Broken Smile of the Lost Child [MHA fanfic Rewrite]

Chapter 7: Tape the Cracks, Doll

After the funeral, Tsuya and Katsuki were given another week to recuperate before going back to school.

Tsuya didn't mind. It gave her time, it gave her space. It gave her a brief moment where she can just be there and breathe. Just she, herself and her thoughts, lost in their own world.

Her dad was a martial artist. He was overprotective but not to the point of coddling her. He would be worried and he would fuss and nag and persistently remind her to be careful but he cared. He made sure that if he really was going to protect her, she needed to be able to protect herself too.

So he'd train her. He'd teach her self-defence from simple street smart tactics to complex technical martial arts. He'd teach her how hard to hit someone where; when and how to act, not just react when the situation gets out of hand.

But he also guided her in other ways. Ways that didn't necessarily involve her fists and kicks.

He tried to teach her how to be realistically positive. Being positive is good and all but it's pointless to blow a balloon fill with air if it's just gonna fly away out of reach the moment you're done.

So she knew when to admit that yes, things suck, it was horrible, someone screwed up and there was no undoing the damage done but it could've been much worse, even more bad things could've happened to further escalate the problem but it didn't happen and there was still something someone could do to fix it if they played their cards right.

It was hard to be positive nowadays considering just how heavy the negatives in reality were.

But she still tried, because Hoshiko Tsuyasha wasn't a quitter.

She was a fighter.

Just like her mom and dad.

So she kept fighting.

(Even if it was a losing battle)

^^*************^^

On the first day of the one week, the Hoshikos and Bakugous respectively were visited by the police with a detective. Both Tsuya and Katsuki had to tell the police their perspectives about the 'Inferno Incident' as the media has come to dub it as.

Her dad was reluctant to let them in. He didn't want his daughter to get triggered again, not after she's just barely healed from the trauma. She's strong and she'd tough it out but just because she can, doesn't meant she should.

Tsuya told him it was okay. She could let the salty tears sting her eyes and the sobs rattle her body one more time if it meant bringing the hammer of justice down hard on the bastards who murdered her Auntie Inko and took Izu away.

And so she did. This time, she was proud to say that while she choked up a bit, she didn't break down and full out wail.

That was progress....she guessed.

(She tried to ignore how her scar said otherwise.)

The detective was nice. His name was......something that started with 'Tsu' like hers.

He let her take her time and didn't offer her honeyed words of empty condolences when she choked up. He simply told her to breathe, calm down and then continue and if she can't, he'll just come back tomorrow.

She ploughed on and spat the descriptions of the villains with a venom she didn't know she was capable of producing.

But she'll gladly bite back with said venom when she sees them again.

And when that time comes, she'll be the one grabbing that hand bastard's arm to snap right off for daring to lay a finger on the Midoriyas.