Texts With Katsuki but You're An Exchange Student: Part 1
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Tags: Exchange student!Reader x Katsuki, Female!Reader, Uncle Might, Bestie Izuku, SMAU, Traumatic childhood, University AU, characters are 20/21, war never happened for the sake of our happiness.
The walk to the training facility was quite peaceful. In the short time you'd known him, you'd noticed Midoriya was a talker. He was asking questions about your quirk, how you learned to use it given the circumstances of your childhood, millions of things.
Usually you'd feel inclined to tell someone to fuck all the way off upon being asked any of these questions. But the space between you and your new friend felt comfortable, which was something you couldn't say you'd experienced in a long time. If anything the tension in your life had been palpable the past few months, even if it was only between you and yourself.
When the two of you finally arrived at the training facility you were happy to find it empty with the exception of All Might. He was perched on the opposite side of the room, on what looked to be a spectators bench. He raised a hand high and waved both of you over.
"Young Midoriya, Young (y/n), lock the door behind you and come on over so I can explain today's exercise." He nodded in the direction of the door and Midoriya turned to lock it. You made for the side of the room All Might was sitting on with Midoriya a few steps behind.
While All Might explained what you'd be doing you took off your overcoat. You hadn't wanted it to be ridiculously obvious where you were going, especially not after blowing off your practical partner. So you'd opted to throw the biggest flannel known to man over your training suit.
The mock up of your current gear held up well enough for it to be a training suit, one comparable to the one you've used in combat. Though the gear itself was a little... ratty. It hadn't been updated in quite some time and would without a doubt benefit from some TLC. You made a mental note to visit the support department before All Might spoke.
"Alright, go ahead and show us what you can do kiddo." He nodded as he motioned for Midoriya to sit next to him.
You tilted your head in confusion.
"Huh? I thought we were supposed to-"
"Nope. If your enemy is to have a fair fight they need to understand the range of your abilities, and yours is quite wide. Regardless of strength, It would be both unfair and reckless to send Midoriya in blind, even in a sparring match."
"Fair point, but then what do you want me to do?"
"Simple, use your quirk in the best way you know how. Show off a little if that's what you want to do," All Might waved his hand flippantly, "I just want to see what you're capable of and where your limits are, so that you can surpass them. The last time I saw you use your quirk was years ago. I would imagine you've improved since then?" He quirked a brow. Midoriya sat beside him with a notebook in his lap, looking between the two of you.
"I have." You nodded curtly, beginning to understand what was being asked of you.
"Then the floor is yours Young (y/n)." All Might gestured to the expansive training room behind you. You turned towards the open space, calmly walked to the center of the room, and thought through your plan. If improvement was what was being asked of you, why not show just how many of your limits you've surpassed?
Overhead you counted six rows of ten high-powered lights, making for sixty total. With those, plus the air conditioning, plus the rest of the technology in here, you figured you should be set. Electrical energy seemed to be the safest route while still being impressive.
Taking a deep inhale you tightened your core, the very inside of your soul to be as hard as rock. "Siphon." You breathed out on the exhale, you made an effort to feel every molecule of electricity within your reach. The current expanse of your quirk was the training room. If necessary, you could triple your reach, but you didn't want to take power from any of the dorm buildings.
Push your energy out, grab more of it, pull, compress.
Push your energy out, grab more of it, pull, compress.
Push your energy out, grab more of it, pull, compress.
You could feel your insides burning, but not in a way that hurt. They burned in the way that let you know you were sucking up every volt of energy available to you. In such a way that you could feel the energy building on itself and multiplying.
You didn't notice the way the lights went out, or the way the AC stopped working, or the electrical lock on the door come undone. You only knew you'd taken all you could when the breaker popped, then exploded with a resounding clap.
The way that you looked during was unbeknownst to you. But if you had to guess by the, "Oh my, oh my, what?" that Midoriya breathed out with wide eyes, you'd say terrifying.
If the way that All Might was looking at you like a proud father was any indication, you'd say you did your job.
