Bakugou Kei remembers his childhood by the complex, combined smells of spicy katsudon, silicone fumes, wool and chocolate cake. Fresh fragrance of trees, damp earth, petrichor and sunshine.
They're his happy memories.
Among all these, his earliest and most loved remembrance is of Katsuki singing him to sleep.
"Somewhere, a voice calls, in the depths of my heart; may I always be dreaming, the dreams that move my heart," his father croons, lips turned up from the corners. "So many tears of sadness, uncountable through and through-"
"- I know on the other side of them I'll find you."
"You don't know," Aizawa plays back Kei's own response. "You appeared on UA grounds literally out of nowhere and you don't know how."
"Yeah, pretty much." He knows he is not making it easier on them.
(He knows. But he's afraid. This is new. What if it's the Villain's scheme? If Kei lowered his guard, he could die-)
But he's had the worst day of his life, and now the only thing he wants is to see his fathers safe and happy and back home, where Kei is also supposed to be.
(It feels wrong...!)
"Look, sir-" He swallows thickly, eyes darting around like a pair of pinballs. He feels the cold sweat drenching his back, feels the shiver raising goosebumps on skin. He tries to pick back up his sentence, but it's lost to the empty air now.
'Should I,' he panics. Would hiding be more beneficial? Aizawa wouldn't believe him - hell, right now Kei couldn't believe himself. But what good would it do? House arrest? Execution senten- God fucking damn it Kei, you moron! Of course they wouldn't execute a child!
(But would they.)
"I know that- that you aren't going to believe me but…" He inhales shakily. "My name is Bakugou Kei, I was recently kidnapped by a Villain. Right now I'm too relieved that I'm out of his hands to think about how I escaped."
Kei doesn't know what he expected, but it sure as hell wasn't this.
'When I get back, Ojii-san, I'm going to blackmail you so hard. You'll pay for this.'
"Welcome the new temporary addition to the class-" He blanches at the young, soft faces of the Heroes he knows. It feels like he's being butchered in a mixer and poured into a slimy milkshake. Like he's seeing everything through a veil of unreality, a shade of dreamy quality. "-This is Bakugou Kei, resident Bakugou's future kid, so treat him well or you'll get extra assignments."
"…"
"Eh-"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH," the students burst out, their eyes wide like medals and jaws hanging free in awe. Kei flinches at the sudden shift in attention. (He hates that, hates being right in the middle of the fucking spotlight-)
"Like, like – a legit time traveler?!" Kirishima yells, gaping at Aizawa and Kei alternatively. "Woah-"
Kaminari pushes him out of the way and screeches, "YOU AREN'T IN KANSAS ANYMORE, DOROTHY!"
Kei wants to laugh but he also wants to break down and sob. It's an uncomfortable combination of joy and amusement and helplessness, because he's home. Yes, he's home.
But it's not his home.
Home was left back in the midst of Villain abductions and hospital corridors.
And all of a sudden, the sound is amplified a thousand times, everyone wrestling towards him for a chance of conversation. Kei's throat locks up and then, and then – he stops breathing for a second –
Until Aizawa's capture weapon creates a barrier between them and the hungry wolves of Class 1-A.
"Back off and pipe down," he threatens, hair upright and eyes red like the-
(Erase. Clean. Wash off. Delete. Erase the memory, there's nothing-)
He waits for the teens to settle down to their seats.
And that's when Kei realizes.
There are two empty desks.
'Dad?'
"Bakugou has been kidnapped by the League of Villains," Aizawa informs. "The Pros are collaborating with the police for his rescue. So far, we have no leads. But if you are who you say you are…"
He eyes him with suspicion dancing in his eyes.
"Then there might be hope yet."
He overhears them while going downstairs for a glass of water. Katsuki's cut off sobs echo throughout the corridor.
"Kacchan," Kei hears Izuku whisper. "It's over Kacchan. You're safe. I'm with you. Kei is in his room; the League of Villains have been taken down."
A soft smooch, by the sound.
"We saved you, Kacchan. Come back to me. Take my hand."
"Bakugou," Kei hears, a firm command. "Take the closest seat. No talking. I need to make an announcement."
He nods, moving to the desk at the front. He just, as he sits cautiously, wishes he couldn't hear the mutterings around him.
"Dude, Aizawa's kind of ironic. That's Bakugou's place."
'…Oh.'
"So," Aizawa addresses to the class. They hush down, sitting ramrod straight in wariness. The teacher stares blankly, a defeated aura swirls around him. "Bakugou Katsuki has been kidnapped. Midoriya is with Recovery Girl, undergoing surgery. And now Kid Bakugou has traveled through time right into the lap of this mess."
Ah. Why don't you rub salt into the wound.
…Why is Dad in surgery?
"We, as Pro Heroes, are doing are very best to rescue Bakugou from the Villains' clutches. Don't spread this around, who knows which wrong ear will hear it?"
'Liar,' he snarks deep in his mind. 'You didn't even ask me if I know anything.'
