#yuuta's family call him yuu-chan

[senshimi]

i want Ageha to call Yuuta ‘Yuu-chan’ someday because well i want him to and that’s all

[emeraldwaves]

Title: What We Lack Part 13 Pairing:  Kacchako, Deku/Melissa, Todomomo Rating: T Word Count: 4,158 Read on Ao3 Summary:  

Quirkless.

They’re the last people anyone expects to have a child without a quirk.

Neither of them can fully wrap their heads around it, but Ochako knows Katsuki is struggling far more than her.

Thank you to @its-love-u-asshole for beta-ing

"Come on, Yuuta, attack me!" Shouhei called out, bouncing back and forth on his feet. He hadn't even activated his quirk yet, and already he was ready for a fight.

"Sh-Shou!" Yuuta cried back, shaking his head. "I think it's a bad idea for us to fight." He couldn't attack his boyfriend, if he was even calling him his boyfriend. Yuuta still hadn't worked up the nerve to clarify.

"We're not fighting, Yuu," Shouhei snorted, folding his arms across his chest. "We're fucking training! There's a difference, and this will be fun!"

Yuuta swallowed, unsure of how any of this could be classified as fun.

"But Shou... what if I... what if I hurt you?" he said, glancing down at the ground.

"Then we get healed! The whole point of training is to get stronger. You're going to have to face your classmates during the sports fest!" Shouhei said, pointing out the rather obvious truth Yuuta was trying to avoid thinking about.

Admittedly it was one of his biggest fears, fighting both Shouhei and Arata during the sports fest. Knowing his luck, he'd probably have to face both.

He slammed his eyes shut, trying to breathe. So many times now had he pictured the large stadium... Shouhei standing across from him, a smirk pulled across his lips. Sometimes it was Arata, his piercing turquoise eyes looking as though he were about to murder Yuuta.

Neither were a pleasant daydream and Yuuta's heart began to pound in his chest, his breathing growing shallow. He shook his head back and forth.

"N-No..." he said, pressing his head to his hands. "I can't!"

"Oi, oi, oi," Shouhei said, jogging over to him. His hands wrapped gently around Yuuta's wrists, pulling them down. "What's going on?"

Slowly turning his gaze to Shouhei, Yuuta bit his lip. "I-I... I can't fight you Shouhei," he whispered. "I'm terrified I'll hurt you or... or..."

Shouhei scoffed. "I guess I should be offended you think I'm weak enough to let you land a hit."

"Eh?" Yuuta blinked, confusion dancing through his dark eyes. "I-I don't think you're weak at all, Shou."

"Exactly. I can hold my own against you," he smirked. His thumbs brushed over the backs of Yuuta's hands. Somehow Shouhei was always so gentle, even behind his sometimes gruff personality.

"Yes but..."

"Boys!" Mina's voice cut Yuuta off and he jerked away quickly, not wanting her to see them holding hands. Or well, he supposed Shouhei probably wouldn't want her to see them holding hands. He wasn't sure how much it mattered.

"M-Mina-sensei! A-Ah uhm... Kirishima-sensei," Yuuta stammered. He knew they should be calling her by her family name, despite being more familiar with her.

"Yuu-kun," Mina chuckled, smirking at both of them. "If the rest of the class isn't around, you don't have to be so nervous and formal!" She giggled. "It's cute how much like your mom you are. Momo-chan must be so proud."

"I-I uh, I hope..." Yuuta muttered, looking down at the ground. So far he hadn't done much to warrant his parents being proud of him.

"What seems to be the problem over here? Everyone is training and you two are just standing here talking," Mina said, narrowing her eyes at the two boys. "You shouldn't take this time for granted, especially with the sports festival coming up! These hours we set aside for training are crucial!" she said, tapping her foot against the ground.

"Well Yuu-"

"It's my fault Mina-sensei!" Yuuta said, immediately cutting Shouhei off. "I-I told Shou I didn't want to attack him and I started thinking about having to face Shou or Arata during the sports festival and I just... I freaked out..." he muttered, his cheeks flushing.

"Yuuta," Mina said and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I get that fighting against your classmates might seem a little bizarre, but I promise it will be good for you! I paired you with Shouhei today because I thought you would feel more comfortable working with someone you know very well. I guess that was maybe a mistake?" She raised her eyebrow, smiling at the two of them.

