The Forest Thing

Chapter 6: Suspicions

"Bakugo," Shouto interrupted abruptly.

Katsuki turned his attention away from the small group of energetic extras to look at his quiet classmate.

"What do you want, Icey Hot?" He sneered at the heterochromatic boy who stood a few feet away.

This caught the attention of the rest of the group, the loud teenagers silencing suddenly at the appearance of the Todoroki child.

"I want to know more about your-" He paused, glancing towards the blond's strange, dog-like companion before turning back to the blond himself. "-dog. I find it strange that nobody has asked about or even mentioned what happened at the USJ."

"Yeah, man, I don't think that's a dog," Sero added.

Katsuki growled, "What the hell do you expect me to say?! Considering I found him in the woods like, eight years go, for all I know he could be some eldritch forest god!"

"You're so great at acting dumb, Kacchan." Izuku thought sarcastically. "God is a big stretch though."

"Isn't eight old for a dog? How old is he?" Kaminari questioned, ignoring the fact that Katsuki pretty much outright told them he wasn't a dog.

"Infinity." Katsuki shrugged nonchalantly. This only caused his classmates to ask more questions, and they had so many.

Except for Shouto, he's having another staring contest with Izuku. And just like the staring teacher, Shouto didn't seem fazed by the increasingly disturbing appearance of the forest thing.

"Hm..." Shouto hummed, turning to Katsuki who was now watching as the rest of the group debated on what kind of 'forest god' Izuku is and whether or not their group is a cult. "Can I pet him?"

"Knock yourself out," Katsuki replied without looking at his heterochromatic classmate.

Shouto approached Izuku slowly, holding the same stoic expression as he held his hand out towards the creature in front of him.

Izuku immediately shoved his head into Shouto's hand, catching a glimpse of a small smile from the teen as he petted the forest things head, and sensing the faint air of happiness as Izuku leaned against his legs.

Soon enough Shouto was sitting on the ground with Izuku next to him, still petting the 'dog' as he absentmindedly spoke to the creature. It had slipped his mind that Izuku could most likely understand everything he's saying, it's easy to forget that Izuku isn't actually a dog, Katsuki had done it many times over the years.

"You are the nicest being I've ever met. My father never let me have a pet." Shouto spoke quietly, eyebrows furrowed and a small frown spread across his features.

Izuku listened carefully to everything the child said. A parent not letting their kid have a pet isn't uncommon, not everyone can handle it. But the way he said it made Izuku suspicious. Does he have a bad home life? Is he being neglected? Is it worse than that? Izuku didn't know.

But he'd be damned if he wasn't going to figure it out.

______________________

Once Katsuki and Izuku were home, Izuku was changing to his humanoid form as soon as the bedroom door was shut.

He tussled his viridian hair, a few stray leaves and sticks falling out of the curly, green mess, gently landing on the floor.

After adjusting to his human form, Izuku quickly turned to Katsuki, pointing a long, clawed finger at him, almost accusingly. "What do you know about the Pro Hero Endeavor?"

Katsuki raised an eyebrow, "That was sudden. Why do you care?" He questioned.

"Just answer the question, Kacchan."

The blond flops down into his desk chair, raising his hands in surrender almost mockingly. "He's an asshole. And judging by the offhanded comments Icey Hot always makes, he's even more of an asshole than the media shows."

"I was afraid of that," Izuku muttered as he sat down, resting his head on his hand, long fingers tapping against his chin in thought.

He'll have to take the time to investigate Shouto's home situation. Maybe the rest of the students as well, just to be safe. He could disguise himself as a small animal or insect so he won't be noticed. Is that creepy? Should he just talk to them instead? Probably not, they might not be comfortable speaking with him.

Should he tell Katsuki? They don't usually keep things from each other but he doesn't want to make his kid worry, even if Katsuki would never admit to being worried. It's probably best to not tell him yet, he might try to stop Izuku from taking care of the other kids.

Katsuki only looked more confused the longer he watched Izuku think. "Why do you care? You don't usually ask about hero's."

Izuku shook his head, "Don't worry about it, Dynamight."

Katsuki huffed as he crossed his arms, glaring at the floor. He hated it when Izuku didn't tell him things. They told each other everything! Why is he suddenly keeping secrets?!

Quiet giggling pulled him from his thoughts. He looked up to see Izuku watching him with a smug smile, giggling his ass off.

"What? Why are you laughing?" Katsuki snapped, making Izuku laugh more.

"You're pouting, it's adorable." Izuku smiled widely, his sharp teeth shining in the light.

Katsuki's face turned red, crimson eyes growing wider. "I don't pout! I'm not- Stop laughing!!" He yelled at the eldritch being sitting across from him. He picked up a pillow, throwing it at Izuku's head, only for him to snort and laugh harder when the pillow hit him in the face.

"Where's your phone? Your face is so red, I wanna take a picture!" Izuku looked around the room in search of the phone.

Katsuki quickly grabbed his phone, shoving it in his pocket. "No! I already have mom and dad to embarrass me, you're supposed to be the cool parent!"

"So you admit it! I am your parent!" Izuku shouted accusingly.

Katsuki groaned and face-planted onto the bed next to Izuku, covering his head with a pillow as his pet cryptid flopped on top of him, a few stray leaves falling from his green hair again.

"Aww, poor tough guy is gonna die from embarrassment. Woe is you!"

"I swear, Deku, if you pull this shit at school, I'll never forgive you."

Izuku smiled, "Of course you'll forgive me, You love me."

"I hate you."

"No, you love me."