"But right now, your job is to stay clear of the media and take care of Bakugou's son-" Kei winces a bit, the shudder entirely unexpected but still as repulsive- "- So don't go trying anything funny. I will be keeping my eyes on you all."
He turns his head to Kei's way, tilting it slightly. "Bakugou. You are not to put yourself in any situation that might be dangerous, or risking the revelation of your little mishap. Stay with a member of Class 1-A at all times and keep your origins a secret from anyone else."
…This is so stupid. Because Kei isn't a moron, and he knows what they're doing.
Because Aizawa doesn't trust him. Neither do others.
So far, the only reason he isn't being interrogated is because he appeared so suddenly in a time of disarray. With the Villains in possession of a Hero-trainee, the public outrage and parents' cries for justice and compensation, they've obviously been in a tight spot. Kei isn't the focus right now, that's why he has been pushed aside waiting in the queue.
Kei is the wild card. He is a complete unknown in this game of hide-and-seek.
'They are dismissing me,' he realizes, furious with himself for revealing his mysterious problem, and with the adults for deeming him unimportant in the investigation.
He clenches his fists, trying to rein himself in.
Quit whining. You knew this would happen. You should have known. It's always the same. Of course they aren't going to take some random psycho teenager seriously.
Breathing in a controlled manner through his nose, he throws a knowing glare at his grandfather figure.
'I know your plan,' he spits out with his gaze. 'I can see through it, I hate you for this. You can't keep me away and useless-'
Except he is actually useless.
What had he accomplished, running to – save?- Izuku and ending up swiped by a criminal? And now, having fucking time traveled to the distant past, what is he useful for anyway? He doesn't know jack shit about Katsuki and Izuku's past, and everything he knows is just the basic crap.
Tough luck, you didn't deign it significant enough to ask about, you ignorant turd.
"…Yes sir."
'Motherfucker.'
Kei had always been, somewhat, judgmental of princess tales.
Izuku would read one to him every night when he was young. Kei would lie in his bed in anticipation, wondering if this one would be the story the princess walked away from the prince, sword in her hand and the bad guy's blood on her hands.
It never came.
The princess lost.
The prince received the spoils of war.
And Kei slept through the nights fuming.
…
..
.
He didn't want to be saved.
.
..
…
Class dismissed.
Kei swallows his fear in, as Kirishima approaches his desk.
"Uh, hey, I'm Kirishima Eijiro. Bakugou's kid, huh?"
Kei wants to sigh. Uncle Kiri, he never changes. Sometimes it grates on his nerves, but for the moment he embraces the demeanor of his awkward uncle.
"Yeah," he answers, curt and tired of all the bullshit. These teenagers are too bright and heroic for his black and exhausted soul. "I'm Kei. Just call me that, please."
Kirishima, bless his joyful spirit, smiles like a fucking angel and laughs.
"You're really like Bakugou, man," he muses, examining him curiously. "Impatient. But kind of polite. The brown hair threw me off, but it suits you. Now that I think-" He gives his face a long hard look. Then eyes widen. "Woah! Your eyes' shape and spiky hair are dead giveaway! That's totally all Bakugou!"
"Uh." It's a bit weird. The resulting silence makes him want to bash his head in.
The others come near one by one, all asking questions.
"Does Bakugou actually marry? I can't see it-"
"Oh hey! Who is Number One Hero?!"
"Who is your mom?"
"Is everyone still there in the future? I mean, some of us must have quit, right?"
"Uh," Kei coughs, voice guttural and deep as he can make it. It stops the students in the middle of their endless litany. "I'm pretty sure I can answer everything if you ask it in a way I can hear it."
Quiet apologies float up in the small crowd and he manages to relax his shoulders a bit. Maybe it won't be so bad?
"Who's your mom, then," a girl with cables in her ears asks. Oh, wait. Shit, that's actually Auntie Jirou? "He's married, isn't he?"
"Oh, yeah-" He grimaces a bit, leaning back. He can practically hear them hang onto his every word. "- But that's-"
He pauses. It dawns on him then.
"We, uh-" Izuku is sitting at the front seat, securing the belt. " -We weren't on the best terms during high school, at least not for the first year."
"Yeah," Katsuki contributes from the driver's seat. Glancing back at Kei, "I was kinda an asshole, to be honest. I thought Izuku was looking down on me."
"Oh, God." Izuku groans and smacks his husband's arm. "I still can't believe how you reached that conclusion. What were you smoking, crack?"
"Stop meme-ing at me, you damn nerd, because on this road trip we respect the fucking rules-"
"- Uh. It's gotta stay a secret."
"EEH? WHY?!"
"Ah- well, because I don't want to risk it! If I said it that'd be terrible!"
"Somewhere, a voice calls in the depths of my heart
Keep dreaming your dreams, don't ever let them part."
A.N.: Heya y'all! I've been posting these chapters on AO3, under the moniker Snowy_Rain. If you want to read the bonus chapters 7 and 8, they're only gonna be there. I did a turn there because the events I wrote on those chapters didn't fit the story, but I let them stay because some might like those. Again, if you want to read those too, you need to go to my AO3 account for it.