Smiling softly you looked down at your, now glowing, skin. Electricity danced across it softly until you allowed it to dissipate. Simply deactivating it and storing it as potential energy.
"When I told you to show me what you got, I didn't mean to cut the power out. Jeez kid, what have they been feeding you over there?" All Might joked with a smile, one you returned to him proudly.
an: if you read all of this thank you??? and let me know what you thought please, it's always appreciated sm, i love feedback. i'm sorry this was so long. the next parts won't be this beefy i swear (unless y'all want them to be, lmk). i just wanted to get a scene of reader's quirk use in even though the description kind of sucked?? any guesses on what our quirk is? also it will be much more katsuki heavy in the future. just needed to get the setup done!
Summary: When Inko is fifteen she is handed a picture of her and a blonde boy. She asks who it is.
"Your brother. Your parents gave him up because he was Quirkless."
Inko spends the next part of her life looking for her brother, only for her son to pull him into her house one day, announcing he found Uncle Toshinori.
When Inko was fifteen, her aunt pulled her to the side and handed her a photo. The photo featured her as a little baby, green hair showing above her head, dressed in a little jumper with a pacifier in her mouth. She’s being held awkwardly by a blond boy with big blue eyes, a big grin across his face.
“Who’s this?” She asked her aunt, curious.
“Your brother.” Her aunt told her.
“What?” Inko asked. She looked at the photo again. “Is… what happened?” She asked her aunt, clutching it in her hand.
“Your parents waited for his Quirk. He didn’t have one.” Her aunt told her, blunt. Her aunt’s hands were threaded together, clutching each other. “They didn’t like that.”
“... but they work with Quirkless Discrimination agencies. They donate money to…” Inko began but her mind began clicking, thinking.
Her father’s slight sneer when talking about Quirkless people when they were home, just the family. Her mother’s muttering about donating money being a pain.
“... they’re pretending.” She whispered. Her aunt nodded.
“They are. Its status, it’s trendy. Pretending you aren’t a bigot.” Her aunt shrugged. Inko didn’t want to believe. She gave the photo back anyway when her aunt asked her.
She had to talk to them.
-0-
“YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF LIARS!” She screamed at her father. “He was my brother-“
“He was useless to us!” Her father snapped. “Quirkless- worth nothing in the long run. Your useless Quirk at least makes you a viable bride-“
“GO TO HELL!” She screamed and ran up to her room.
“Calm down, she’ll understand. He wasn’t worth it.”
Screw that. She grabbed her cell phone and called her aunt.
“Auntie, can you bring your truck?”
“Of course.”
It didn’t take long for Inko to pack up what she needed. She ignored the knocking of her mother when it happened and she waited.
Her aunt showed up.
“Haruka! Why are you here?” She heard from downstairs and came down, carrying a few bags.
“The rest are upstairs. I refuse to be in a house of hypocrites.” Her parents didn’t like it, yelling she was overreacting.
Her threat to tell everyone the truth about her brother had them letting her go.
Maybe she was overreacting. Maybe. She thought so the moment she got in her aunt’s big grey truck, the one she used to deliver things. She looked to the front door where her parents were glaring at her aunt who stood with her arms crossed.
Her tall aunt, blonde hair hanging down her back, like her brother’s, Inko’s father. She was tall, tough. Inko looked up to her. Ever since she was a little kid and her aunt had thrown her father into a wall when he’d dared hit Inko.
“You treat your kid right or I’ll hurt you.” She’d threatened.
Inko blinked, mind going to many incidents in her life where her aunt had stepped in to stop them from hurting Inko. Where her aunt had told her to not listen to her mother who picked at her appearance, where her aunt had snuck her food when her mother forced her into a diet. Where her aunt had given her money and helped her open a bank account her parents had no control over and had fought with her parents who tried to demand she give them the information.
Sitting in the truck, she realized that maybe… the fact they would do that, lie like that… that was the final straw.
