At first there is nothing. Just pitch blackness. Then a spotlight clicks on, illuminating the single desk in this empty space where Bakugou Katsuki sits, shoulders tense, hands clenching the fabric of his pants, and eyes staring straight ahead as a single bead of sweat trails down the side of his face. He can't move. Not to release his grip, not to stand from the desk, not even to shout or scream or curse.
Gradually, the spotlight widens until it illuminates the figures standing in a perfect circle around him. Most of them are people he knows from school. Classmates. His elementary school teacher. He spots his own parents out of the corner of his eye. Midoriya Inko stands directly in front of him. They are all chanting the same thing. A single word, over and over again, in an eerie mantra.
'Murderer.'
'Murderer!'
'Murderer!'
"MURDERER!"
Katsuki bolted awake an hour before his alarm would have gone off, eyes wide and body coated in a cold sweat. It took several moments for him to realize it had just been a bad dream, but even when it did his heart continued to race.
"Damn it," he cursed, flopping back down on his sweat-soaked pillow. It had been years since he'd had that dream. Why now?
Checking the date on his phone, he thought he understood why. Today his class would be working on their high school applications. Stressful day. Weird dreams usually came on stressful days, right?
Well, he had a whole hour to kill and he didn't feel like going to sleep again after... that. Maybe he'd go for a run, get some extra exercise in before school. And try to get that fucked up dream out of his head.
Like every other day of his life, Katsuki's classroom was in absolute chaos. Students were chatting loudly, excitedly, about useless shit, bragging about their second rate quirks and firing them off in the classroom without a thought. Of course, today was the day they'd be discussing which high schools they'd be applying to, so it was no wonder. Even Katsuki was lighting off small explosions in the palm of his hand and smirking to himself, feet kicked up on top of his desk as he waited for the teacher to show.
Finally. One step closer.
Even when the teacher entered the room two minutes after the bell rang they didn't settle down. If anything, the excited middle-schoolers seemed to grow rowdier.
"C'mon class! You're middle school seniors!" he shouted, putting on his best 'stern' expression, though Katsuki gave it two minutes tops before he broke and started acting like a dumb ass again. "It's time you started thinking seriously about your futures! I'll be handing out printouts on your desired life-courses!"
Make that twenty seconds. Three... two... one...
"But who am I kidding? You all want to be heroes, don't you?" the teacher guffawed as the students all burst out into cheers and unleashed their quirks. Flame and sparks and flapping wings and gnashing fangs filled the classroom. Katsuki scoffed at the childish display.
"Yes, yes your quirks are all wonderful," the teacher said, "but it's against the rules to use them during school!"
Not that that had ever stopped anybody before.
(Even as tears stream down the quirkless child's face as he trembles in terror, the teacher makes no move to intervene.)
Eugh. This was because of that dream. Had to get it out of his head.
With an irritated scoff, Katsuki turned his eyes out the window. Several angry eyes immediately locked on him.
"You gotta problem, Bakugou?" someone growled. Katsuki didn't so much as grace them with a dirty look.
"Yeah, I got a problem. I don't like being lumped in with you side characters."
Naturally, this didn't go over well with the rest of the class. Dirty or envious looks were being shot his way from every direction, and everyone was clamoring to give him a piece of their mind. Not that Katsuki cared about any of their opinions. They could all eat shit for all he cared.
"You've gotta big mouth, Bakugou!" someone shouted above the other angry voices.
"You should all shut up like the extras you are!" he snarled back.
Their teacher, meanwhile, just watched the chaos with a resigned sigh. Business as usual, as far as he was concerned.
"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten," he commented, somehow able to make himself heard even above his rambunctious students' squawking, "Bakugou's shooting for UA High, isn't he?"
All over the classroom anger and indignant looks gave way to shock and awe. Several students even looked impressed, while Katsuki ignored them.
"You mean that national-level academy!?" one student cried. "Isn't it's entrance exam extremely difficult to pass!?"
"Yeah, and it's hyper competitive to get in, right!?" another student chimed in.
They were impressed. Dirty, jealous looks were replaced with expressions of awe and adulation. Katsuki didn't care. He wasn't going to UA to impress anyone. He just needed to get the hell out of Orudera.
"You side characters done running your mouths!?" he snapped angrily. "Out of everyone in this crappy town I'm the only one who could ever get in! I'm not like the rest of you background characters with your weak ass quirks. I'm gonna blow through the rankings and replace All Might as the number one hero, and nothing's going to get in my way!"
After all, he was the only one in this class - in all of Orudera Middle, actually - who had a chance to succeed and pass U.A.'s rigorous entrance exam. His quirk was the best suited for combat. He'd been practicing with it for years and knew how to adapt it to a variety of situations. He wouldn't settle for anything less than perfection.
When class let out for the day he pointedly avoided looking at the single unused desk in the classroom as he walked out.
