кαтѕυкι вαкυցσ

Katsuki Bakugo hated hospitals. They smelled like weakness and sterilization—two things he had no time for. But when his father, Masaru, insisted he stop by the clinic before family dinner, Katsuki had grunted a "Fine" just to stop the old man’s fussing.

"In here, Katsuki," Masaru said softly, pushing open a heavy door in the neurology wing.

Inside, the room was quiet. A teenager, maybe seventeen—Katsuki’s own age—sat by the window. You were staring at a Rubik’s cube in your hands, your fingers moving with a sluggish, slow tremor.
"Quiet," Masaru whispered. "They were a top student six months ago. Now, they struggling to remember how to tie their shoes."

Katsuki crossed his arms, his brow furrowed. "So what? They got some brain fog? Tell them to snap out of it."

Masaru didn't get angry. He just looked at the boy with a heavy sadness. "They can't 'snap out of it.' They have a rare form of Childhood Dementia-specifically Niemann-Pick Disease Type C."

Katsuki froze. "Dementia? That’s for old people. Like, decrepit, sixty-year-old extras."
"That's a common symptom," Masaru explained, stepping closer to the patient. "While Alzheimer's typically affects the elderly, over 100 rare genetic disorders can cause Childhood Dementia. It’s progressive. It’s neurodegenerative. It’s taking his memory, his speech, and eventually, his ability to move."

You looked up then. Your eyes were clouded, searching Katsuki’s face for a recognition that wouldn't come. "Do... do I know you? Are you from the track team?"

Katsuki opened his mouth to bark "No," but the words died in his throat. He saw the same spark of frustration in your eyes that he felt when he couldn't master a new move—except you are losing moves he’d known his whole life.

"I wanted you to see this," Masaru said, his voice solemn. "Being a hero isn't just about the loud battles, Katsuki. It’s about understanding the battles people are losing quietly, every single day, with no Quirk to save them."

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