The day Bakugou got news from an associate that someone wanted his services, it didn't take long for them to meet up. Bakugou was cautious at first. While he wasn't a big blip on the government's radar, they probably wouldn't mind having a chance to arrest him. When he saw some nervous looking employee who probably wasn't getting paid enough for this shit, Bakugou decided that this was the real deal. Bosses almost never showed up in person and tended to send the smallest wreck they could for what Bakugou assumed was so he didn't feel "threatened."

A bar really didn't seem like the best place to meet up, but it honestly was the perfect cover. Annoying music playing overhead, the seemingly constant screech of people pushing back their chairs to stand, and the people themselves celebrating way too loudly for whatever reason. Despite looking rather shady, Bakugou with a black hoodie pulled low over his face and a nervous guy in a suit, people hardly spared them a second glance.

Swallowing hard, the man slid a few papers across the small table. "This is the target." He cleared his throat and straightened up, trying to put on a formal front. "Here's all the information we have on him, name, quirk, the agency he works at, and things you should know about him and his abilities."

Before Bakugou flipped the papers over, a waitress came over to them, bright smile on her face as she asked what they'd like to order. Bakugou knew the smile was fake. There was no way a pretty girl like her could be happy serving in this rundown bar all day, though he could tell by her cheap looking makeup, bags under her eyes, and the tight grip she had on her notepad, that her life was probably less than desirable. The look in her eyes told him she expected him to be an awful customer, and Bakugou couldn't really blame her considering the whistles she'd gotten from others as she made her way to the table.

None of the information was really important— he wouldn't remember her after a day or so— but it was sort of a game for him:. to look at people and guess what life they had, what they were really feeling under the mask of a smile. As an assassin, reading people was essential. While being more of a long distance killer, sometimes it was impossible to not try to get closer to the target and learn about their hidden weaknesses. At times, people were so surrounded by others that he had to put on a front to get them alone. What the front was depended on the person.

Bakugou put in his order for a fruity drink with little alcohol. People can say what they want, but he was not a fan of being impaired. Having a clear head was very much preferable thank you very much. To no surprise, the employee didn't order anything, which was the only reason Bakugou got something for himself. Getting kicked out of the bar for sitting around and not ordering anything wasn't a preferred outcome.

With the waitress gone, Bakugou turned his attention back to the papers. Flipping them over he blinked in surprise, wondering if they gotten some pretty boy model mixed up with a hero. The guy couldn't have been any older than Bakugou was. The picture looked a little shaky, like a fan taking a picture of celebrity but trying not to be obvious about it. Regardless, those mismatched were fixed directly on the camera, looking rather unimpressed. Something about that look pissed Bakugou off. Who the hell did this guy think he is?

It wasn't until he looked further down and saw a picture of the guy in his hero costume did it finally click. Todoroki Shouto, up and coming hero fresh out of U.A. From what Bakugou has heard the guy had an insanely strong quirk, was extremely smart, and seemed just like a typical OP hero from a movie.

Even though Bakugou already wanted to fight him, the guy hadn't done anything wrong as far as he knew.

"You guys sought me out, so you should know what targets I'll accept. Or at least I fucking hope so, otherwise this is a total waste of time. Corrupt heroes, asshole business owners, a few shitty people with abusive tendencies. Fuckers like that. If I killed every guy who looked like an asshole, the government would have probably tracked me down by now." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

The employee shifted nervously under Bakugou's glare, "He's not as perfect as he appears. Being a guy with power and money like him, things can get covered up easily. We are fully aware that you're uh, particular, about your targets." It wasn't questioned aloud, but Bakugou could tell the guy was wondering why Bakugou didn't just take every assignment. He was already a killer, so why not?

Others could say what they wanted, but Bakugou wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing he killed an innocent person. Sure, no one was truly innocent. Everyone was shitty in their own special way. But Bakugou drew the line at making everyone else's life worse and taking advantage of others. Bakugou was aware that he, himself, was one of those people who could have been better off dead, but if he could take down a few bastards before he went out himself, that was fine by him.

"So, have you uncovered anything? If not you can tell your boss to piss off for me." He knew he was being difficult, but he had to be, or else any asshole with a lot of money could push him around. If Bakugou was going to do work for others, it had to be by his rules.

At least his attitude was finally making the employee go from nervous to annoyed. "If you looked at the papers, you'd see what we have against him." His fingers drummed against the table, not even looking up when the waitress returned.

"Thank you." Bakugou accepted the drink and took the time to look up at her. He didn't smile back, but when she said, "Enjoy your drink," it felt more genuine than the smile she gave them earlier.

They were both silent while Bakugou looked through the rest of the papers. It was almost laughable at how little evidence they had against this guy. Assault accusations that didn't add up, vague photos, a few instances where someone would make a claim against him online and the post got taken down. If there was definite proof Todoroki did the things these people claimed he did, Bakugou would say yes.

"Is this it? It's like you guys got this off of some fucking 'this hero is secretly a villain!' conspiracy theory blog made by an edgy teenager. I already don't like taking out heroes, much less one who's the son of the world's current top hero. Just admit it. You guys don't have shit against him." Bakugou had enough of this. He had a life, he didn't need to be wasting his time on some dead-end job request. Scooting his chair back, he more than ready to leave when the guy started panicking again.

"Wait!"

"No, we're done here." Bakugou downed his drink as he stood up, then started to open his wallet to rummage for some money to pay for the drink and a tip.

