The person waiting for him at the train station has the most god awful hairstyle Katsuki has seen in his life. And this was someone speaking who had been dragged around fashion studios by his mother.
He's seen some shit.
But this guy with his slicked down hair, too tight jeans and pale muscle shirt really took the cake. Dear god, who stepped out of the house looking like that? Who allowed anyone to step out of their house looking like that? The man looked like he was about to go to a rave or something.
Please tell me he's neither a pro-hero or sidekick.
When the man spots him and starts walking towards him, he's conflicted. For a moment, Katsuki contemplating turning around and just...walking away. Just going nope and disappearing off the face of the earth for the remainder of the week.
It was so very tempting.
Maybe if he j-
"Hey there! Bakugo right?"
Or not.
The man seems to notice his bad mood, so he doesn't linger much after introducing himself -something that enters Katsuki's left ears and runs out screaming from his right. He tries to grab one of Katsuki's bags, but he levels a glare at the man and he's quick to back off.
Unfortunately for Katsuki's sanity, he gets it into his head that he's free to run his mouth as they walk towards the end of the train station, dodging people as they went. Some, Katsuki noted with a sting of bitterness, took one look at him and stepped out of the way, their grimacing expression telling the blond that he's been recognized.
"I hope you will be cordial. Nothing but your best behavior with Best Jeanist, alright kid?" The man continues on, unaware of perhaps uncaring of Katsuki's lack of attention.
Call me that again and I'll be setting that gel ocean you call hair on fire.
Despite the retort burning at the back of his throat, he merely nods and grunts out a quiet acknowledgement. "Fine."
The walking talking fashion disaster of a human being seems to take it at face value, perhaps knowing he wouldn't get anything better from Katsuki. "Alright then. Have everything?" He nods, and the badly styled man smiles. "Good! The car's waiting for us outside." He tells Katsuki, dragging him towards the exit.
Silent, he follows behind Bad Hair Day.
(He really, really has a bad feeling about this.)
.
.
.
If he thought Bad Hair Day looked like he walked right out of a clown festival, Best Jeanist was even worse.
Television didn't make him any favours. In real life and up close, his getup looked even more ridiculous. How did the man even function during the summer under all that denim?
"To be frank, I don't like you very much."
Katsuki blinks.
Well, fuck you too then, he thinks, but Aizawa's threat is still very much fresh at the back of his mind so he swallows it down. Still, he glowers at the Pro-Hero.
The tall neckline of the man's jean jacket -God, he's wearing jean over Jean, the fucking horror- made it impossible to figure out what expression the man was making. His eyes remained as flat and unimpressed, peering down at him intensely.
Scrutinizing him, no doubt.
"Let's not beat around the bush. I know full well why you chose to intern with me." The hero drawled after a long pause. Katsuki stayed silent. "I am one of the top five popular heroes, and no doubt the highest ranking one who sent you an invitation, no?"
The careless, offhanded way the question was delivered was aggravating.
"You made an offer for me." Katsuki found himself retorting sharply. "So I came."
Why are you so bitchy about that?
Best Jeanist shrugs at his reply, unbothered by his tone.
"Recently all of my sidekicks and interns have been perfectly behaved, so you-" The Pro-Hero waved a few fingers at him, and Katsuki silently bristled. "-certainly stood out. Especially during the Sports Festival's later half."
Oops, there it was.
Here we fucking go.
"While I admit, your fighting abilities show potential, the way you fought and how you acted? Pitiful." A pause. "Knocking that girl around while you could have blasted her out of the arena from the start?"
She could fucking handle it.
"Attacking an unconscious classmate after you nearly killed him with that explosion?"
I just shook him, I didn't fucking hit him!
"Having to be chained to the podium like a dog?"
Because they wouldn't let me leave. They wanted their little fucking ceremony regardless of what I thought.
"Truly this Festival was a travesty. It's a good thing you came to me; I'm uncertain if anyone else would be able to fix you."
Fix you.
It's far from the first time he hears such spiel, but it has him bristling. Like hell. This time, he couldn't stop the rumbling snarl from leaving his lips as he took a step forward. "Listen here fucker-"
Snap.
He doesn't see it coming. Threads seemed to materialize from empty air, swiftly coiling around his limbs and tightening, pinning him in place like a bug in a net.
Katsuki didn't even have the time to react before he was completely immobilized. Bound up like a sausage in his hero suit, right in front of everyone like a misbehaving pet about to be stuffed in their pen after making a mess.
Fuck.