"You know, you could try being less of an asshole every once in a while," one of Katsuki's 'friends' - more like a follower really - teased as he and one of their other classmates trailed behind Katsuki after they'd left school that day. "I swear, one day someone's gonna up and fucking deck you."
"They can try," Katsuki snarled in response. His followers just laughed.
From there the two of them got wrapped up in their own conversation, going on and on about whatever second-rate schools they were applying to. Katsuki didn't care. It didn't have anything to do with him, and they were the ones who insisted on following him. He never asked for their company, so they couldn't blame him when he totally ignored them.
He lost track of time as he walked. Katsuki didn't want to go home quite yet, and the only homework he had was to finish his life-course printout anyway, which he'd already mostly filled out in the classroom. Maybe he should head to the beach or the woods for some training...
Some muffled sobs and jeering laughter caught his attention. Snapping back to Earth, he found he and his followers had walked right by the park they all used to play at as kids, and shit was going down between four students from his school.
One of the middle-schoolers was cowering on his knees, hands held over his head as he sniffled pathetically. The other three were laughing at his distress, one gnashing his overlarge fangs that protruded from his massive mouth, one extending his elastic arms like whips, and one levitating several rocks above her head. The three wore identical malicious grins as they tormented the kid in the middle.
"Oh man, what a little bitch!" the fang guy - Katsuki never really bothered to learn all of his classmates' names - taunted. "We barely even did anything and he's already crying!"
("What a crybaby!" Katsuki taunts as the kid cowering before him bursts into tears. "We haven't even done anything yet!")
Rage boiled beneath Katsuki's skin. His hands clenched into fists as he felt heat building in his palms.
"What a bunch of assholes," one of his followers commented, the other nodding numbly in agreement.
"Yeah, but an adult'll be by to break it up soon. Those guys won't get away with it." And with that the two of them continued on walking down the sidewalk. "Hey Katsuki, you wanna hang at the mall or something-"
But Katsuki wasn't listening. He took two steps towards the shitheads picking on the loser...
And then froze in his tracks as, seemingly out of nowhere, a fifth kid ran to place himself between the bullies and the kid being picked on. Kid number five was a scrawny little thing, his baggy black clothes hanging off of his tiny frame and his disheveled mop of curly black hair falling over his right eye. The kid was grossly pale, like a weak sprout that had struggled to grow in the dark for a long time. The heavy dark circles under his eyes lent to his sickly appearance. He was clearly a weakling who had absolutely no business trying to protect anybody, so why-
"Hey, leave him alone! Can't you see he's crying?" the emo kid shouted, glaring at the bullies without the slightest hint of fear. "Three against one isn't a fair fight! If you keep bullying him, I won't forgive you!"
Slowly Katsuki's eyes widened in shock, lips moving soundlessly to form a name.
("Th-that's mean, Kaachan! Can't you see he's crying?" Deku's knees are trembling and his eyes are welling up with tears. Even as scared as he is, he's holding his ground. "If you keep going... I-I-I'll never forgive you!")
Deku...?
The three bullies howled with laughter.
"And what are you gonna do about it?" Telekinetic Girl - who seemed to be the leader - asked. "You must have a pretty neat quirk if you think you can take all three of us down alone!"
Her lackeys sneered, but Emo Kid didn't seem intimidated at all.
"I don't need a quirk to beat you!"
...What? That kid was quirkless? Or was he just refusing to use his quirk?
With a gesture Telekinetic Girl signaled Big Mouth and Stretch to attack. Both threw themselves at Emo Kid at once but the kid didn't move like an elementary student in a schoolyard scrap.
He moved like a pro.
Emo Kid dodged their attacks with ease. When Stretch's limbs shot out to try to grab him the kid leaped into the air, spring-boarded off of his rubbery arm, and then threw a kick aimed directly at Stretch's face. Stretch took a direct hit.
Katsuki was pretty sure he saw a tooth fly out of Stretch's mouth as he went down in a heap, Emo Kid landing gracefully a meter away. Such a clean take down seemed to give Big Mouth some pause, but then the bully let out a roar before throwing himself at Emo Kid again.
Without seeming to stop to think Emo Kid whirled around, shrugging off his backpack in one fluid motion and hurling it as hard as he could at Big Mouth's face. Big Mouth lurched back as the backpack got lodged in his massive mouth, and then spat it back out again as Emo Kid suddenly launched himself forward and plowed his fist into Big Mouth's stomach.
Big Mouth let out a sound between a pained groan and a high pitched squeal as he toppled back, lying frozen in the dirt for several seconds as tears formed in the corners of his eyes. Then, all at once, he scrambled up, fleeing desperately from the kid who'd just taken him down. Stretched followed suit, speeding off in the exact opposite direction.
"Where do you think you're going!?" Telekinetic girl screamed as she turned and watched him run away. "He's just one stupid kid!"
"You should quit bullying people." Emo Kid's voice caused her to flinch. She turned around, eyes filled with hate as she glared at Emo Kid. "Only cowards specifically target weaklings like this."
