56To be cross posted on my A03 account.
Hope you all enjoy! This is my first ever (posted) My Hero Academia fic so I'm excited to hear what you all think!
Katsuki heard it before he saw it. The moment the elevator doors cracked open, a deafening shriek assaulted his ears, immediately putting him on guard. As fast as he was reacting to the potential threat, he wasn't fast enough. He stumbled in shock as a small weight collided with his leg, his knee jerk reaction telling him to blast whatever was touching him to hell. His hands began to smoke, the telltale sign of a coming explosion on the tips of his fingers, ready. Then it was gone as fast as it came when he heard the familiar whine of a child. Looking down Katsuki was greeted with the sight of a little girl clinging to his leg as if he were a lifeline.
"What the-" he stopped mid-sentence as he took in the kids' appearance. Her ash blonde hair that was up in messy pigtails was covered in dust and what looked to be debris and her red flowery overalls and gray long sleeve were covered in dirt. Brat looked like she crawled out of a collapsed building. Tears and snot ran down her face which she unabashedly wiped all over his leg, soiling his hero costume with the disgustingness that was children. "Oi, get off me, kid!" Katsuki said pushing the brats' head away from him, her - shockingly familiar green eyes grew wide and he looked up just in time to see Best Jeanist enter the room, giving Katsuki a strange look.
"Daddy!" She wailed, hiding behind him and shoving her face back into his leg, her chubby and filthy hands fisting his black pants. "Daddy help me! Don't let him take me!"
"What the actual fuck?" Katsuki growled, looking - glaring - up at the number four Pro Hero expectantly. "Is this," he said pointing to the leech currently clinging to his leg with distaste "why you called me back mid-patrol?" Best Jeanist didn't even have the chance to answer before Katsuki was shaking his leg, "Let go." he said sharply, the girl only clutched him harder. "And why the fuck is she calling me daddy?" Of all the reasons why he could have been called back to the agency he was interning at, this one made the least sense. Why the ever-loving fuck did the Pro Hero actually think he had a kid? He was seventeen for fuck's sake.
"It is. As for why she believes you are her father, I thought you could shine some light on the subject." Best Jeanist said, he didn't sound as concerned as he fucking should have and it was grating on Katsuki's nerves. His gloved hands were fisted at his side, heavy gauntlets weighing them down as he awkwardly repositioned his arms so he wouldn't hit the girl in the head with the hard material. How fucking great that would be for his hero career if he accidentally knocked her out. He could just hear the reporter: Supposed Hero Ground Zero knocked a terrified little girl unconscious when she asked him for help. Is he really a Hero? Yeah, fucking right, he wasn't a villain no matter how people tried to make him out to be.
"I don't know shit. Why don't you ask the brat?" The trembling girl stuck to him was quite frankly making him nervous. He didn't know how to deal with children, especially when they were crying. He was working on it, and he was doing better, he didn't make the brats that talked to him on the streets cry anymore. Though people wouldn't say that was progress, it was a given. Heroes don't make children cry and shit, he knew that hence; working on it.
Best Jeanist sighed, "We tried several times before you got here. She won't answer us." Sounded like a load of shit to him.
"Then how the fuck did you know to call me?" He was starting to lose the semblance of patience he had started with, which was next to nothing. First, they say she told them her father was apparently him, then the next she wasn't fucking answering?
"The agency got a call from the local flower shop, she just appeared out of thin air covered in dirt and crying for her parents. When the shop keeper asked who her father was, she said his name was Bakugou Katsuki." Katsuki scowled and looked down at the kid. Didn't they think for a second she could be lying?
"What's your name, brat? And stop crying!" Katsuki snapped, his voice in the same deep growl as always, but the girl didn't even flinch as she looked up at him - that was a good sign, right? Her lips pulled into a pout and her emerald eyes glistened. Something was eerily familiar about the dirt, tears, and snot all over her face.
"Daddy? You know who I am! Oh no... Did you forget?" Her voice wavered and her lower lip wobbled, but she continued. "I'm Bakugou Kana! Your daughter! Remember daddy?" Katsuki just stared at her.
And stared.
And stared.