-0-
Living with her aunt was different. Inko found herself smiling more. Her aunt had a sense of humour that encouraged loud laughter. She never made Inko do anything she didn’t want and even let her drop out of some clubs that her parents had made her go to.
Inko found herself happy for the first time in a long time as she and her aunt tried to find out how to find her brother.
It was hard though. The files weren’t kept and her parents had given up all custody and signed multiple forms. As well, it had been fourteen years back.
Then her aunt got sick. Very sick.
“Cancer,” the doctors told her. “Pancreatic- most likely from all the chemicals she transported over the years.”
Pancreatic. Even in the 23 century, it was impossible to cure. Medical research in cancer and other such diseases had tapered off when Quirks became a thing. More focus was on that for a good fifty years or so. Then after that more focus was on other sorts of diseases brought around by Quirks or researching how to help people affected by Quirks.
“I’m not dying until you’re old enough to be an adult.” Her aunt grunted when Inko asked her how she was feeling. “Eighteen kiddo.” She bared her teeth. “Gotta hold on.”
Inko was eighteen and just finally finished high school when her aunt died. Her aunt had been living at home still, stubborn and refusing to go to hospice.
Inko came home after a night out after graduating high school to find her dead.
The funeral was a hard affair, her parents at least respectful enough to not start anything until after when they tried to get her to move back in with them.
“I was already accepted into university and will be living in the dorms. As well I told them you are not allowed to ever call and change anything about my classes or living arrangements.”
They were so mad and she got a call from the dorm manager who told her that they’d had several calls from them within a week. Each time demanding she not be allowed to room there or threatening them.
None worked. Inko ended up cutting off contact with some help from a friend she made in a study group, Midoriya Hisashi. He was so handsome and kind. He also understood her struggles.
“I grew up in the foster system for a good portion of my life. I got adopted at fourteen and… they weren’t good. Obsessed with the idea of being my parents, burning things I had of my biological parents. They were the sort of abusers who were kind, the ones you don’t realize are hurting you.”
It was like Inko and her own. She didn’t know their controlling behaviours, their actions were abuse.
Not until her aunt and her brother.
Soon after a few heart to hearts, they started dating, something that her roommate Mitsuki loved.
“He’s freaking handsome, you go girl!”
When Inko graduated with a degree in culinary arts, Hisashi proposed while heading to law school.
They got married the summer after. During that time though they discovered that Hisashi’s adopted parents died. Inko made the choice to try and let her own parents back into her life because she saw how much it hurt him.
“He’s so nice honey-“ Her mother said when they got in, stopping at seeing one of the photos in their apartment. Her and her brother.
Inko kept an eye on her mother after that, right up to the time she caught the woman trying to take it down.
“Stop it!”
“He’s not your brother he’s some thing- “ Inko didn’t let her say another word and shoved her out.
She didn’t talk to them again.
“Please don’t regret it,” Hisashi told her.
“I won’t,” Inko told him.
She continued to look for her brother, her husband helping. But it was hard. Harder, even more, when she became pregnant at age 28, just when Hisashi was finishing law school. They took a break, Inko going on maternity leave from the bakery she was working at.
She gave birth to a perfect little boy she loved dearly. Hisashi loved him too, even as his work became demanding. Being part of a hero’s legal team was hard after all. Especially a destructive one like the Empire who could cause earthquakes by accident.
Mitsuki already had a son named Katskii herself and the two hoped their sons would become friends, and it looked like they would though Inko worried. Katsuki was a headstrong little boy who seemed to love bossing others around. He was sometimes mean to Izuku and his meanness was cruel in ways she knew could cause problems.
Mitsuki at least also saw it. But her own parenting didn’t work well.
“My parents used to slap me around,” she told Inko blankly. “My dad once held my head underwater for a minute because I pissed him off. I… I try you know? But… where’s the line?”
“My parents controlled every aspect of my life. They would force me on diest when I was already too thin, would go through my emails and phone. My dad hit me too, but my aunt… she stepped in each time.” Inko told her back. They both knew already, but it was nice to talk about.