The kid hadn't even noticed him once yet. Why did it sound like those words were aimed at Katsuki? His teeth made an awful noise as he ground them together.
"Let's go," he growled to his followers, who had also stopped to watch the spectacle when they noticed Katsuki wasn't walking away. Both jolted, snapped out of their stupors by his gruff voice.
"What?" one of them asked. "But Katsuki-"
"Shut it. We're leaving."
Even if he looked and acted a little like stupid Deku, that kid wasn't him. Deku was dead. This kid only looked halfway there. If anything this was just the universe's way of twisting a knife in the wound. Not that he'd ever admit there was a wound there.
"Hey, are you okay?" Emo Kid was asking, bending and offering a hand to the kid he'd rescued. Although his face was still damp, the tears had stopped and he was looking up at his savior in awe. "It's alri-"
Telekinetic Girl took advantage of the opportunity. With his back turned, she levitated his own backpack along with every sizable rock in the immediate area. She was going to assault him while his back was turned.
"DROP DE-"
Her enraged cry was cut off by an explosion directly above her head. Emo Kid whirled around and her concentration broke, causing everything she'd levitated to come raining back down to the ground. Most of it pelted her. Before she could recover Katsuki strode over, eyes narrowed in fury and hands still smoldering. His own followers watched in shock and the girl's and Emo Kid's eyes widened in fear as he neared, grabbing a fistful of the front of her uniform and pulling her towards him until they were nose to nose. Her blouse was going to have scorch marks later.
"Look bitch, don't think I'd go easy on you just 'cause you're a girl. I ever see you pull some shit like this again you're dead, got it!?"
Blood draining from her face, she nodded so quickly Katsuki was surprised her head didn't fly off her shoulders. With a grunt, he shoved her away from him. She stumbled back a few steps before spinning on her heel and sprinting away. Good riddance.
Turning, Katsuki's eyes landed on Emo Kid, who was currently in the process of gathering up his things and stuffing them back into his bag, the kid he'd rescued lending a hand. It seemed like the zipper had gotten snagged on Big Mouth's teeth and been torn open and then when Telekinetic Girl levitated his bag and then dropped it a bunch of his stuff had fallen out.
The kid really did remind him of Deku. They even looked somewhat similar.
Eyes scanning the area, Katsuki realized most of the things that had fallen out of the kid's backpack were cans of coffee. No wonder he had those rings under his eyes. Kid drank too much goddamn caffeine. Katsuki knelt as he noticed something strange lying among Emo Kid's stuff; a half mask with the appearance of an animal's muzzle. He picked it up, inspecting the manic grin and sharp teeth, when suddenly the mask was ripped from his hands. Scowling, Katsuki looked up into the - frightened? - eyes of Emo Kid.
"You're welcome," Katsuki growled before standing. Up close the kid seemed even smaller. He probably wasn't even in middle school yet, or was just starting. Emo Kid didn't answer, hurriedly shoving his mask back into his bag. "Next time don't turn your back 'til the fight's over, dumb ass."
"S-sorry," Emo Kid mumbled, ducking his head to avoid eye contact. Katsuki raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in demeanor.
"Dude, that was totally awesome!"
Emo Kid flinched at Katsuki's follower's boisterous tone as he and the other middle school senior finally made their ways over.
"You were so cool!" his friend agreed. "It totally reminded me of the pro hero fights that are on TV all the time, right? You think so too, right Katsuki?"
"What are you, fucking stupid?" Katsuki growled. "A pro wouldn't have let his guard down like that. Look, if I hadn't come along that bitch woulda totally kicked your ass at the end there, so you better be fucking grateful, got it you emo fuck!?"
Instead of answering, Emo Kid flinched as though Katsuki had let off another explosion. Then spun on his heel and took off, throwing his backpack over his shoulder as he sped away from Katsuki and his followers and the kid he'd saved at at least twice the speed of the bullies he'd chased off earlier.
"Hey! Get back here you little shit!" Katsuki roared, hands sparking.
"Just leave it, Katsuki," one of his followers said. "Kid's prolly just shy. So, you still up for hanging out in the shopping district?"
Katsuki's eyes remained trained on the kid's retreating back until he hopped a wooden fence and disappeared completely from sight.
Shy? Was that it? That seemed more like genuine fear to Katsuki. The kid hadn't been afraid of the three bullies who were actually trying to hurt him, but he was scared of Katsuki who had stepped in on his behalf?
Weird kid.
Mikumo leaped over fences, scaled buildings, and cut through alleys as he fled, running as though Shigaraki himself were hot on his heels. Of all people, why...
He kept running until he'd long since left the middle school seniors behind, coming to stop underneath a bridge he vaguely remembered as being on the route between his old house and his old school. As soon as his feet stopped moving he dropped to his knees, sucking in huge lungfuls of air as his heart jack-hammered against the inside of his rib cage. Mikumo had run as fast as he could without summoning his ukaku and cleared a very long distance in a very short amount of time.
