WARNING: violence

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Yamaguchi Katsuro was a piece of shit, but he did teach Kou a few things.

Firstly, you could get almost anything you wanted in life through the use of brute force and intimidation. That seemed to be his preferred method of persuasion; Katsuro wasn't exactly the most eloquent person- not that he needed to be with a quirk like his.

Which brings Kou to her second lesson: any pain you've felt before meeting Katsuro was nothing in comparison to what he could do to you. She didn't know the science or logistics behind his quirk, but ' pain ' was an understatement.

Katsuro was a cruel, sadistic man. Seeing people crumple to their knees before him gave him a feeling of absolute power that Kou honestly thought he was addicted to. He didn't even need much to trigger him: just slamming the door a bit too loud or looking at him the wrong way was enough to make him use his quirk on you.

This is the third lesson Kou learned from him: how to make yourself small. How to make yourself invisible. That's the only way you'd survive life in a house where he was boss. Do what he wants, stay quiet, and stay out of his way.

Kou found herself relearning all these lessons when she tried bringing up the fact her school had opened in-dorm living during a 'family dinner' one night.

Katsuro and Rei were home on a Friday, a rare occasion that left Kou suspicious of their intentions. Whatever. She needed to talk to them anyways.

Hiro and her were in the kitchen, Kou cooking a simple meal of fried rice and fried fish. Hiro was tending to Machi, who had gotten hungry halfway through preparing the meal and needed a snack and some attention.

"You're telling them tonight?" Hiro asked, picking Machi up in his arms and ignoring her squeals of delight.

"Yup," she's mixing the fried rice in the pan, adding more soy sauce to taste. "It shouldn't be too bad. I'm just saying that I'll be there for 4 nights a week."

Kou couldn't move out of their apartment permanently; not even for a full week. She'd still have to spend weekends there and probably come visit after school to help around the house. She couldn't leave her siblings alone with their parents.

"Dinner's ready!" She yells across the kitchen, not surprised when there was no response. She plates the food, sending Machi and Hiro to sit on the couch and eat their meals away from the adults. She takes her usual seat on the wobbly chair at their rickety dinner table.

The two eventually come out of their room, Katsuro going straight to the fridge to get his beers. Rei sits across from Kou, nose twitching at the scent of their dinner.

"Is this all we have?" She asks, and Kou's eyebrow twitched. This was probably the first time they'd ever eaten a meal together, and suddenly Kou remembered exactly why she avoided situations like this. "It's a bit unhealthy..."

She wants to lash out at her mom, telling her that smoking, drinking, and doing drugs for years probably wasn't healthy either- but she bites her tongue.

Katsuro pulls out a chair and sits at the head of the table, ordering his son to turn on the TV so he could watch whatever sports game was on.

The family eat quietly, the only sound coming from the sports announcer on the TV and the sound of Rei's wine bottle popping open. Kou knows she shouldn't be scared, but she can never be too careful when it comes to Katsuro.

"So..." she starts, coughing a bit to clear up her throat. Her mom glances at her from the side of her eye, looking uninterested. "My school is offering on-campus living now...I think I might go."

"Hm?" Katsuro's eyes don't leave the screen, "Why the fuck would you do that? There something wrong with living in my house?"

Kou freezes, looking at Hiro in a panic. He looks just as nervous as she is. She starts again, "Living here is great. I just think it would be easier to stay there, since my commute is so long and all..."

Katsuro mutes the game, turning his chair back around to face her. Kou's breath hitches, years of living around the psychopath making her familiar with his ways. He was angry.

"You really expect me to pay for that? After all I've done for you?" He asks pointedly, and Kou doesn't have the courage to say he'd never done anything for her.

"It's free." She whispers, breaking their eye contact and looking at her plate. "I'm still going to be here on weekends, and I'll come visit-"

"Kou," her mother slurs, already tipsy. "What are we supposed to do with all the chores? That was your job! We're very busy people you know, and your brother and sister are pretty much useless for now!"

Her grip on her pants tighten, her hands balling up into fists. She regretted asking them for permission in the first place.

"I can do the chores," Hiro tells them, "I'm old enough now. Onee-san doesn't need to stay here."

"You talking back to your mother now?" Katsuro directs his glare at the kid, taunting him.

Hiro gulps, but stands his ground. "I-I'm not talking back, I'm just saying-"

His dad turns on his quirk, staring at Hiro and causing him to drop to the floor in agony. He's screaming in pain, begging for his father to stop.

Katsuro has a sadistic grin on his face, "Apologize to your mom first. Don't speak out of turn, brat."

"I'm sorry- I'm sorry!" He yells, rolling around. Machi is crying at this point, and Kou rushes to the two kids before gasping and falling beside her brother.

"And you ," Katsuro spits out, standing up and placing a dirty shoe on her chest, "What makes you think you can just pack up and leave like that? You're still a minor, we're in charge of you. Don't go around making decisions on your own."

Kou is trying her best to stay silent or wanting to give her stepdad the satisfaction of hearing her scream. She's shivering from her effort, starting to sweat from all the pain.

"I'm not leaving," she grounds out, looking up at him with a sharp glare. He has a shadow cast over his face, making his face look more evil than usual. "I-It's only for a couple nights a week."