When her son, Izuku, was four though she sat in a doctor’s office and heard the worst discussion of Quirklessness in her life.
“That test hasn’t been allowed to diagnose Quirklessness for twenty-years!” she shouted at the doctor. “Blood test, now!” The doctor was pissed and refused so she stomped out with her son, making sure each parent in the waiting room knew the doctor was using outdated medical information before rescheduling an appointment with a different doctor.
Inko was darkly pleased that Dr. Tsubasa ended up being reprimanded and forced to take more classes. There was some issue with his grandson but his parents dealt with that.
Yet, when the blood tests came back, Izuku was diagnosed as Quirkless.
“He has no Quirk himself, though we believe any child he has with a Quirked individual will have a much more powerful Quirk than their other parent.” the doctor said. He was nicer at least. Izuku was so fragile, so small about this as they went home. He watched his favourite hero video, Inko watching from the door to the office.
“...Mama, can I be a hero too?” little Izuku said. Inko felt like breaking down. She didn’t think so. Izuku was so small, so little. And she had never heard about a Quirkless hero. But then she thought of her brother.
“I don’t know sweetie,” she finally admitted. She walked up to him and knelt down, hugging him. “But… I think you can do your best.” It wasn’t enough and she knew it but she also knew too well the Quirkless statistics.
That was the first night she told Izuku about her brother. She showed him the picture and explained.
“I won’t be like my parents,” she promised him. And she wouldn’t. Hisashi promised as well, and the two worked hard to make sure he was happy.
Inko did eventually go back to work when Izuku was five, hoping and praying her son would be okay.
She knew he was lying when he came home with ruined clothes and claimed it was all accidents. She knew he was lying when he tried to claim he was okay. But she couldn’t do anything. Not without actual proof.
She hoped Katsuki was helping her son.
She had a terrible feeling he wasn’t.
-0-
Inko and Hisashi began talking about opening a cafe when Izuku was six. The little boy was all for it, offering ideas and his own thoughts. They were happy. Inko still looked for her brother but she had accepted it might never happen. Izuku dreamed of being a hero. Hisashi was doing well at work.
And then…
Empire accidentally destroyed his own agency. Lost control.
Hisashi didn’t make it.
The large payout from the agency plus the Hero Public Safety Commission was enough for Inko to not have to work for years if they were careful.
It didn’t fix a single thing.
Inko would admit she lost herself for a year, completely unable to think or do anything. She wandered her apartment blankly.
It took her son hiding a broken wrist from her to snap her out of it. She was horrified and she marched into the school to scream at them. She listed exactly what she knew about anti-Quirkless Discrimination laws, and what she could do to them.
Izuku stopped being hurt that bad. But emotional abuse from his peers and teachers was harder to figure out.
Inko began to work on the cafe again, as well as she began helping out at rallies on anti-Quirkist ideas. Inko also made sure Izuku knew he could go to her no matter what, but also tried not to be her parents. She tried not to butt in at any time and let him live his own life.
As he got older she wondered if she should try more. If her hands-off approach was as bad as her own parent’s actions to her.
But she was terrified. She didn’t want to be them.
Inko watched as her son got older, as he got more secretive and worried. She tried to get him into programs but each time she was refused. Or they would let him go but then stop, saying he kept having people come and harass him.
“Then why is it his fault?” she asked them. They shrugged.
It was just easier to get rid of him than others. Izuku got very quiet after that and stopped wanting to do extra things.
She worried and worried and she would look at the photo of her brother. She wondered if the worry she had would be for him as well. If she had grown up with an older brother who was hated, who had to fight to be respected by anyone.
She was pretty sure she’d be more of a mess.
She also imagined though, a tall man coming in to help with Izuku. Who would help fight against the school. Who would be with her through the death of Hizashi.
She often stared at the photograph of her and her brother, wondering what if.
The cafe she started had a copy of the photograph and any person making any Quirkist comments was thrown out in seconds. She provided a safe space for everyone, and she found that by doing so she got a lot of customers from people who struggled to find a place in society.