At least it seemed like Katsuki hadn't been able to keep up. Or, maybe, he just decided stupid Izuku wasn't worth chasing. The second one seemed more likely, based on what he remembered of Katsuki.
"But wait, did he even recognize me? He did seem somewhat startled to see me but that doesn't necessarily mean he recognized me, it's entirely possible that he mistook me for someone else, but-"
He clamped his mouth shut abruptly, realizing he was mumbling again.
Okay, this could potentially be a problem, but it was a problem that could be dealt with later. Although he still didn't understand why Katsuki had stepped in at the end there, obsessing over it wouldn't do him any good. He doubted Katsuki would care enough to tell anyone about seeing him, and those others didn't seem to know him at all. For now he just needed to focus on finding a place to sleep the day away. He wouldn't need to eat again for another couple of weeks, but maybe he could find a place to get some good coffee later. The stuff from the vending machine was okay, but fresh brew would be better.
As he thought about his next plan of action, breath evening out as he rose to his feet and continued walking at a more relaxed pace, he failed to notice a nearby manhole he'd walked over.
He failed to notice tendrils of greenish-grey sludge emerge from the holes in the manhole cover behind him, clumping together to form a single grotesque mass with two massive bulging eyeballs and a wide mouth filled with long, yellow teeth.
He failed to notice as the sludge creature slithered closer and closer to him.
By the time he noticed the shadow looming over him and whirled around, it was already too late.
"A smallish-sized invisibility cloak..." the sludge creature hissed as tendrils shot out and wrapped around Mikumo's wrists and ankles, pulling him towards the mass even as he fought to free himself. "Don't worry," it mockingly consoled him as one thick tendril started to force its way into Mikumo's mouth and down throat whilea smaller one wormed its way into his nostril. "I'm just going to take over your body."
One of its disgusting eyeballs was floating right by Mikumo's head - was as big as Mikumo's head - and he could feel its hot, rank breath on his face as he struggled to free himself to no avail. The goop soaked into his clothes, weighed his arms and legs down and made them useless. Mikumo glared at the creature, the eye hidden under his hair transforming. The creature's smirk widened.
"Calm down. It'll only hurt for about forty-five seconds."
Warmth built on his back, under the skin on his shoulder.
"You'll feel better soo-"
And then exploded outwards, ukaku slicing cleanly through the sludge villain's eyeball. As it turned out, it did have blood after all.
The sludge villain shrieked in pain as it dropped Mikumo. Mikumo landed somewhat unsteadily, hastily sucking in lungfuls air after nearly being drowned, but he recovered quickly. His ukaku solidified, transforming from something like a flickering flame into rows upon rows of dagger-like crystals protruding from his shoulder. He watched the sludge creature writhe in pain, cold fury in his eyes.
"My eye! You little bastard... What did you do to my eye!?"
Both halves of the villain's severed eye had fallen from its main body, puddles of blood and yellowish goo swirling together on the concrete.
"You chose the wrong target," Mikumo said coolly, although he was glad the sludge creature picked him and not some other kid. "I wonder if your eyes are at least edible? Then again, I'm not exactly in a hurry to have any part of you in my mouth again..."
He flared his ukaku, ready to launch a barrage of crystals to shred what remained of the villain's solid form, its eyes and mouth. That's when a booming laugh rang out and both Mikumo and the sludge creature halted. Suddenly the manhole cover shot into the air as a mighty fist punched it open from underneath and a muscular figure emerged into the sunlight.
Slowly, Mikumo turned towards the manhole before freezing as terror overtook him.
"It's alright now, young man."
He trembled, his crystalline wing igniting once more as the owner of the booming voice stood tall, muscles straining beneath a too-tight t-shirt and white teeth sparkling as he flashed his signature fearless grin. Behind Mikumo, the villain sucked up the discarded pieces of its eye and frantically tried to slither away.
"Because I am-"
The number one hero, All Might, froze as he took in the situation. The villain, injured, frightened, attempting to flee. Blood on the ground. A young boy - somewhere around elementary or middle school-aged - with a wing made of something like flame or blood, frozen seemingly in terror.
Huh.
Had the child reacted to defend himself out of fear of dying? If so, All Might was impressed. But why did he not seem to calm down now that a hero was here? Cautiously, he took a step towards the boy, one hand reaching out to pat him gently on the head.
"Don't be afraid. You're safe no-"
Apparently, that was the wrong move. The moment he drew close the child broke out of his stupor, wing flaring before a barrage of crystals shot out of the swirling red wing. Instinctively All Might raised his arms to protect his face. He could feel the crystals slicing through his skin, all shallow cuts. Was the child aware enough to hold back, or was this the extent of his strength?
All at once the assault stopped. When All Might lowered his arms the child was nowhere to be seen. The sludge villain was gone as well, having taken advantage of the momentary distraction to escape. All Might puzzled over the odd occurrence. The fear in that child's eyes clearly hadn't been because of the villain. It had been because of... him? But why? He was a symbol of peace, a protector of humanity. The kid was even wearing an All Might hoodie, so why did he act like he was afraid of the hero?
