A Chance for the Better: Chapter 6

## Chapter 6: December

Now that Asako had been appropriately released from the hospital, Katsuko had taken her everywhere she went. Including her hero class. Of course, a baby can prove to be a rather difficult attachment when teaching heroes, but Katsuko didn't care. This was her baby. Her cute , chubby faced miracle.

She was sitting in her class room with Asako sitting on her desk, leaning back into her shoulder. She blew raspberries into Asako's side, earning a squeal that turned into a giggle. To make everything cuter, she wore a pink outfit with the words *Dad's Texas Smash*on it.

Everything was going rather fine when she was called into Nezu's office, a place she knew was mostly meant for bad news. Asako resting against her shoulder, she went into Nezu's office.

Before his desk were sitting both Tomoe and Atsuko sporting their school uniforms, with the latter's being seemingly unfit with how the lowest buttons that held her jacket closed seemed tight and uncomfortable. Both students looked at their teacher expectantly when she entered, before lowering their gaze back at the ground, where it was right before Katsuko came in. Nezu briefly greeted the teacher, grinning per usual as he did so, but quickly went back to looking serious and stern, quite unlike his usual self.

"So," he begun, pointing Katsuko as he adressed the couple. "It came to my attention that you two have been expecting since summer. Is this true?" he asked both the students and their teacher.

Katsuko instantly knew this was going to be bad for them. She looked down, biting her lip. There wasn't a lot she could say on this matter.

"I'm so sorry Nezu, it's my fault I didn't say anything about it sooner." She quickly rushed out with wide eyes. "Between what was going on with my and Asako, I didn't have time. I didn't know before then either so in all honesty, I shouldn't even be here." It was amazing what one could say with one breath.

Nezu shook his head. "Do not trouble yourself with this, Sato-san. I don't doubt your teaching skills, nor the fact that your child is taking a lot of your time. As a principal, I failed to help you while you were being targeted by rumors, and endangered you. And while you two have every reason to feel guilty for starting this-" he then turned toward the young couple, that was shaking in anticipation of what their prinicipal had to say. "-the matter at hands is not the latter, but rather what accomodations need to be made to adapt to your current situation. Although the matter of the rumors will need further investigation and you may be soon called to my office again for some clarifications."

Tomoe and Atsuko let a relieved breath escape them.

"Now now, I'm not quite done with you two just yet." Nezu kept going. "You do realize that both of you are students completely dependent on adults, with no proper jobs and thus no source of stable income? Tell me, what were you planning on doing about these obvious problems? Are you aware of the far-reaching consequences that this will have on your future? As students of the Hero Department, you are expected to use your quirks and all of the abilities and resources at your reach to progress until you are judged competent enough to graduate. Nurturing a being at such a young age will not only hinder this progress, since you'll be unable to participate in physical activities anymore, but will also have to watch over your child once it'll be born, which will take your time away from your studies. So, what do you have to say to justify this?"

The words were harsh, but both Tomoe and Atsuko understood the reason behind this harshness. All of the principal's words had been based on pure logic and logic alone, and the gleam in his eyes showed that he expected legitimate justification out of them, that he wanted them to explain their behavior rationally and clearly. Who knew, maybe their spot in the school was even at risk, with such high demands for the Hero Department. (Atsuko certainly knew people undeserving to even be here, but she had her mouth shut with blackmail for the moment. She could handle it. Nobody could and had to know anyways.)

But surprisingly, Tomoe started speaking before she did. "Sir, it was my fault-" but Atsuko cut him with a dismissing wave of her hand. He looked at her, unsure of what she was about to say and she simply nodded to him extremely seriously, determined to get the best out of this. She then begun to speak.

"Tomoe and I are aware of what we did wrong, although it wasn't out intention to do so. The fact that it happened in the first place was an unfortunate sequence of events. The protection we took wasn't sufficient enough, as... the condom leaked... When I found out about it, I was already more than a month into it, and got overwhelmed. I couldn't bring myself to tell Tomoe or any adults before it was too late, and I take entire responsability for it."

"I see." was Nezu's only reply after a pregnant pause. "If that's the case... Now, Miss Sato?"

"Yes?" Katsuko looked up, Asako's hand tugging on her bottom lip. She was a little worried about Nezu's next words,though, she had hoped it woulnd't be too bad.

