Chapter 21 Bakugo Kills

Chapter Summary: Bakugo makes a grave mistake. And this marks the beginning of his worst nightmare.

AN: Kaminari is a villain/traitor in this story. Blond hair is his disguise. His real name is Raiden and hair color is black. In this chapter he's still the good guy (but not for long).

Next chapter will probably take two weeks.

Sunlight pierced through the opened window, providing the students with another source of vexation on top of staying in one spot and listening to their teacher's wearisome voice for an hour. Izuku lay his head on his folded arms, adjusting his position so the student to the left of him would block the incoming sun rays. Making sure Yama-sensei had his back turned towards the student as he wrote three English sentences on the board, Izuku pulled up his inventory and made a piece of Dippin Dots appear right inside his mouth.

The ice cream dot melted as soon as it touched his tongue. Mouth hidden behind his arms, Izuku kept his face passive as he swirled his tongue around his mouth before swallowing. He felt the coolness immediately, sliding down his throat and spreading throughout his body. He let out a content sigh.

Yama-sensei continued droning in the front of the classroom, not noticing a thing.

Kacchan continued glaring at him from a distance away, hopefully not noticing a thing.

And Gamu kicked his chair lightly from behind.

"Psst! Psss! Izuku!" He kicked the chair again. "Hey!"

"What?" Izuku hissed, barely moving his lips and keeping his eyes trained on the teacher.

"Give me some Dippin' Dots too. It's hot."

Izuku felt a finger poke his back. He reached out discreetly and accepted the a-hundred-yen placed on his palm. He closed his hand around it, and when he opened his hand, the coin was gone and was replaced by a bag of frozen Dippin' Dots.

"Nice." His friend grabbed the bag as swiftly as a cat would steal away its food. Moments later, Izuku could hear quiet munching noises from the seat behind him and he smiled.

Gamu was one of the classmates who befriended him after he started his part-time job as a Sweet Vendor. Perhaps it was due to his being the son of Princess Bubblegum, he had a pink, puffy, bob hairstyle and loved gum as much as Izuku loved Pie. He chewed gum during class every single day, no matter how many times he got caught and his hero mother was called into the school to be notified of his actions, he continued his belligerent behavior. Eventually, the teachers stopped calling him out. Whether because they were tired of having their class sessions interrupted every day and knew the boy would never change, or because Gamu's skills in discrete chewing had gotten higher, Izuku didn't know. But he did know that selling gum to Gamu would earn him money, even if those gum often ended up exploding and sticking to the back of his head.

As the person who could make all types of gum appear in his hand magically, without a doubt he became Gamu's best friend. The boy stuck to him like a piece of gum, following him everywhere he went, even to the restroom. It became a little annoying as time flew past, especially recently when he had stuff to do during break.

Swallowing another piece of Dippin' Dots, Izuku glanced at the inventory and winced when he saw the Caterpie icon quiver violently.

Three days had passed since Pie had hatched. In these three days, Izuku had managed to earn twelve points including the one Feeding point he earned on Sunday night. On Monday morning, Inko took him to see the doctor and confirm his quirk. He fed Pie before they left, only to find the house shrouded in foul, pink fog when they returned. Pie didn't like being left alone in the house, but they had no other choice. So when Izuku went to school, he would store it in his inventory and release it during breaks. Pie was still grumpy, as shown in the way its icon quivered like it was having a seizure, but it was starting to accept its new lifestyle and only quivered when break was near.

As predicted, the bell rang minutes later, signaling the end of class and the beginning of lunch. Yama-sensei let out a long sigh and trudged his way out of the door, grumbling about getting some coffee and painkillers.

Izuku grabbed his box lunch and made his way towards the door, intending to find an isolated spot to release Pie, only to halt when a figure skidded to a stop before him.

"I saw it!" The boy yelled, gold eyes flashing with amusement. He wiped away a strand of black hair that fell into his eyes from the speed of his movement and pointed his finger at Izuku, then at Gamu. "You gave him ice cream during class!"

Izuku stared at him for a while longer to remember his name.

Black hair, gold eyes…

Electricity.

Raiden. He remembered. That was the boy's name. Gamu's other best friend, local troublemaker, can shoot out tiny bolts of electricity from his fingertips, loves to zap people for fun. He was more Gamu's friend than Izuku's, but Izuku still maintained a healthy relationship with him.

"If you don't want me to tell Yama-sensei, then give me some for free," Raiden quipped, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Same to you," Izuku replied. Raiden blinked confusedly. "The principal's still looking for the culprit who killed his fish. I remember seeing a certain someone sneak into his office when he was away and messing with his fish tank—"

"Ahhhhh shut up shut up shaddup!" Raiden waved his hands around frantically, his face instantly turning ashen. "W-What are you talking about! Aha...haha I... I have no idea what you're talking about. Uhhh... I have to go, yeah, I gotta go!"

Izuku and Gamu laughed as Raiden bolted away, brushing past Kacchan on his way out of the classroom. Even though Izuku didn't interact with the boy much, every interaction they did have always ended in a mirthful manner.

Their laughter was cut short when Kacchan stormed up to Izuku with his hands stuffed in his pockets, scowling and slouching like a delinquent.

"Deku!"

"Yes!" Izuku responded, his body straightening up almost in reflex. Kacchan had been a little nicer to him ever since he started selling sweets and became the center of attention in his class. And after Izuku revealed his quirk to the class after his clinic visit on Monday, Kacchan talked to him even less, only glaring at him from afar.