There was an obvious answer to that question; the child was on the wrong side of the law himself. It was hard to imagine such a small and sickly-looking child was a criminal, but such cases weren't unheard of.
All Might felt a pang of pity for the child. Based on his frail, disheveled appearance he doubted the boy's situation was a happy one. Unfortunately, finding him would have to wait. His first priority was to locate and apprehend the sludge creature before it selected another victim.
Several blocks away, Mikumo once again found himself struggling for breath.
Today was not his lucky day. It was like the universe was picking on him or something.
A new meat suit. It needed a meat suit, before that freaky kid or that damned hero caught up with it. Where... Where!?
Thankfully eyeballs were made of mostly liquid. Slowly the two pieces of its eye started to seal together. As its vision slowly returned the sludge villain made its way through the Tatooin Shopping District, creeping and crawling through the shadows as it searched over people to hide inside of.
Someone young. Someone fit. Someone with a really powerful quirk. It needed... It needed...
Footsteps. The sludge creature melted to the ground, disguising itself as a puddle, as three boys in middle school uniforms walked past.
"Hey Katsuki, you okay? You're acting kinda... tense."
The question, posed by one of Katsuki's followers, was asked in response to the way Katsuki seemed to be glowering at everything and nothing. Sure, Katsuki wasn't exactly known for his charm and friendly demeanor, but this was different. It was almost like his rage was directed at something specific today, only neither of his followers could figure out what that something was.
"Saying Katsuki's kinda tense is like saying All Might's a little strong. Dude, you look like you're legitimately gonna kill the next person who looks at you funny."
Katsuki jolted at the choice of words, throwing a dirty look at the one who said it over his shoulder.
"Shut the fuck up! I'm just thinking, that's all!"
'Only cowards specifically target weaklings like this.'
Stupid emo fuck. What did he know?
'Kaachan, that's mean!'
Katsuki stomped down the alley he and his followers were using as their shortcut, not caring when he stepped in a puddle of slimy muck. He kicked the puddle, causing mud to spray everywhere.
"Hey, why don't we go to the arcade for a change of pace?" one of his followers suggested. "Katsuki, you wanna come, right?"
Waste time at the arcade? Sure, why the hell not?
"Yeah," he grunted. His followers beamed.
"Then let's go to the one in front of the station," the other guy suggested. "There's lots of prey there!"
Knowing him, he could either be talking about girls or weaklings whose arcade change they could steal.
"You're terrible," the first follower said, though he was smirking. Katsuki glared at both of them.
"What?! If we get caught, it'll end up on my record!" he spat, a small explosion going off in his hand threateningly.
They flinched, but not at him.
"Hey, l-look!"
Whirling around, Katsuki found the puddle he'd stepped in swelling, rising from the ground. It blocked out the light from the opening of the alley as it formed a pair of eyes and a massive, gaping mouth that stretched towards him as though it were planning to swallow Katsuki whole.
"An invisible cloak with a great quick!" a voice bubbled from the sludge, even though its mouth didn't move with the words.
Although Katsuki wouldn't admit it later, his eyes widened in fear.
It was taking too long. Even after hours of searching, All Might had failed to find either the villain or the kid. He doubted the two of them were together. In all likelihood the sludge villain would go after an easier target than the child with the flaming, blood-red wing. The problem was, there were so many people in this city. He could have chosen a body to take over already. And on top of everything else...
All Might looked down to find wispy trails of white smoke rising from his arms.
He didn't have any time left.
Mikumo popped the tab to one of his coffees before raising it to his lips. He'd wanted to find a cafe, but after facing two scares in a row - meeting his childhood... whatever Kaachan was to him again, and then coming face to face with the top hero - he felt he could use a little caffeine. Besides, it kept his mouth occupied so he couldn't mumble while his thoughts raced.
All Might probably wouldn't come after him. At least, not right away. Sure, it was illegal for people to use their quirks to fight unless they had registered hero licenses, but All Might would probably recognize that he'd acted in self defense and let it slide, right? Then again, there was assault of a public defender, but maybe he could play it off as adrenaline from having just been attacked. That seemed somewhat reasonable.
Several frightened cries and a pillar of smoke rising in the distance derailed Mikumo's train of thought. It seemed like a villain-hero fight was going on nearby. People were rushing to it already. It would probably look pretty strange if he ignored it, and he couldn't deny he was a bit curious. All Might had probably caught up to that sludge monster and was beating it down. Mikumo calculated the risks, and then decided he could afford to go. It would be easy to get lost in the crowd, after all.
Still sipping his coffee, Mikumo joined the throng of people rushing to the scene. It looked like it was around the shopping district.
An explosion went off. Definitely inside the shopping district. Mikumo faltered mid step, before resuming at a faster pace. Could it be...?
A thin man, all skin and bones, ran through the shopping district. His sunken, hollow eyes were trained on the column of smoke rising in the distance. Each step seemed to come from great effort and each breath sounded like it pained him considerably. Even so, he pushed himself forward, towards the sound of sirens in the distance.