"Would it be possible for you to accomodate your training lessons to young Hakushino here? Until her child is born, she is to not partake in any activity that may be too harsh for her. In exchange of that, along with a private room for the two after their child is born, you may request her and young Asahina as teacher's aids to help them understand what the work of a hero is beyond fighting villains and rescuing civilians. You may also request them during after school time to serve as babysitters. I suppose that All Might would be willing to provide funds for them until they find a stable income of their own, is that right?"

"Oh, of course! I'll be able to help them out expenses wise. And Asako would just love to see them again!" Katsuko was already enjoying this idea. "But yes! This will be a learning experience so you two can become great parents! I'll make sure Atsuko has a compatible physical training, as well."

"Wonderful! Then this is settled. Now, out of my sight!"

Katsuko walked into Toshinori's empty classroom with Asako in her arms. She saw him sitting at his desk, presumably grading papers, and approached.

"Oh, Toshi, dear~!" She cooed, instantly trying to butter him up. "You know how I love you right? With all my heart? And that I'd do anything for you, especially after all that you've done for me, right?" She drew out the word 'right'.

A heavy sigh left the blond's lips and he set his papers asides, smiling when he saw baby Asako. "What happened?" He questioned and held out his arms, wanting to hold his daughter.

She handed Asako to him before sitting on the edge of the desk. "So, you know how one of my student's is pregnant? And how she and the father of her baby are students? Well, I kinda....sort of...maybe....agreed to giving them money until they can get jobs of their own, and they'll kind of become teacher aids for me....and...and they're going to be our babysitters too."

Toshinori sighed heavily, looking down at Asako with a small smile. "Alright, but only because you can't work and look after Asako all the time. You need a chance to rest."

"So do you, Toshinori. You always wake up when she cries. We should at least take turns." She murmured, pulling out her phone to take a picture of her two favorite babes.

"Don't worry about it, Katsuko. I'm always happy to spend time with Asako." He smiled up at her and leaned up to kiss her. "Now go, you've got work to do."

Katsuko smiled and ruffled his hair, pecked Asako's face, and then left, heading back to class.

Atsuko was pacing through the hallways of the dorms, looking for her homeroom teacher's room. She supposedly knew the floor and number of said room, but it appeared she had gotten misdirected and was now searching for her actual dormroom to ask her something important. Since Miss Sato had been designated to help her throughout her pregnancy, a week ago, she felt more inclined to ask her little details and for advice, although she waited til the end of the day, which was when she'd also receive extra training, although not physical one.

Now that the student body had been released for winter break, freeing her from Kaori's tyranny and from her discerning gaze, Atsuko felt compelled to ask for more tangible help, notably about what to buy her kid since there wouldn't be any other moment where she'd be able to buy baby stuff and bring it home unnoticed, since the next vacation was in April, at which point she was supposed to be due. She figured that Miss Sato would know more about what to buy than her.

When she finally found the door to her teacher's room, Atsuko let out a relieved breath and knocked lightly, trying not to disturb the baby in case she was sleeping.

It took a good moment for someone to open the door, but once the door was open, it revealed Katsuko in a to be expected All Might tank top and shorts. She was on the phone.

"You don't need to call me every winter break to apologize, Doctor." She grumbled into the phone, stepping asides to let Atsuko in. "No, no I'm not mad. You should be with your kids right now, not at work on the phone  with me." She mouthed the words sorry to Atsuko before turning her attention back to the phone.

"You're welcome to come visit anytime you want, though." She hummed, then muttered an 'alright' to something said on the other line. "Listen, I need to go. I've got a friend over. I'll call you back later, okay? See ya." Then she hung up and turned to Atsuko.

"Sorry, that was an old friend of mine from before my time here. What can I help you with?" She smiled, although she looked fairly tired.

"Ah, I came to ask you if you were willing to come shopping with me today... Since Christmas is around the corner, I thought I'd buy some gifts for everyone, including the baby... And I don't really have any experience with that, so I thought you could help... Tomoe's coming too, I got my first ultrasound this afternoon and he wanted to be there. That and carrying my bags. So, are you in?" Atsuko asked her teacher, fumbling with her woolen jacket as she did so, afraid that she'd meet refusal.

Katsuko smiled at that. "I'd love to go shopping with you. Just give me a minute, make yourself comfortable. I'm going to change and then wake up Toshinori." She hummed, stretching before she disappeared in a hallway. She was gone for a couple minutes before she emerged in sweat pants and a sweatshirt. Toshinori came out with her wearing what he usually did but with a thick jacket and a baby carrier attached to him with a grumpy Asako.