He knew why Best Jeanist was top ranked, but it was another thing being on the receiving end of his power.
He hadn't even seen the man move; in fact, Best Jeanist barely even moved, still theatrically slouched against his desk like a catalogue model. Only his raised hands and clenched fingers clutching nearly translucent threads straining in his grip betray that he was using his Quirk at all.
"As I was saying," The man begins again, tone ever calm and composed. "I think there is a lot you need to work on, Bakugo Katsuki. Thankfully, I have expertise in this area."
Katsuki says nothing. He's been through enough rants to know that sometimes, it's better to shut up to get it over with.
"It's my job to correct people like you. To protect society and adhere to my duty to society."
Why was he talking like he was some kind of wild animal that needed to be tamed?
"Heroes and villains are the two sides of the same coin." Best Jeanist continues, eyes shifting away from Katsuki, who follows his gaze. The man was looking at his desk. There's a spread out newspaper article Katsuki hadn't noticed upon entering the vast office. "You will do well to remember that."
He can't look away from his own face plastered front and center on the newspaper's front. It's a shot from when All Might was handing the bronze medal to Tokoyami: his muzzle was still very much on and he was glaring murder at the audience.
He still remembers how each renewed struggled had made them holler and cheer louder.
The threads were suddenly gone, causing him to stumble as he was dragged out of that memory. Stumbling, Katsuki scrambled to right himself. He felt his cheeks burn when low snickers came from the interns and sidekicks behind him.
Fuck, they'd seen everything.
This was all just a show, wasn't it? To make it clear to Katsuki who here was the boss -like he was an animal that needed to be reminded how internships worked. As if he wasn't a fully aware teenager enrolled in one of the top schools in Japan.
As much as he wants to start shouting and trashing, Katsuki knows it would only make him look worse. There was no way he was getting out of these binds either, not unless he complied. Knowing this he stays silent, letting Best Jeanist continue talking.
That doesn't stop him from glaring.
"Your job this week will be to watch me and learn. I will teach you what makes someone a Pro-Hero. I will mold you into a proper hero."
Mold.
Isn't that a fucking fantastic word.
In that split second between Best Jeanist inhaling to continue his speech, Katsuki couldn't help but think of Endeavor. He thinks of the Festival. He thinks of the Sludge monster and the League of Villains.
Finally, he thinks of the heat of a summer sun scorching his skin. Of a door that wouldn't open, not until his mother came through and realized he was still there even after she'd left for work hours later.
The sting of her slap and her annoyed barks to go to his room were minor pains compared to the understanding that his father, the only person who had looked after him was gone. Even after he understood as he grew that his actions had been nothing but a ruse, the abandonment still hurt more than the manipulation.
Between his father and the League, there was no difference.
All people were shit.
"Well," Best Jeanist sighing dragged him out of his reverie. Apparently, the man had grown tired of his lack of response. "..no matter, you will learn this during your time here."
The threads loosen around him. Katsuki stays silent, keeping his mouth shut as Best Jeanist retracted the denim threads back into his own costume. The man stands up from his propped up position against his office desk.
"Let us go, we have much to accomplish in very little time." Best Jeanist walks past him, then pauses. Katsuki feels his eyes widen against his will as he feels the adult's hand on his shoulder. "For what it's worth, I see much potential in you, boy. You only need to learn how to utilize it properly."
His words were faint next to the warmth of his touch against his bare shoulder. Katsuki tenses as he feels a cramping, acidic burn rise up from his stomach, twisting like a furious snake in his guts. Impotence and rage boil under his skin at the man's pathetic attempt at complimenting him.
In that moment, he wants to burn that hand.
...but he does not. Instead, Katsuki follows after him dutifully, ignoring the side glances from the sidekicks and their badly hidden sneers. He feels little of their scorn and amusement; if anything, he feels as if his mind is clouded with static, and the only thing left in him are the helpless rage and Best Jeanist's patronizing speech.
My job is to fix you.
He feels the beginning of a snarl start forming on his lips. How dare he. How dare this bastard say those things, think that he would just roll over and do what he wants just because he has a shiny licence.
How dare he-
-mold you into a proper hero.
Todoroki's words echo in his ears.
'He wanted you to be the next Endeavor.'
The next Endeavor.
He can barely fight back the nausea.
.
.
.
...why am I doing this?
Lowkey not trying to turn Bakugo into a villain.
…
Like I said in Stygian Fire, if anything happens it's Touya's fault. That's my official statement. Ya'll can drag me in front of a jury that's all I will say.