It attracted other attention to, including a man she was fairly certain was an underground hero who came in with a black jumpsuit, getting the darkest coffee. He was a nice enough man though, and Inko found herself enjoying conversations with him. Mostly about cats or his loud friend she wanted to tell him was hitting on him.
When a loud man came in asking for the ‘regular coffee order’ for the jumpsuit guy she stared him down.
“Ask him out, we’re all done with his pining.” The man spluttered. “He talks about you nonstop. I don’t know his name, he pays with cash. He has mentioned you though enough I can recognize you on site. Ask him out please.”
Shuichi, one of the cafe workers snorted. “We’re all done. Please just date him already.” The lizard-like teen continued to work while the blonde spluttered but did leave with the regular coffee and an order for himself.
A week later both showed up, holding hands.
“Yay! The pinning is over!” Shuichi said from where he was trying to help Izuku with math, his angry mutters about how the teachers were purposely fudging his grades making Inko plan another trip to the school to threaten them.
“Yay!” Izuku laughed, the nine-year-old grinning at the nasty look he got. “You don’t scare me. I saw you sneak a cat in here in your scarf.”
Inko found herself laughing harder than ever that night, and the two- Shouta and Hizashi- became friends of the family.
As time continued to tick by, even with moments like the one where she made friends with the two she kept worrying. As Izuku got more and more nervous about school, as she saw scars he kept claiming she was mistaken about. As Mitsuki began whispering her worries over her son and how the school seemed to not worry over his anger or his attitude, as they seemed to ignore it.
She tried to talk to him but didn’t know what to do. She felt lost.
Then, he was fourteen and came home with a smile on his face and a spark in his eyes. He spoke happily and told her of his plan to start working out soon. She smiled and told him she was proud. It was March, nearing the end of his second year of middle school and she was happy he was happy.
A week into his spring vacation, he opened the door to the apartment holding the hand of a tall blonde man. She frowned.
“Izuku?” she asked him before she got a good look at the man. Her eyes widened at seeing that face.
Is Shuichi who you think it is? Yes. Originally I was like: this is just an AU where it just so happens All Might is Inko’s brother but then my brain went: okay but- so Spinner is good in this AU as he managed to find a job with Inko and is the older brother figure to Izuku.
Hope you guys liked this! Next part would be a One Shot from All Might's perspective then we actually get the story-story from Izuku's!
There's an au idea I toss around sometimes in my head. Spoiler free for those who haven't read the manga.
Shigaraki is smart, right? So what if he'd figured out he was just a pawn to AFO early on? Tenko, maybe 8 or so, overhears All for One and his mad scientist sidekick discussing "Tomura's" future as emotional blackmail against All Might. Or how his suppressed memories are their doing (because I theorize that AFO definitely tampered with at least a few of the kid's memories). And Tenko realizes that these adults failed him too.
He starts experimenting with how far he can get from the place AFO keeps him during the day before people are sent to bring him back. When Tenko feels like he knows the surrounding area well enough, he escapes.
The reign of All for One ends swiftly, violently, and with barely a sound.
Two days later, somebody calls All Might's agency hotline from a public phone. A small boy's voice says, "Mr. All Might? My name's Shimura Tenko and I think I'm in trouble. Can you come get me?"
The next year Gran Torino gains custody of his "great-nephew". He and All Might end up butting heads with the Hero Public Safety Commission, who want to put Tenko in the same program as Hawks. All Might ain't buying it.
Prologue: Texts With Katsuki but You're An Exchange Student.
NEXT
Tags: Exchange student!Reader x Katsuki, Uncle Might, Bestie Izuku, Traumatic childhood, University AU, characters are 20/21, war never happened for the sake of our happiness, reader is mentioned to be from America but you can ignore that, this is an intro for context (?) i guess, will be an smau.