She had gotten her cast off a couple nights ago, her injuries almost completely healed. Katsuro's quirk seemed to be reopening all her wounds and making them hurt ten times more than before.

"Really?" He patronizes, crushing her a bit more and leaving her gasping for breath. "And why should I let you go?"

He's just toying with her, enjoying the power he had over them. It made Kou sick, but she needed to get their approval. "I'll still do everything! I can s-still do the groceries and clean; I'll even take some of the food and supplies from the dorm- it's free!"

At this point Hiro is crying and so is Machi, their loud cries only serving to make the situation worse.

"Katsu, stop it!" Her mom yells, placing a hand over her ears. "They're being too loud!"

He only lays off them at her complaint, and Kou is left panting in relief. She clutches at her chest, quickly turning over to check on her brother, who seems shaken up. Why couldn't they just have a normal conversation?

Katsuro sits back down at the table, propping his feet up and lighting a cigarette. Kou is trying to calm her sister down, still recovering from his attack.

There's a few minutes of tense silence, and Kou wonders if she's ever getting out of the house- is this how they'd react when she was 18 too? Would they stop her again?

"Fine." Katsuro's voice startled Kou, who was confused at his sudden change of mind. "You can move into those dorms."

"Really?" She asks, incredulous.

He shrugs, taking another drag from his cigarette. "You said you were still going to take care of your responsibilities. Unless you were lying?"

"No!" She yelps, not wanting to provoke him again. She became such a coward in the presence of Katsuro.

"Good." He smirks, "Besides, with you gone that's one less brat to waste my electricity and water."

Kou nods complacently, just grateful that it hadn't escalated further.

Her mom giggles in a drunken haze, smiling at her kids like she hadn't just witnessed her husband hurting them, "And make sure to bring back any fancy stuff you find there!"

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Moving into the dorms was easy enough: Kou barely had any belongings, a small suitcase and her backpack enough to bring all her stuff to U.A.

She'd been one of the last people to move in, since she had work earlier in the day. When she arrived at the dorms, she almost cried at the sight.

Everything was so new . The house had a huge living room with a TV, and a kitchen that was actually clean and stocked with food; and don't even get her started on her room.

Never in her whole life had she ever had a bed to herself, let alone a whole room. Albeit, students were expected to provide their own furniture, but the space itself was enough to leave Kou giddy like a kid on Christmas.

Thankfully Momo helped out when she saw Kou was lacking a lot of the things she needed, creating a desk and small table using her quirk at her request. Kou's room was probably the most barren out of everyone in class 1-A; besides Shouji.

She took one last look around the place, smiling to herself before exiting and trying out their new bathroom. The baths she had at home were nothing short of terrifying: the hot water was always out, there was mold everywhere, and there wasn't a lock on the door so showers weren't exactly the most calming experience for Kou.

She found herself humming happily in the shower, using her cheap shampoo and soap and not having a care in the world. Hiro was right: moving out of Roppongi was the best decision she'd ever made.

Kou didn't need a lot to survive: as long as there was a roof over her head and food in her belly she really couldn't complain. She'd learned how to live on the bare minimum, how to suppress her desires in favour of giving more to her siblings, or simply because of a lack of money.

That's probably why she felt so guilty about moving out: she left Hiro and Machi alone with their parents, while she was here enjoying life. It felt like she was betraying them somehow, even though her brother had been the one to encourage it in the first place.

Kou felt like she didn't deserve to be living so comfortably when her siblings were stuck at home. She knew she'd only be gone for four nights a week max, but that time adds up. What if they grew to resent her? What if things got worse at home?

The warm shower was starting to feel suffocating, and she quickly turned it off and dried herself with a towel. Did she actually make the right decision?

While going back and forth in her head she completely missed the calls from her classmates, who wanted to do a 'Dorm Room Competition' to see which one of them had the best room.

She turned off the light, falling to her futon and pulling the covers over her body. This would be the first time she'd ever slept by herself too; it was feeling surprisingly lonely.

" I'm fine, " she whispers to herself, trying to calm down. There was no point in mulling over a decision she already made.

The quiet only serves to give her more time to think about all her other problems; like a certain blond haired classmate that happened to be in the room beside hers.

If she thought Bakugou was ignoring her before, it was 10 times worse now. Ever since she'd visited his house and he had done.. .that , he'd been acting like she didn't exist. Not just ignoring her calls and texts either; he was straight up ignoring her when she tried talking to him, acting like he didn't hear her.

Kou sighed, not knowing what to do. She figured he was mentally unstable and chalked the kiss up to him not knowing how to deal with his emotions- she was over it. She just wanted to go back to normal, but the blond was as stubborn as ever.

"Whatever," she grunts, trying her best to fall asleep despite all the thoughts whirling around in her head. She'd worry about Bakugou some other time; he had to come around eventually...right?

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A/N: If you guys are wondering what Katsuro's power is like it's like Jane from twilight- the one who could just look at you and make you feel like you were burning alive? Yeah uhhhh I'm a twi-hard dkm.... Anyways I promise Bakugou is coming next chapter- AKA tomorrow!

Thanks for reading: leave a comment, kudos and check out my other stories if you want! ❤️