"N-No!" Yuuta said, shaking his head. "I need to get over it... I know..."

"Try not to think too much about it," Mina explained. "Your mother and I used to spar all the time!" she laughed. "Same with me and Ocha-chan!" She glanced towards Shou. "Your dad was a different story. No one wanted to fight against Bakugou, save for like Eiji... Midoriya... Todoroki occasionally... Oh and of course him and Ochako-chan sparred all the time, probably why they got married," she teased, waving her hand back and forth. "Well, either way, neither of you are going to explode the other, so just try and have fun and give it your all! You're on the hero track for a reason," she said.

Yuuta bit his lip. She was right. He had chosen to do this... he knew what it entailed. He wasn't sure why he thought he would never have to potentially spar against everyone in class. As heroes, his parents never fought against their friends. Only people who were quite obviously villains… but even they probably did things like this in school.

"Right," Yuuta nodded.

"I can promise you your parents sparred all the time as well, Yuu-kun," Mina explained. "None of us became heroes by holding ourselves back."

"I keep telling him he's not going to hurt me," Shouhei huffed.

"Yes, give Shou-kun some credit!" Mina giggled. "Do you think you boys can try to practice now? If you don't want to be paired up in the future, I can make sure to avoid this again, but I think the two of you can help each other get stronger-"

"No! We can do it!" Yuuta said, pulling away from them to go stand more in the middle of the field. The last thing he wanted was to be denied more chances to work with Shouhei. "Let's go Shou!" he called out, letting the blue flames flicker around his palms.

"Alright, alright, give me a second," he said, running to stand across from him.

Yuuta glanced down at his hands, the blue flames cold as he started to warm their temperature, he saw Shouhei press his hands against a few large rocks, moving his fingers to raise them up.

They could do this... it was just like Mina said, they could help each other get stronger.

~~

 SLAP

The sound was sharp, echoing across the training room, Enji's palm connecting with Arata's face.

"You're late," he stated flatly.

The sting spread across Arata's cheek and he instinctively brought his own palm to gently rub the spot.

"I-I had to... change after class," Arata muttered, though even as the words left his mouth, he could tell they felt like a piss poor excuse. It wouldn't matter to Enji what he was doing... Arata was late and Enji wasn't going to accept any sort of reason.

"I don't appreciate people who disrespect my time," Enji scoffed. "You came to me Arata. Please keep that in mind."

"Yes Grandfather," he breathed.

"Good, I'd like you to spend the first hour rotating between core training; jogging, pushups, sit ups, etc."

He opened his mouth about to argue they had worked on those things today during their training session at school, but he didn't wish to elicit anymore slaps.

"If you truly wish to be stronger, Arata, you must discipline yourself. Right now, I question how serious you are taking this."

Arata's stomach dropped. He was questioning that? After how much time and how hard he was working both here and at school? Arata couldn't allow Enji to think that.

"I-I promise I want to take it seriously."

"Words are empty. Actions will prove to me how serious you are."

Arata nodded silently, making his way to the training hall. He would work all night if he had to, homework be damned. Even if he lost sleep, he could make up for the time at some point.

 "There are many reasons we don't speak to your grandfather."

His father's voice echoed in his ear. It was a well known fact, even amongst the professional heroes that Todoroki Shouto and Todoroki Enji did not speak. Enji had been a strong hero before his retirement, maintaining the number one spot for quite some time. Eventually, as did most heroes, he grew too old, forced to retire the name Endeavor.

Arata didn't remember much about his grandfather. He recalled the smell of the house, like something was burning inside of it at all times. He remembered hugging him and excitedly showing his grandfather his quirk for the first time... that was the last day he had seen him with his parents alone.

Aunt Fuyumi occasionally would have the entire Todoroki family over, and Enji always went to that. He attended but he barely spoke, keeping to himself until he said goodbye to each of them, only glancing at Shouto once, nodding his head in acknowledgment.

Shouto never made it clear what their grandfather had done, but Arata wondered how bad it could've been. Then again, based on the way Enji spoke sometimes, Arata had a suspicion it had to do with their mother, and knowing his father, he was very protective of her.

Even Arata disliked the way Enji had made a few subtle comments about his quirk being too similar to his mother's.