Then he picked the girl up under her arms, watching out for his gauntlets as he did and held her awkwardly at arm's length. The ash-blond hair in pigtails on her head was the exact same shade as his, but instead of the unruly spikes, she had curls. The more he looked at her, the more he could see the resemblance between them, it wasn't all that much, but it was there.
"The fuck- How old are you?"
"Four." she chirped. Her fear of abduction was seemingly forgotten along with her tears the moment he plucked her off the ground. How the fuck was she comforted by the way he was holding her in the air? And with his extremely dangerous gauntlets right in her face? Her happy expression contrasted with her red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained face. It was weird as fuck.
"I believe this was a sort of time fluctuation quirk. She's your daughter from the future." the Pro Hero standing behind him said.
"Fuck that shit is impossible."
That meant he would have had to... with a girl.
He wasn't even straight for fuck's sake.
"Not as impossible as you might think. Time quirks similar have been spotted throughout the world." Best Jeanist interjected, he looked like he was going to speak again, but the little girl - Kana, spoke first.
"Why are you being so weird, daddy?" She asked, tilting her chin to the side, "Is it because you miss papa? It's okay, daddy. I miss papa too! We can go find him. I don't know where he went, but it'll make you happy to see papa again!" She said confidently even though she awkwardly hung in the air by his hands. But that wasn't what he was focused on, no he didn't care about how she confidently said he would be happy, no he didn't have the capacity to feel anger over the mortifying embarrassment that flooded his senses.
Papa.
Fucking Papa.
This was not how he imagined coming out of the closet. He didn't imagine coming out at all, but here his supposed daughter all but kicked him out for the world to see. And by the world, he meant Best Jeanist. The only person that knew was fucking Kirishima and that wasn't by choice, the fucker was more perceptive than he looked. He didn't just guess, he knew who it was, too. Fortunately, he promised to keep it to himself after saying how manly it was that he liked that someone and spouting some bro code bullshit - Katsuki's death threats aside.
"Oh." Is all the number four hero said,
Oh was fucking right.
Katsuki froze and simultaneously dropped her before he could even process what he was doing. Immediately realizing his mistake, his hands shot out to catch her, but she landed with more grace than some of the girls in his class despite being dropped from his height without warning. If he was being honest it was pretty fucking impressive. Katsuki dropped to his knees, staring at her not knowing what to do. "Shit, are you okay- I didn't mean-" He stumbled over his words as he tried to find the right thing to say, guilt seeping into him from every pore.
"It's okay, daddy." She said sweetly, then "You're not a villain are you?" Kana asked turning to the pro hero, eyeing him skeptically. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her lips were pursed together as she looked him up and down.
"No. I am the pro hero Best Jeanist."
"Oh," she said before quickly bowing low at the waist. "I'm sorry for screaming at you and calling you a villain. Thank you for finding my daddy." She stood up straight and smiled brightly. A complete one-eighty from the suspicious look she was just giving him.
"It's alright. Now excuse me while I make a call to Aizawa, he'll need to be informed. As for your secret, Bakugou, it's safe with me. If you don't want anyone to know, that's your choice."
"Uh, right?" Then Best Jeanist walked away, leaving him alone with Kana. In which he stared at in wonder. She was so polite, it was nothing short of amazing. Who knew a child of the explosive Bakugou Katsuki could ever be that nice. This had to be some kind of mistake, right? She looked like him, but there was no way she was actually blood-related to both him and her papa.
"Are you okay, daddy? You look sick. Are you still worried about dropping me? It's okay because I forgive you. I know you didn't mean to." Before he knew it, she had her chubby, grubby little hands on both of his cheeks, and kissing his nose. "Do you feel better now? Papa's kisses always make me feel better." her emerald eyes searching his crimson ones. Heat crept up his face, his heart hammered in his chest and he fell backward, landing roughly on his ass. He couldn't even yell at her for invading his personal space again, because his chest felt warm goddamn it.
Kana reached forward in what looked like a hug but he caught her face in his hand, effectively stopping her. "Uwah!" she cried into his palm.
"I- I'm not your dad, kid. There's been a mistake. You should- how do you even exist?" He said again because there was no way that she was telling the truth.