The explosions were coming faster and faster. People ran, screaming, as windows shattered and the flames continued to spread from their source. Already three pro heroes had arrived on the scene, but even they faltered when they saw what was happening.
Flames licked at the inside of the alley, all swirling around a massive creature made of mud and slime. The creature grinned wickedly at the police and the heroes as in its grasp a young boy with straw-colored hair and burning red eyes flailed and struggled for freedom. Katsuki spat and snarled as he fought to free himself and for just a moment he managed to get his face free long enough to suck in precious air. The heroes were fighting but their powers were useless against this particular villain. Their attacks just bounced off him or went through him. And many weren't willing to brave Katsuki's explosions.
"I won't let sewage like this swallow me!" Katsuki roared and his adrenaline kicked in. So close. Just a little more and he'd be able to pry his arms and legs free and blow this slimy piece of shit to kingdom come! A spark went off in his hand, only to be swallowed and doused by the sludge. "You little-!"
An arm came free. A chain of explosions followed. The heroes flinched at the force of the blasts, raising their arms to protect themselves from the smoke and debris. But it wasn't enough. Once again Katsuki found his arm trapped.
"What power!" the sludge monster crowed. "I've hit the jackpot!"
With this kid's quirk, with this much power, it could get its revenge on that shitty kid who'd cut its eye!
As its excitement swelled the creature's body surged and swelled upwards, causing the civilian onlookers and police to draw back.
"Whoa, what's that!?"
"Could he be a big-shot villain?"
People watched, chattering excitedly like they were watching a movie as more heroes arrived and tried and failed to stop the creature and save Katsuki.
None of the heroes could get close to the villain.
None were willing to get close.
Explosions continued going off one after another as Katsuki found his mouth and nose once again covered and felt his lungs start to burn as sludge forced its way down his throat.
'Don't breathe it in, don't breathe it in...'
If he tried to breathe and got slime in his lungs he'd start to drown. But the lack of air was already starting to fog his brain and his body was screaming at him to take a breath. He stared out at the crowd. Why wasn't anyone doing anything!? Why were they all just watching!? Didn't someone have a quirk they could use!? Another explosion went off. Then another. He couldn't breathe. It hurt.
His arms and legs were going limp. He couldn't keep fighting.
Another explosion, and then a building collapsed.
Someone...
The thin skeleton man finally arrived at the scene, gasping for breath. As he took in the sight before him, beads of sweat rolled down his face.
This was his fault. If only he had apprehended the villain instead of trying to approach the skittish child... If only he'd paid more attention to his time limit...
He was pathetic.
...Was this what dying felt like?
The world was swimming. He couldn't breathe. He could see the glow of flames but everything felt so cold...
There were people staring at him. Watching him die? Why weren't any of them... doing anything...? What was happening...? Where...?
...Deku?
Someone at the back of the crowd... with curly hair that fell in front of their right eye... it was Deku, wasn't it?
Deku was staring at him, no expression on his face. He'd help, wouldn't he? Deku always... helped...
Deku turned his back, and walked away.
Katsuki watched helplessly as the boy he'd killed abandoned him to his fate.
Finally, the tears he'd been holding back fell.
Mikumo stared in horror at the sight of Katsuki's weakening struggles in the sludge creature's hold. Dammit. He shouldn't have let that bastard get away. If only he'd finished it off earlier, and now...
The heroes present were helpless to do anything but contain the damage. Mikumo understood that, but still couldn't stop the icy rage that drained all emotion from his face and left him feeling cold. Couldn't Kamui Woods use his branches to give Katsuki something to hold on to? Couldn't Desutegoro grab him and rip him out of the slime? Couldn't they try!?
But none of this seemed to occur to any of them. They fell back, forming a barrier between the civilians and the rampaging monster. Mikumo watched, expressionless, and Katsuki grew weaker and weaker in the sludge monster's grasp.
People were talking. Asking the same questions that Mikumo was thinking. What were the heroes doing? Why weren't they helping? Most of them accepted that the heroes didn't want to rush in and accidentally hurt Katsuki without question. Then someone mentioned the name All Might and suddenly that's all anyone was talking about. Wasn't All Might chasing this guy? Where was he? Why wasn't he saving this kid?
Where was All Might? It hadn't hit Mikumo until that moment, but it really seemed strange that he wasn't there trying to apprehend the sludge creature. Even if he'd run in the wrong direction looking for it, he should have seen the explosion and come running, right?
Katsuki couldn't hold out for much longer. Even if the adults were willing to wait, Katsuki could only go so long without air. Someone had to do something. The adults weren't doing anything. Someone...
Suddenly Katsuki's eyes found Mikumo's through the crowd and Mikumo felt everything around him - the heroes, the murmuring civilians, the flames, the sirens - fall away. Those were tears welling up in his eyes, refusing to fall. Katsuki was... afraid. Afraid because he was about to die.