"Grandfather..." Arata began, standing in the middle of the room. "Do you think... my mother is strong?"

"Your mother?" Enji asked. He sighed, letting his eyes shut. "Your mother is a strong woman, yes. She uses her quirk well, and has clearly put a great deal into her training."

"I see," Arata said.

"Your father is stronger..." Enji said, trailing off. "I don't believe this is something we should speak on. We're wasting precious training time."

Arata glanced down, staring his feet. "Do you think that... they shouldn't have gotten together?" he asked, biting his lip. Enji clearly wanted to change the subject, unsurprisingly. The few times Arata and Yuuta had brought up the topic of their grandfather to their parents, they too had been dodgy.

"Hm..." Enji sighed, huffing out a breath of air. "No. I don't think that. Momo has always brought out something good in Shouto." His voice gruff as he spoke the words, as though they were painful to him. "She makes him work harder and the two of them have always been a good... duo."

"Oh..." Arata muttered. "Have... you ever told him you think that?"

"He never gave me a chance," Enji muttered, standing up.

"Why is it that... you two don't talk?" Arata knew he was pushing his luck, especially from the way Enji's face fell slightly.

"Mmm," Enji hummed, tapping his finger against his arm. Arata watched, waiting for Enji to respond. "I wanted Shouto to be number one. I wanted him to carry on our family legacy. I pushed him, and he did not wish to be pushed in that way..." he explained. "But you, Arata, despite your tardiness today, I do think you can make it to the top. Your father is constantly fighting for the number one spot against Ground Zero and Deku, but if you work hard, you could own that spot. Just you."

"The number one hero," Arata whispered. It seemed like a dream beyond his reach. He never felt as strong as his father, nor did he think he was as strong as Yuuta even. Though his brother certainly didn't have the same drive Arata did. From what he could tell, he was only interested in following Shouhei around.

He clenched his fists, his eyes burning with more determination. "I'll do it. I'll be the number one hero," he said.

"Good, then I trust you will work hard at this training, and no more being late," he said, narrowing his eyes. "I do not wish to discipline you any more than I have to."

"No more being late," Arata repeated softly. He wondered if this was what his father hadn't liked. The pressure was already tightening in his chest, hoping he wouldn't do anything wrong to upset his grandfather again. If this was what he had to do to be the best... so be it.

~~

Tapping his pencil against his desk, Yuuta twisted his lips. He was tired, and he really didn't feel like continuing his homework, but they had barely started school. He couldn't lose steam now.

He made his way down to the common room, pulling out a kettle to put some tea on when he glanced out the window, noticing a figure heading back towards the B dorm. He raised his eyebrow, noting the way they walked, their backpack and hoodie. There was no doubt in his mind it was Arata.

He pursed his lips and pulled out his phone, glancing at their messages.

[Text to: Arata]: Wow! Training was hard today, huh?

Yuuta sighed. Of course Arata hadn't responded to him. He barely acknowledged him, even when he saw him in the hall.

But what exactly was he doing sneaking around after curfew? Yuuta leaned over the counter, glancing down the hall. There didn't seem to be much movement... he wondered if he could sneak out himself...

He just wanted to talk to his brother... even for a second.

Stepping quietly back to his room, he grabbed his own hoodie and tucked his phone into his pocket. He prayed he wouldn't get caught, but even if he did, worst case, he could make up some excuse about missing his brother or something.

He snuck across the grass to the other building, stepping inside. Arata was on the fourth floor, and of course he had to be at the very top at the other end of the hall.

Taking a deep breath, he scurried towards his door, knocking on it lightly. "Arata," he whispered, and the door immediately swung open. His brother glared at him and grabbed his hoodie, yanking him inside.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, frowning. "It's after curfew."

Yuuta glanced down. "I could ask you the same question."

"It's... my room?" Arata said, glancing around.

Clicking his tongue, Yuuta folded his arms. "I meant I saw you sneaking back inside just now!" he huffed, and then frowned, noticing the redness on the side of Arata's face. Maybe he had been training... or... "Where... were you, Arata?"

"Whatever Yuuta," he scoffed, yanking his chair out to sit down. "I have homework."

"Arata, please," he said. "Are you doing extra training?"