Kana stopped pushing against his hand and looked at him, confusion swirling in her big green eyes. "Yes, you are. Daddy Katsuki Bakugou, number two hero Ground Zero! That's you, isn't it? But... but, you look smaller. When did you shrink?"
"Shrink? I didn't fucking shrink... How old am I?"
"Twenty-eight!" she piped, matter of factly.
"I'm seventeen." he deadpanned. He was still trying to process what the hell she was talking about. Best Jeanist had said she came from the future, but he still couldn't believe it. It made no fucking sense that he, Bakugou Katsuki had a kid in the future. A daughter no less.
"Oh. You're still little like me."
Before Katsuki could say anything else - more like deny any and everything - Best Jeanist came back.
I'm not that fucking small, brat he thought.
"I've contacted Aizawa, you have permission to bring her back to UA with you until we figure out how to fix the problem or in other words send her back to the future. You're dismissed from patrol, missing a few hours on your last day won't hurt."
Katsuki grumbled and stood up, knowing full well he couldn't argue with the top four Hero without some kind of backlash and frankly he was too lost trying to wrap his head around the whole thing to care anymore. "Let's go," he said, hitting the elevator button by his head before standing up.
"Here." Best Jeanist said tossing a small object to him. He caught it easily in his hand, it was a small pin. When he turned it around he was shocked at seeing the orange X mark across a back background and Ground Zero printed at the bottom. He wasn't even a Pro Hero yet. There was no way that button should exist. Unless it really was from the future.
He stepped into the elevator while still staring at the pin and Kana stood uncharacteristically silent beside him as they descended. He almost forgot she was there until he felt her hand slip into his. His head whipped down to see her grinning at him with a bright smile and he couldn't fucking pull his hand away. How could she touch his very explosive hands without any fear like nearly everyone else? Seriously...
They walked down the busy streets hand in hand, him glaring at any and everyone that looked his way. Without noticing he started to walk faster, hoping to get to the private grounds of UA quickly and out of the eye of the public. He had enough to deal with at the moment, he didn't need people to make a spectacle of it.
"Daddy...?" Kana began to say, "Uwah!" She yelped as she tripped.
"Shit!"
Katsuki caught her before she hit the ground and lifted her up where she immediately wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into the crook of his neck. He froze for the second time before he awkwardly placed his arms around her so she wouldn't fall. He started walking again, his feet moving robotically to the train station. He wanted to pull her away and put her back on the sidewalk where she could walk on her own, but his arms wouldn't move. The closeness, the affectionate touches were foreign to him and it made him uncomfortable, so why the hell couldn't he let go?
She was silent for a while before she hugged him tighter, "I think I understand now..." she mumbled tiredly, nuzzling her nose into him and taking a shaky breath, "You're not the daddy I know yet, but I-" yawn, "still love you no matter what." then she was asleep.
When Katsuki finally made it back to UA, Aizawa was waiting for him at the front of the building. He felt immediate relief, he could finally drop her off with the Pro Hero and go back to his dorm, yet his arms unconsciously tightened around his future daughter's sleeping form. Aizawa looked almost amused the closer he got, making him scowl at his homeroom teacher. At least Best Jeanist explained the situation so he wouldn't have to. "What the hell are you looking at?" Katsuki snapped.
Aizawa shrugged and he swore he saw the ghost of a smirk on his teacher's face. "Why is she so filthy?" Aizawa asked bluntly, and Katsuki was glad the older man didn't voice his obvious amusement, but he wasn't expecting that question.
"I don't fucking know," he said, realizing he never thought much of her obvious disarray other than thinking of how gross children were. What? She was a snotty, grubby mess and rubbing it all over his pant leg, of course, that's was he was thinking.
"You didn't ask?" Aizawa said, making him feel stupid for not asking an obviously important question. One like... How the hell did you get here? for instance.
"I had more important things to figure out," Katsuki grumbled defensively. He made a mental note to ask the brat another time.
"Right." Is all Aizawa said, though Katsuki had a feeling he didn't actually believe him, it wasn't as if he was lying. He was busy trying to process the fact that this girl, Kana was his future daughter.
