mrs. Bakugou cupped one of Shoto's cheeks from across the island counter, "My son is so incredibly lucky to have you taking care of him. Please, keep my baby safe." she said, stroking her thumb softly against his face like a mother who's proud of her child would.

"I will."