"Yes, now go back to your room before you get us both in trouble!" he hissed, slamming his fist down against the desk. Yuuta jumped, freezing in place. He really didn't want to get caught in Arata's room but...

He had to get to the bottom of this.

"Where is this anger coming from? I don't... I don't understand," he whispered, stepping towards his brother's desk.

"I don't expect you to," Arata muttered, running his hand through his hair. "Look, Yuuta. We're both here to learn and become pro heroes. Can we just... focus on that? Please?"

"I just want to know where you've been."

"It's none of your business," he hissed. "Can't you just go back to Shouhei's room and make out or something?"

Yuuta bit his lip, his body deflating. "Arata I... don't understand why you're acting so... mean? What did I do to upset you? I-I just want to apologize and we can figure this out-"

"Yuuta, not everything is about you, okay? We don't all have our perfect lives figured out and we can't all just laugh and play around with our boyfriend while we half-assedly train. I don't get to just use my quirk casually like you," he snapped. "There's a lot to think about, and it takes way more practice!"

Sighing, Yuuta sat on Arata's bed, looking at his hands. "When we were little... I... was always really jealous of you," he began to explain. "You had such control over your quirk, and your crystals were... well, are, so beautiful. Mom was so helpful to you and... and I was a mess. I still am a mess. My quirk isn't easy to control. It's not like Dad where one side is ice and one is fire... it feels like mine is a weird mix of both and I still... suck at it. Secretly deep down it terrifies me," he laughed softly.

"So I guess what I mean to say is I don't understand why you're so jealous of me when... you have your life together way more than I do. I-I’m terrified I'm going to be a horrible hero. You're strong and badass, like... the perfect combination of Mom and Dad. I don't know why you feel so weak," he said, raising his eyes to look at Arata.

His brother had turned away, staring straight down at his desk.

"You were also the only person who wasn't afraid of my flame at first. When my hands ignited and I screamed, you were the only one to reach forward and grab them, completely unafraid. You've always been brave Arata, so I don't understand... this attitude. It kinda sucks," Yuuta shrugged. "Being pushed away over and over again... I... I don't like it."

Turning around, Arata sat next to him on the bed in a huff. "I wanna be the best, Yuuta. I know you don't care about this and you probably think I'm being crazy but... I need to do this... for myself. You need to do things for yourself too... we can't rely on each other forever."

Yuuta sighed and leaned against him. "Yeah but... we can still be friends. You're my best friend Arata, you always have been and always will be."

Arata sighed with him, rolling his eyes. "You're such a sap, Yuu," he chuckled, gently bumping his side.

"Can you please tell me where you went... I'm just worried..." he said quietly.

"Ugh, Yuu..." he muttered, running his hand through his hair. "Look if I tell you, you can't tell Mom or Dad. Especially Dad."

Yuuta blinked, nodding his head once before pausing. "You... You're training with Grandfather!" he said, thrusting his finger in Arata's face.

"W-What?!"

"Of course!" He jumped up, staring at him. "You want to get stronger and you're working really hard and sneaking away from school! Oh man," he smirked. "Dad is gonna kill you."

"Not if he doesn't find out! Yuuta I swear... if you tell them..."

"Oh my gosh, I'm right," he gasped, covering his mouth.

"I swear, if you tell Mom and Dad, I will kill you."

"Arata, you know how Dad is about Grandfather!" Yuuta said. "Dad might kill you first!"

"Look it's just... extra training and it's going really well... they don't need to know! I-I just... let me tell them on my own time?" he asked.

Yuuta sighed, taking a seat back on the bed. "Okay, okay... I won't tell them. You just have to promise me three things."

"Three?" Arata scoffed.

"Yes three," Yuuta nodded, folding his arms indignantly. "One, if anything goes wrong, you'll stop! Two, you tell Mom and Dad soon, and three, we can be best friends again."

Arata let out a long groan and fell back against his bed. "Fine, fine... I agree... but if I find out you tattled on me..."

"I promise I'll keep your secret... for now. If you don't tell Mom and Dad soon though... all promises are off," he hummed, falling backwards with him. "I really miss you Arata."

Pain flickered in his brother's eyes and Yuuta wondered why Arata was putting so much pressure on himself, why he felt like he had to hold back whatever he was feeling.

"Yeah," Arata swallowed. "I missed you too."