He gently unwrapped Kana's arms from around his neck and began to hand the girl to Aizawa when she began to stir awake. The older man began to rub her back in order to coax her back to sleep but she woke anyway.
"Daddy?" she asked, lifting her head from Aizawa's shoulder to look at him. Kana froze, and Katsuki couldn't see her face, but from the way, Aizawa's softened he assumed it wasn't good. "Your daddy has to go, I'll be looking after you for a little bit until we can send you home, okay?" His voice was abnormally soft, it was strange for Katsuki to hear. Kana shook her head, it was almost unnoticeable at first, "No-" She whispered, her voice breaking "No, no, no, no, no! Daddy! Where are you!" She frantically looked around until she saw him standing a few feet away. "Daddy?" she asked, tears flowing down her face already as she stared at him with a pleading look. Her arms reaching out for him. He took a step back. "Where are you going? Why are you leaving?"
Katsuki set his jaw, trying to keep his face neutral as he looked at her terrified and confused one. Why the hell wouldn't his feet move? He couldn't do anything for her, it was better for the pro to keep her while they figured out how to send her back to her own time. There was no reason for him to stay, not really right? Just go already.
"Daddy? Pl-please don't g-go. I wanna stay w-with you! I don't c-care if yo-you're not my daddy yet!" she said, her trembling arms reaching further. Her lips were trembling as snot leaked from her nose and she didn't even try to wipe it off. His chest tightened at the sight, but he didn't know why.
Go! You're making this fucking harder for her. She'll be fine after. She knows you're not the father she knows.
"You're not the daddy I know yet. but I-"
Why the fuck was this so hard?
"Still love you no matter what."
"Bakugou?"
Before he realized what he was doing, his own arm moved, fingers reaching for her, and before he could stop himself he took two long steps and the next thing he knew, Kana was trembling against his chest and sobbing into his neck. "S'okay now." He murmured into her hair. "I'll- I'll keep her with me in my dorm room," he grumbled, turning away from Aizawa, completely missing the smile that overtook his teachers face.
"Are you sure?" The older man asked with no real conviction. "Taking care of a child is a lot of responsibility."
A beat of silence.
"Yeah."
After a second Katsuki began to walk back to the Heights Alliance. The walk was silent save for the repeated sniffles in his ear which he really couldn't complain about since it was his fault in the first place. But he did anyway. They were just stepping into the empty dorm when he finally spoke up.
"Are you done yet?" He asked, trying his best to not sound so threatening, it was safe to say it didn't work, but she didn't react negatively, surprisingly.
"Yes. I'm sorry, daddy," she said softly, sniffling again.
"Tch. You don't need to apologize for shit," She was starting to sound like Deku with all her muttering and crying...
"Okay. Are we going home now? I miss Papa." she mumbled, "He disappeared from the flower shop."
"Who's your, uh, papa...?" he asked hesitantly.
She looked at him in confusion and did that stupidly adorable head tilt. Adorable? The fuck-? "Papa? Oh, yeah, you don't remember, 'cause you're still little. Papa is Bakugou Izuku, number one hero, Deku."
Katsuki nearly tripped over the threshold. How the fuck didn't he see it before? Her muttering, emerald eyes, her goddamn brighter than the sun smile and over the top crying. His face burned red and he was glad no one was around to see him. He was married to fucking Izuku in the future, they had a kid together. Kana was a quirk baby, made from his and Deku's genes. It all made perfect fucking sense now. He actually got together with Izuku in the future... He set Kana down and began walking towards the elevator, his heart hammered in his chest and his face felt hot as he desperately searched for something to distract him. "Come on," he called after a moment. "You need a fucking bath."
"Okay," she said, slipping her hand into his. Once again, he couldn't pull his hand away even if he wanted to. "Where are we, daddy?"
"At the school dorms. I'm still only seventeen, remember?" he answered, glad she was done asking about Deku. He was fucking exhausted and he had barely done anything all day.
"Oh, yeah. I remember."
After gathering his shower supplies from his room he stood in the front of the boy's bathroom with a red-faced grimace. "I don't suppose you can wash yourself and shit?" he asked.