Mikumo couldn't let that happen. It didn't matter that Katsuki didn't remember him or had hated him. He couldn't stand idly by while someone he knew was about to die.
He turned away from what was right in front of him and focused his attention to the stores surrounding the alley. If he could get in a sneak attack then maybe... Mikumo walked away, the white of his right eye turning black while his iris bled red.
Toshinori Yagi watched helplessly, clenching the spot on his torso that bore scars from previous battles. Around him he could hear voices calling for All Might, demanding to know where All Might was. Self loathing coiled in his gut as the boy being held hostage grew weaker and weaker. Everyone was counting on All Might to come and save the day, but he couldn't do anything
A black blur, like a shadow, shot from the roof of the nearby building and sliced a line across the villain's face. It shrieked in agony as blood and mucous spurted from the line that had been cut through its eyes. Everyone, civilians, police, and heroes alike, stared at the small figure in shock and awe. They stood from where they crouched in amid the flames, dressed all in black with a dark hood covering his head and rabbit-ears dangling from the fabric. A mask covered the lower half of his face, resembling an animal's muzzle.
Yagi felt his heart stop when he saw the tiny figure's single uncovered eye; all black, with a burning red iris and pronounced red veins.
"You bastard!" the sludge villain shrieked as the boy with the rabbit-hood turned around to glare at it. "I'm going to kill you this time!"
Two club-like tendrils shot at him like bullets, but the villain could barely see. The boy didn't move at all, and still both attacks missed as the sludge creature flailed blindly. Then something bulged underneath the boy's hoodie. People gaped in awe as a glowing red wing that burned like fire and flowed like blood burst out from a spot over the boy's right shoulder. Then the boy shot forward, weaving gracefully around the creature's tentacles as he reached towards the hostage.
Mikumo's arms sank into the villain's gooey body as he reached for Katsuki's hands. They were limp, but gave a slight twitch at the brush of skin, red eyes fluttering open to meet Mikumo's uncovered monstrous eye.
"It's okay," he said, voice muffled by the mask. "You aren't going to die."
The sludge villain shrieked, as though sensing his hostage was about to be taken. Before he had a chance to do anything about it Mikumo's wing crystallized and then the sharpened ends dug into the sludge and flesh surrounding Katsuki. Another earsplitting shriek rose from the slime as the crystals split its tongue in two, dousing both Mikumo and Katsuki with blood. It's hold slackened and with a final wrench Mikumo managed to pull Katsuki free.
Katsuki fell to his knees, throwing up blood and slime and coughing until he nearly threw up again in between gasps as he sucked in much needed air. The villain snarled and flailed and slowly its eyes started to repair themselves. Both eyes, wild with hate, locked onto Mikumo.
(Dead. That brat is so dead. I am going to give him the painful death he deserves.)
Katsuki suddenly found himself thrown bodily by the much smaller boy towards the police line before the sludge creature started to rampage again. Mikumo became a black and red blur as he leaped out of the way of its tendrils. They shot, serpent-like, through the air towards Mikumo, but he dodged again, bouncing off of the wall of the alley and ricocheting himself high in the air above the monster. From his vantage point all the way up there he released a flurry of crystals that sliced through the sludge and tore its eyes and tongue to ribbons. Then he propelled himself in the air to land on the roof of the next building over.
Unable to speak properly, the monster roared and thrashed its tendrils at him, but it was in too much pain to think properly. It could only howl like a beast. Mikumo watched, unimpressed by the threatening display.
"You're looking the wrong way," he said finally, giving the villain pause. Its slivered, bloody eye focused on him for a moment, then swiveled around towards the hostage it had just lost.
Katsuki's fury wasn't cold. It was all heat and rage and explosions. He held one arm out towards the sludge monster, his eyes aflame.
"EAT SHIT AND DIE!"
Then he let off a massive blast in the center of the creature's mass that caused it to swell up like a balloon before bursting all over the walls of the alley.
The crowd looked on in awe, ears ringing. The villain that had given even pro heroes a hard time had been defeated by two young boys, one of whom had been held hostage by the same villain only moments prior. Katsuki fell to his knees, still panting harshly as he glowered at the spot where the villain once stood. Then his eyes traveled up towards the rooftops, towards the rabbit-mask kid.
He was gone. Like he'd never been there to begin with.
With the villain defeated, the police and heroes quickly moved in to clean up the mess and make the arrest. The scattered sludge was gathered into bottles and delivered to the police. Cameramen, news reporters - anyone associated with the media really - gathered to interview the heroes and anyone else who had witnessed the battle who was willing to speak.
No one was able to locate the boy with the rabbit mask and hood.
The civilians who had watched the fight started referring to him as 'Black Rabbit.' Katsuki called him 'that emo fuck.'
He was being praised by the heroes. One even tried to recommended his agency to Katsuki - for when he went pro, like they obviously knew he would - but his mind wasn't on them.