"We should go now. While traffic is low....ish." She muttered and shrugged.

Atsuko nodded, went to grab Tomoe by herself before leaving the dorms, then the school campus with her little group. After passing by a few stations in the train, they arrived in Musutafu's commercial street, lit with Christmas decorations and resounding with both Japanese and Western Christmas songs. There was even a Christmas tree at the center of a nearby plaza, heavily decorated and shining like it was out of a fairy tale. Excitedly, Atsuko pulled up her cellphone, on which were indicated a few adresses and how to get there. "I heard of a great baby store called 'Toys for All' at a corner of the street, and it apparently got very good reviews! It's right here!" she said, pulling them in it before they could say anything.

When they were in the store, that was painted in soft pastel tones with peaceful music to appease babies, Atsuko turned toward the adults to ask them a question. "So, beyond clothes and a baby bed, what exactly am I supposed to buy? And what sizes of clothing?"

"You won't actually know what size clothing you should get for the baby until they're here. Usually, they grow into big stuff." Katsuko looked around, holding up a rattle from her baby bag to Asako, trying to cheer her up. "Diapers. A lot of diapers. A changing bag like the one I have so you can carry bottles, diapers, a changing pad, and snacks for the baby. It'll be heavy, but so will the baby."

Asako swatted the rattle from her hand and let out a high pitched squeal.

"And toys. A lot of toys. Especially ones that make noise. You'll also need a baby walker too for when they're older, though." Katsuko hummed and winked at Toshinori, who was also grumpy since most of this was coming from his paycheck.

"Alright!" Atsuko nodded gleefully, already starting to rumage through the store to get what she wanted and needed. She would frequently ask her teachers if something was the right size or had overall good dimensions and would usually drag Tomoe after her to marvel after some sort of toy or piece of clothing, saying little things such as "look at how bright it is! It's making me smile just looking at it!" or "what do you think of this dress? Wait, we don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet. Eh, whatever, I'm sure they'll look adorable in a dress regardless!" so much that Tomoe was left nodding silently and unable to say anything.

"OH! Look at that, it's a hero mobile! Aw, how sweet! This way heroes will watch over their sleep! I mean, they're probably gonna feel protected since we're at a hero school anyways, but don't you think it'd fit wonder, Tomo?" Atsuko marvelled, seizing Tomoe with a deadly grib as she was gushing about how excited it made her. Tomoe simply kept nodding along to her blabber, having already gotten a glimpse of a moody, angry Akko and realizing how absolutely insane she would get if not given satisfaction. She was a demoness. So he simply nodded along and tried to smile, but the stress of it all was starting to show on his face.

Eventually, she let go of him to drag Miss Sato to an isle full of baby bottles and pacifiers, and Tomoe was left on the spot carrying the stuff she was planning to buy, standing awkwardly next to All Might. "Uh, All Might sir? Can I ask you a question? Is it... hard, being a father? Was Miss Sato this way too, or is it just an Akko thing? Is it... Does it make you happy?"

Toshinori looked at Tomoe with an amused look. "Young boy, being a father will be hard. Especially if you are not used to caring for others." He bounced Asako, aiming to keep her from wailing like a banshee. "Katsuko was arguably worse. She'll tell you she was fine, but she really wasn't. I actually had to do the shopping myself. She wouldn't stop harassing the store clerks. But you'll be fine. Just wait until your child comes into the world and you'll see what I mean."

Asako squealed and tugged on one of Toshinori's bangs, yanking it in delight.

Tomoe let out a relieved breath. "I do know being a father's gonna be different from being an older brother, I'm aware of the gap between the two, but I've spend my whole life babysitting my baby siblings, so I already got the basics down I suppose. But yeah. It's actually always been a dream of mine to become a father. Not so young for sure, but deep down, I've always been wishing it'd happen to me, that I'd know the joy of having a kid to call mine. And I know we're still young, but although I panicked when Akko told me she was expecting, I've never been any happier in my life. Maybe that'll make me good at something for once."

"You are good at other things, Young Tomoe. Katsuko, much to my displeasure, brings work home with her. Most notable being notes and comments on her students. And what she writes versus what you think are very different, you know." He sighed quietly, turning to look at him. "We have all been in a place where we think that, but perhaps try looking at life from a different perspective. You may have made some mistakes, but look where it brought you. You have a girlfriend and a child on the way. All you need to worry about for now is passing the exams and other tests. Katsuko and I will handle the rest."