Kana shook her head, "Daddy or Papa always help me. Why? Is that bad?"
"Uh, I guess not," he said, pushing the door open. Kana followed him in and Katsuki slammed a sticky note to the door before closing it. Just in case any if those extras got back before they were done.
It read: Any of you sick fuckers come in here and you're dead.
"Put this on." Katsuki said, tossing her one of his shirts out of his bag. He wasn't going to let her put those grubby overalls back on after a bath. Tch. Absolutely not.
"Uh, Daddy?"
"What?" he said turning around. He still wasn't used to hearing her call him daddy and he didn't think he was going to get used to it no matter how many times she said it.
"I don't think this is how it's 'posed to be."
Katsuki snorted when he saw her head halfway through the sleeve and her arm through the hole her head was supposed to be. "You dork, that's where your arm is supposed to go." He helped her shift the shirt until her arms and head were in their designated place. "There." the shirt was long enough that her toes barely peeked out from the bottom. Whatever. It was basically a nightgown.
"Thanks, Daddy's amazing!" he snorted again. Now that sounded like Deku.
"Fuck yeah, I am," he smirked at her. Kana smiled back, but then tears pricked the corners of her emerald eyes and she started crying. His eyes widened in alarm. "Shit- what's wrong now? What the fuck did I do?" he asked, dropping to his knees, trying to remember if he did anything that upset her. Were all children so fucking emotional all the time?
Kana shot forward and hugged him before he could stop her, "You smiled." she sobbed, clinging to the front of his shirt. "You didn't smile all-day, I thought I made you angry with me!" she wailed into his ear. It probably would have bothered any other person, but his ears were so used to the deafening sound of his explosions that he didn't even care.
He rubbed her head awkwardly, her hair was still wet from washing it but he didn't care. She smelt like honey from the shampoo he used on her, like Deku. His face reddened at the thought, of course, she fucking did, he used the green-haired boys' shampoo out of his small locker because there was no way he was going to use his old spice one on her. "I'm uh, not mad at you," he said after an awkward cough. He was getting sidetracked from the current issue.
"You're not?" she whispered into his shoulder.
"No."
"I'm so glad!" she said, pulling away and smiling at him - she was giving him whiplash with these mood swings of hers. Kana's face was inches away from his and that's when he saw them, tiny specks of sandy brown dusted across her face like stars.
Fucking freckles.
Of course, she got them, too. Deku was covered in them. They weren't as prominent as Deku's, but they were still there, reminding him of stars against her milky skin. His hand reached forward to wipe the tears away with the pad of his thumb, but he ripped his hand away as soon as he realized what he was doing.
What the hell?
Children were annoying little brats and she wasn't so bad, but he had no fucking clue how to act with her or how to treat her. Maybe his future self did but he certainly fucking didn't.
"We're going," he said standing abruptly and tossing his bag over his shoulder.
It was weird being the only one in the dorms, save for Kana. It was quiet, kind of peaceful even. He threw his bag haphazardly on his bed and grabbed a comb and shoved it in his pocket before leaving again. Kana followed him silently, seemingly distracted by the unfamiliar surroundings. Katsuki looked down at her curiously. Her ash blonde hair reached her waist when it was wet and swung gently as she walked. He wouldn't have guessed she had such long hair when he saw it dry in her pigtails. The curls obviously hid how long her hair really was and she was only four.
When they reached the common room, Katsuki took the towel that hung around his neck and threw it on top of her head. "Dry your hair before you catch a cold." He grumbled dropping himself onto one of the couches. He eyed Kana, who was staring at the towel in her hand with a pout. Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Come here." Why did he think she could do it herself. Children... so goddamn needy.
Kana beamed, ran over and crawled into his lap and started bouncing happily. Katsuki took the towel and started alternating between patting her hair dry and running his fingers through it. It was really fucking soft. As her hair dried it began knotting up easier when her bouncy curls came back, he absently pulled the comb out of his pocket and ran it through her hair over and over again even after he was finished. She didn't complain and even hummed happily, but he barely registered what he was doing. He would comb it only to watch in mild fascination when it bounced back to its original state.