The kid with the rabbit mask... that had to be the same kid from the park He was wearing the same clothes, had the same hair, same height and build, and that mask... Sure, people might not recognize him on the street, but Katsuki had gotten a close look at him. Had looked him in the eye.
Right in that freaky, black and red eye.
Who was he? He looked younger than Katsuki but he was already fighting villains like he was a pro. There hadn't even been the slightest bit of fear in that kid's eye when he rushed in to pull Katsuki from the sludge.
Dammit. He couldn't believe how weak he'd been. How scared. Not only had he failed to get himself free, he'd started crying in front of a crowd of people! And why!? Because he'd hallucinated Deku was there and had left him to die!?
Never mind the fact that he would deserve it anyway if that was in fact what happened, Katsuki couldn't forgive himself for thinking of that loser in what were almost his last moments when he had spent the last three years trying to forget about Deku. He blamed the emo fuck for showing up and stirring up old wounds.
Next time he saw Emo Kid he was going to get some answers. About his weird-ass quirk. How he'd gotten that strong.
And why he'd saved Katsuki.
Nobody noticed as Yagi slipped away from the crowd. Of course, as sickly and broken as he looked, most people avoided paying attention to him when they could. Which suited him just fine. It made certain things easier.
Like avoiding the paparazzi, observing situations without drawing attention, and noticing a young boy dressed all in black with a large backpack slung over his shoulder creeping out of the next alley over while everyone else was occupied with the heroes and police making the arrest. He followed carefully, keeping to a safe distance so it appeared more that he was just walking in the same direction as the boy rather than following him.
Yagi still didn't know for sure that it was specifically All Might the boy was afraid of. Maybe it was heroes in general. Maybe it was adults in general. Either way, he'd be more careful in his approach this time. Didn't want to scare him off aga- Hey!
With no warning given, the boy took off at a run. What happened? Had he noticed he was being followed? Shit!
Breaking into a run as well, Yagi struggled to keep up with the boy, but within seconds he'd been left behind. Once again, he'd lost him.
Still, he wasn't going to give up on that boy. For now he'd settle with going to the police with a tip about a boy wearing the same clothes as Black Rabbit exiting the next alley over. He could also check missing persons reports over the last few years to see if he could find anything. Something about his scruffy appearance and skittishness screamed 'runaway' to Yagi. The battle with the sludge creature seemed to indicate this wasn't his first big fight. Maybe he could dig up old police records and see if he could find anything that matched this kid's quirk.
And, of course, once he had his strength back, he'd pound the pavement and resume the search himself.
That kid was too dangerous to be left on his own. At the same time he had too much potential to be allowed to waste. He wasn't a suitable candidate for that, oh no, but regardless Yagi wasn't going to let the boy waste away on the streets a moment longer than he had too.
As he strode back towards the crime scene, where the police were still busy questioning the middle schooler who had been taken hostage, it occurred to Yagi that there was someone else he might ask about Black Rabbit. But not now. No doubt the boy wouldn't take kindly to what appeared to be a sickly-looking stranger pressing him for information right after what must have been a traumatic experience.
But maybe, after he'd gotten a chance to recover, he'd be willing to talk to All Might.
(Author's Note: What? Two updates in one day? Honestly, I was really excited to write the scene at the end of the chapter. Even Katsuki got to shine a little brighter than he had the first time. Sorry All Might. Didn't mean to sideline you like that. Well, I kinda did. Another thing I liked about this chapter is we get to see a little more of Katsuki. On the outside, it doesn't seem like he's changed much, but some of his personal thoughts regarding himself and the people around him have shifted somewhat. He's about two degrees left of an asshole than he was before. Of course, most people don't immediately notice the difference between ninety-eight degrees and a hundred degrees.
Poll time; I've hit a crossroads where I feel like I can write the story in two distinct ways and have it be good, but I'm not entirely sure which one I like better.
Scenario one, All Might successfully locates Mikumo, potentially becomes his legal guardian, and has him enroll at U.A. by official recommendation in order to help get him off the streets, teach him to use his powers for good, and give him a food supply that doesn't require he hurt anyone - via donated samples from someone with a regenerating quirk of from cadavers donated to science. Katsuki finds out he's really Izuku much sooner and it will follow the canon plot line more closely (the biggest con, in my opinion.)
Scenario two. All Might fails to find Mikumo. He continues living on the streets while the rest of the cast goes to school at U.A. as normal. He has frequent contact with each of the students, particularly Katsuki, as he watches the movements of Shigaraki and tries to avoid being detected by the pro heroes or captured by villains. Rumors of a serial killer who targets criminals continue to circulate. Katsuki doesn't find out he's really Izuku until much later and there's more divergence from canon (biggest pro, but also takes longer to write.)
Edit: For all those asking, yes, the title is a reference to the song 'White Rabbit' by Egypt Central. Also, regardless of which scenario I ultimately choose, don't think that Izuku's suffering will come to an end. Whether he's living on the streets or attending U.A, boy's gonna suffer.)