Yuuta could tell from the crack in his voice, Arata truly meant it.

~~

Ochako stared at the table in front of her. For so long it had felt complete; her and Katsuki at the ends, Shouhei and Sayuri sitting across from one another in the middle. It felt whole, complete, and she hated that now the table had dwindled back to three.

She couldn't imagine what she would do in a few short years when it was back down to just two.

Katsuki stood in the kitchen, scrubbing dishes before he loaded them into the dishwasher. Sayuri had slipped away almost immediately after dinner. This was becoming her new habit, eat in almost silence, then escape to her room to work on what she claimed was homework.

She knew Sayuri was still adjusting to Shouhei being gone, and of course, the horrible girls in school who were still bullying her.

"Oi," Katsuki growled. "What's wrong, Cheeks?" He spoke, but didn't turn around from his dishes. How he was so in tune with her emotions always shocked her momentarily.

"I-I just..." She glanced down the hallway towards Sayuri's room. "I'm worried about Sayu," she whispered softly.

"No shit... she's barely talking to us," he snorted.

"Well you're not much of a talker, I guess she gets it from you," Ochako teased, watching the muscles in her husband’s back while he continued to wash through their plates.

"Probably," he grunted. "I'll make her speak if I have to. If it's those girls at school I'll fuckin' murder 'em myself," he snarled, his hand moving faster as he washed the plates aggressively and slammed them into the dishwasher.

Ochako giggled and stood up, making her way to wrap her arms around him. "I understand where you're coming from, Katsuki, but please don't break our plates."

"Those bitches deserve it! What does it matter if she doesn't have a quirk!? I just... it doesn't fucking matter. I sure have fucking learned my lesson there," he said, his voice getting quieter the more he spoke.

"I know," she said, gently stroking her hands over his chest. "Her being quirkless doesn't matter... it shouldn't matter."

"Why are you guys talking about me?" Sayuri's voice made both Ochako and Katsuki freeze in the kitchen.

"Eh? Honey!" Ochako gasped, turning away from Katsuki. "We were just discussing work, that's all."

"Mom, I'm not a fucking idiot," she snapped, glaring at both of her parents, admittedly taking on Katsuki's level of rage. "I get it okay!? It would be so much easier if I just had a damn quirk, wouldn't it?!"

"Honey that's not what-"

"Baby girl..." Katuski growled, turning to face his daughter. "That's not what we were talking about. We were angry about the shit girls at your school. Your mom is stopping me from killing them."

"Ugh, why," she rolled her eyes, snorting as she popped back down into her dining chair.

"Because that's wrong-"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," Katsuki and Sayuri muttered at the same time.

Ochako couldn't help the giggle, shaking her head at the two of them. "We can start training soon," Ochako suggested gently, sitting down with her daughter.

Sayuri pursed her lips. "Yeah..."

"What's wrong, baby girl?" Katsuki asked, peering over his shoulder as he took his own seat at the table.

Gently brushing her thumbs over her own fingers, Sayuri shrugged. "I-I guess... being quirkless... not having a power or ability... it used to be normal right?" she asked softly. "Not having a 'mutation' was considered the normal and now..." she trailed off. "I guess I just don't understand why now it's considered so abnormal to be what once was normal..." She twisted her lips and looked down as if she was trying not to cry. "I just don't get why it matters-"

"It doesn't," Katsuki was quick to snap. "So don't tell yourself it does."

"I-I just don't understand why I don't have one. You two have such powerful quirks, Shouhei has one... so why am I sitting here with the short end of the goddamn stick!" she snapped, growing angrier.

"Sweetheart..." Ochako said, and gently touched her shoulder. "I don't want to give you a... scientific answer but... I guess it has something to do with genetics. There was nothing we could do about it, and honey you have to know we tried..."

Sayuri glanced towards Katsuki briefly and then back at her mother. "Well, science is fucking dumb," she hissed, pushing away from the table as she stormed back into her room.

Ochako sighed and glanced at her husband. "Well that went well..."

"Oh yeah," Katsuki snorted, rolling his eyes.

"She is your daughter after all," Ochako said, wishing she could say something to understand and make her daughter feel better.

"Yeah," Katsuki muttered, pushing away from the table to continue the dishes.

As Ochako sat by herself, she realized the table had never felt so empty.