"Daddy?"
"Mm."
"I'm hungry. Can we eat?"
"Fuck, I forgot." Right. They needed to eat. Katsuki lifted her off his lap and headed towards the kitchen, only glancing back once to make sure she was following. "Like curry?" he asked while searching the fridge.
"I love curry! Daddy's curry is the best!" She said happily.
He smirked, "Damn right, it is." Kana giggled.
Katsuki sat her on the counter and she swung her feet while he prepared their dinner in which she was in charge of stirring. They washed, peeled and cut all the vegetables and chicken, mixing it together in the pot. Just before he was going to add the spices, he looked at Kana and put them off to the side to add to his own bowl later. Half an hour later they were seated at the table with bowls of hot curry.
"Can you put the spices on mine?" She asked after a bite.
Katsuki raised an eyebrow, "You sure?"
Kana rolled her eyes and it was the first time he saw her with an expression that looked like him, "Of course! Only papa doesn't have spices, cause he can't handle 'em" she finished with a grin.
Katsuki snorted and smirked, this was more like it. "Yeah, kid. Knock yourself out," he said passing her the bottle. His grin widened when he saw her put just as much in her bowl as he did and bite into it, a smile spreading across her face.
"Yummy!" she squealed.
"Heh, bet you gave future Deku a heart attack doing that," he teased.
She giggled and looked at him with shining emeralds eyes, "Papa cried, he said his mouth burned just watching me. I don't know why papa doesn't like it, it's so yummy!" then she took another bite. He smirked, must have been quite a sight, but he couldn't say he was really surprised. Deku could never handle spicy things.
"Is papa gonna be back soon? I remember papa lives at school, too!"
Katsuki nearly choked, he didn't even think about Deku finding out their daughter somehow winded up in this timeline from almost eleven years in the future. He didn't even consider it. How the hell would he react? Katsuki pushed the thought away for the time being in favor of actually eating his dinner and not suffocating on it.
"I, uh, don't know."
"I miss him..." she mumbled.
When they finished dinner, Katsuki washed the dishes and went back to the common room and laid down on the couch before turning the Tv on. She could watch movies until the others showed up and he took her upstairs. He didn't want to be around those nosy extras when they came back and started asking annoying questions. They were shit at minding their own business. Not to mention he didn't care to hear what they had to say about the fact he had a daughter in the future, especially who it was with... Yeah, maybe it would be best not to tell Deku at all. It would just be easier that way, it wasn't because he didn't want to tell shitty Deku that he was, you know... In love with him and he only just realized. Pfft. Not at all... heh... He wasn't fucking ready for that at all, even if they were together in the future.
While he wasn't paying attention, Kana crawled over of him, settled herself between him and the backrest of the couch and rested her chin on her folded arms that were crossed over his chest.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Katsuki stared at her with a raised brow. She had no problem doing whatever she pleased around him, did she? Even when he swore and yelled around her, she didn't seem to have a problem with it at all. He fucking dropped her from his height and she landed like it was nothing - he still felt guilty about that, she showered him with hugs and kisses without worrying about invading his space even with his tough and mean exterior. Like she knew something he didn't and she probably did. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of person he was in the future; if he became the kind of person he was trying to be, someone that could be depended on; if someone made him be the kind of person this little girl could love so unconditionally...
"What does it look like? I'm just getting comfortable." and then she looked at him with an expression that screamed: innocent and snuggled in closer, but he knew better than that. Anyone else would've been fooled, but he was used to the look from Deku already.
"You cheeky shit." Katsuki said, but then he smirked, of course, she had that little manipulative side.
"Just like my daddy!" she chirped with a smirk of her own.
Katsuki scoffed lightly in good humor. "Heh, whatever, kid," he said shutting his eyes, but he couldn't wipe the pleased look off his face. "Keep it down, will ya?"
She hummed in response, settling down to watch the All Might documentary playing on the Tv. He didn't notice when the sound started to fade as he fell asleep, his exhaustion overriding any concern he had about sleeping in the common room. He was too comfortable. Just for a moment... he'd rest his eyes...
Just a moment...
Then he was out.