Life hadn't ever been kind to you, per se. The past decade had been peaceful, and with the childhood that you endured peace was the best it would get. So you appreciated and reveled in it. Living in whichever state your heart pleased and going to University with government funds, all thanks to the hero whom changed the trajectory of your life.
You should've known better than to get comfortable with this feeling, though. It was and always would be short lived. Registering for classes was the only thing on your mind at the moment. You were scrolling through different Practicum of Battle Tactics professors when your phone lit up with a call notification. A bright smile and blonde hair took up the entirety of the screen, courtesy of All Might. You picked up the phone and answered the call, brows furrowed all the while.
"Hey Uncle Toshi, long time no talk, everything alright?"
"Actually Young (y/n), we need to have a conversation, are you sitting down?"
Ah, there goes the aforementioned peace, right out the window. Cue heart attack starting now. If All Might tells you to sit down, chances are things aren't great.
"Yeah, what's up? You have me worried."
"I would tell you to calm yourself, but you reserve every right to worry in this situation. I regret to inform you that your parents are being released from jail in a month."
"I'm sorry, what?"
Fuck a heart attack, your heart stopped.
"I know, this is a lot to take in. I was told that this is the most notice they could get me as far as a release date went. I attempted to get it pushed back, or even reopen the case to see if they could get more time based on evidence found since their arrest." You heard him sigh a heavy, defeated breath through the speaker. "However there was nothing to be done on that front. I do have another option to present if you're interested." He paused, as if waiting for permission to continue before explaining.
"I'm listening." You breathed softly, anxiously.
Over the phone you heard him clearing his throat, followed by the sound of papers rustling. A sound of satisfaction was made as though All Might found whatever he was looking for. Having known the man like family since you were a child you understood first hand how messy his paperwork could get. You could only imagine the state of his desk at the moment, where you knew he was sitting due to the time difference. Part of you felt bad for interrupting his teaching schedule even though he had called you.
"Okay so," He paused as though he was reading something, "We can have you in Japan in three days. I can have the visa and your enrollment at UA University expedited."
You held your breath for a moment. You debated if you really wanted to go overseas for a year, or longer, depending on how your case played out. But the alternative was your family finding you and dragging you back to that godforsaken cult.
They had somehow survived albeit not as strong as they once were. The loss of their leaders, your parents, put a large dent in their "community" but didn't cause them to disperse. You couldn't imagine going back there.
"Alright, I'll start packing." Was the decision you made after a minute of silence. "One thing though,"
"And that is?"
"No one but faculty knows about this. I understand the importance of them knowing, should something happen. But I'm a charity case here. Everyone has read the news story about my family and then sees my quirk and eventually puts two and two together. I want a fresh start." You rambled, ending with an exasperated sigh.
"I can assure you, a fresh start is the least I can do for you. You deserve it." All Might replied sincerely and curtly, still audibly filling out and filing paperwork. You presumed it was for your transfer. "Though it will affect your quirk training, you understand this right? You can't use your quirk at it's highest output and expect people not to figure out who you are. The story was national news Young (y/n)." He sighed heavily.
"Well, yes, but couldn't you and your protégé help me train? He kept your secret for years, don't see why he can't keep mine."
"You raise a fair point. Speaking of Young Midoriya, I have a conference to attend on the day you fly in. He'll be picking you up from the airport. I've sent your flight information over already."
"Thank you Uncle Toshi, I appreciate you more than words can say."
"Don't mention it, kid. Like I said, it's the least I can do. I'll see you soon, have a safe flight!"
"Thank you! Oh-! How do I know who to look for? I have no idea what Midoriya looks like."
"Green. Look for lots of green." He said without any added context before ending the call. The line dropped and you shook your head confused, but got to packing.
~
A few days later when you landed, you understood, and you wondered to yourself how a person could be so green. Little did you know, this little green gremlin was about to be your new sidekick.
an: i'm so excited to actually churn out the texts for this SMAU but readers background/reason for being at UA is a big part of the story. i felt like it deserved its own little background. this isn't crucial to the story but will def help provide context later down the line.