"Do you know how much you'll get paid for this?"

Bakugou leaned over, one hand on the table so his eyes were level with the employee. "You realize how much I don't give a fuck?" he growled. Fucking hell, sure he liked having money, but he wasn't about to bend over to every dickwad with a lot of cash.

"You mentioned his dad, so you know about him, right?" The man rushed out the words, clearly desperate to keep Bakugou here. "The man couldn't care less about the lives he saves. His wife is in a mental hospital, son has a suspicious burn mark over his eye, and there has been an unbelievable amount of evidence that suggesting he's not a good man."

Well, he got Bakugou to stay. Standing straight, he motioned his hand for the man to continue, and your point is?

"Shouto is showing a lot of the same traits as his father. Taking out his dad would be too risky, we know, but his son wouldn't cause as much as an uproar. His dad will get old and retire someday, do we really need another copy of him taking his place?"

Bakugou bit his lip. The guy was right, but Bakugou wasn't sure if he'd be willing to take someone's life on what they could be. "Here's what we'll pay you," on one of the papers the guy scribbled down some numbers. That caught Bakugou's attention even more and he hated that. He was doing fine, but holy shit that was a lot of money.

"I'm not saying yes, but I'll shadow the guy for a few days. If I decide he's like his dad and worth the effort to take out, then I'll do it." He could spare a few days to check this guy out. Of course Bakugou would be pissed if this guy turned up to be a dead-end, but if it wasn't, Bakugou would be set for life. He could quit this part of his life.

But could I really act like I haven't taken dozens of lives?

"Great." Bakugou didn't like the guy's smile, it was like he won something. "Thank you for considering the offer. If you take it, call this number. If we don't hear back from you in the next few weeks, we'll assume it's a no and move on to someone else." The man wrote down a number on one of the papers.

Bakugou nodded, resuming his task of getting money out to pay. As the man got up and walked past him, Bakugou could tell the guy was looking at his wallet. He never carried his ID in such obvious spot while on his second job. These guys definitely weren't above blackmail, and what if he lost it? No way. While some people liked making a huge name for themselves, spreading their influence, Bakugou didn't want to be a target. It'd without a doubt be all over the news if he got caught. He could already hear "I knew he'd turn out like that."

Bakugou had just put down the money when the waitress returned. "Have a nice night," he mumbled as he passed her.

Now he had something to do besides his mindless day job. Bakugou hated the relief it brought him. It once again made him doubt if he could truly quit this life. With no dreams or aspirations in life, planning and executing an assassination was the only time he had a goal. He couldn't be content with a simple life of go to work, find a wife, grow old, retire. With being a hero out of the picture, what else could he do?

Well, a lot. But nothing appealed to him in any way, he might as well continue doing what he was already doing. Not like you can undo a murder. Romance wasn't an option either, he couldn't remember the last time he had a friend, much less an interest in someone else. After getting out of high school, he thought he'd have a fresh start, but in the end he didn't want to befriend anyone and brushed off everyone else's attempts to befriend him. A one night stand was as far as he'd go with someone.

Coming home was a relief.

"I'm home," he announced to no one in particular. Bakugou felt like it was a little sad calling out to no one but a cat, but goddamn it he had no one else to greet, so why not?

Somewhere in the house there was a thump and soon he heard the pattering noises of an approaching cat. The cat was getting older, about ten years old, but that didn't prevent him from yowling at the top of his lungs while approaching Bakugou.

"Hey asshole." Bakugou leaned over to scoop up that cat, who hissed in protest despite purring 0.2 seconds later. Before he left home, his parents had gotten a cat and named the orange furball "Pumpkin." Despite his best efforts to make the damn thing leave him alone, the cat loved him more than anyone else in the household and ended up joining him when he moved out.

At first Bakugou saw the cat as burden, just something he had to take care of and deal with on a daily basis. Now, Pumpkin was more of a comfort. He could talk out loud and not feel crazy and having something living nearby kept him from going insane in the silence of his apartment. Also, he might like cuddling Pumpkin. He might.

Through the blinds in the kitchen Bakugou could see the fading light, but it wasn't dark enough yet for him to flip on a light switch. He liked the orange glow it casted into the kitchen and, for reasons purely based on aesthetic, he wanted to cook before he ran out of daylight and had to turn on the kitchen's light. First came feeding the cat, which was a long process of Bakugou shoving Pumpkin off the counter so he could crack open the can and dump it into the bowl.

"Here you go you little shit," Bakugou mumbled to the yowling cat as he put down the bowl.

He shook his head in despair as Pumpkin wolfed down the food the food with no grace, unable to make more unappealing noises while eating.

Tuning out the sound of his cat eating, Bakugou began to make dinner for himself. He paused for a moment to get his laptop. Within a minute, music was playing, and Bakugou was singing along to words that didn't really fit the peaceful motions of cooking. His singing wasn't the best and sometimes he'd get a noise complaint, but fuck it, it wasn't late and no one but himself could stop him.

Once he had dinner cooked and was seated, he turned down the music and decided to put his own research into Todoroki Shouto. After well over an hour of surfing through articles and videos, Bakugou hadn't really found anything bad about him. What he did learn though was that the hype about his strength wasn't over exaggerated. Todoroki very much lived up to the praise. Bakugou found himself smiling a bit at that. He always welcomed a challenge.