"I heard about last Saturday."

"O-Oh?"

...Oh.

Kacchan paused for a minute at least, his features scrunched up like he was having an inner conflict. "So you finally got a quirk, eh? Metal Control? Lame. Not flashy at all. With a quirk like that, you're still weaker than me, Deku."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Izuku caught Gamu clenching his fist and lips curling in fury.

"How did you get your quirk, I wonder? What exactly happened to you at—"

"Kacchan." Izuku grimaced. "I don't want to talk about that right now. If you're just here to insult me, then can we do it later? I'm busy."

"I'm not here to—"

Izuku tuned him out, standing up and walking past Bakugo, leaving the classroom.

After making sure Gamu wasn't following him, Izuku stopped by the side of the school building where many bushes resided. He glanced around just to be extra cautious then dived into the bushes, releasing Pie.

"Pff~" It released a small wisp of pink smoke as soon as it got out. Already expecting this act of rebellion, Izuku held his breath and jumped back, waiting for the odor to clear. Few seconds later, he exhaled heavily and picked up Pie, who squirmed slightly in protest.

"I know, I know. Sorry, you know I can't leave you at home or let you roam around by yourself. It's too dangerous. What if someone finds out?" Izuku soothed in a soft voice as he petted its head. Pie nuzzled against his hand, eyes closing in bliss. "I can't have you get hurt. You're important to me, Pie. So please just endure this. I promise I'll feed you your favorite vermilion flower sometimes, maybe this weekend. I'll get you as many as you want, but in return, you'll have to stay still during my school hours. Deal?"

"Coo~"

+1 Enjoyment Point

Seeing that cute smile always warmed his heart. Izuku brought it closer to a bush with large leaves and set it on the ground. "Here you go. There's your lunch. Eat as many as you want. Make sure you're full." As Pie dug its head into the leaves and started chewing away, Izuku sat down next to the bush and opened up his own box lunch.

Lunch was quiet and peaceful, just the way Izuku liked it. He missed his friends' chatters at YHP, but eating by himself sometimes wasn't so bad. The side of the school was shaded by the building that blocked the sun. Cool breeze ruffled his hair, sneaking into his shirt and puffing it up slightly. Izuku closed his eyes and embraced the wind that whistled past his ears. He took a deep breath that smell like trees and nature and freedom, and let it out slowly, all his stress seemed to exit through his mouth along with the air. It was instances like this that made Izuku wish he had a quirk that could freeze time. Maybe he could get one in the future. Maybe.

Glancing at his watch, Izuku began packing away the lunch box at a moderate pace. He had ten minutes before the end of lunch. He could make it.

"Pie? Pieee? It's time to go."

Few seconds later, Pie wiggled out of the bush, small pieces of leaves hanging out of its mouth. Izuku chuckled as he helped wipe them away.

+1 Fullness Point

"Come on, let's go." Izuku held out his hand, but Pie shook its head, staring hard at the ground with eyes that seemed to be tearing up. Izuku tried again. "Come on, we made a deal, remember? I'd buy you vermilion flower if you behaved. We only have a few hours left. I'll try to release you during break between the classes. So come on, time to go into the Inventory."

Still hesitant, Pie shuffled forward begrudgingly. It almost touched Izuku's hand before a yell came out of nowhere, causing it to jerk back.

"HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT MONSTROUS THING!?"

Izuku immediately recognized the voice. How could he not, after all these years of hearing insult after insult from that voice? He could feel his heartbeat picking up as he turned and yelled, "No, Kacchan—"

It was too late.

"Get away from that monster, Deku!"

Izuku didn't expect the intensity of the explosion that was thrown at him. Kacchan had tried to intimidate him with explosions before, but those were all small blasts and sparks. Something like this—Izuku could feel the rush of heat assaulting his skin before it even hit him—was done with killer intent behind it.

Izuku rolled out of his way in reflex, only realizing after he had dodged that the explosion wasn't aimed at him. Kacchan didn't like him, but he would never kill Izuku. There could only be one target.

Alarm ringing in his ears, Izuku sprung onto his feet, breath hitching as the smoke cleared, revealing the charred ground before him. His body turned cold, limbs stiffened, noises muffled, and his gut churned as the metallic smell of blood reached his nose.

Chunks of green and red decorated the scorched ground like some kind of sick, Christmas joke. By his feet lay a segment of Pie's separated body, staining the grass. Its eyes, wide with the fear of its final moments, bore unseeingly into Izuku, as if questioning him, why didn't you save me? Why did you leave me here?

Izuku's hand shook. He almost touched Pie. He could have saved it. But he didn't. He only cared about himself and didn't bother bringing Pie with him when he dodged.

Crack.

Something inside him broke. The sound of glass shattering echoed in the dark corner of his mind. His vision turned red, like blood. The grass, the sky, the remains, all stained with blood. Pie's blood.

But in a second, everything turned back to normal. And then… Again. For a second. His world was stained with blood and continued switching back and forth like a glitch in the game.

A notification popped up and Izuku dismissed it without even reading what it said. His gaze trailed from the blood on the ground to the culprit behind it all.

Something roared inside of him like a raging beast, thrashing against the chains that kept it contained, hungry for destruction. Anger boiled in his system, as hot as lava, causing blood to rush to his head and building up a heavy pressure between his pounding eardrums. His feet turned cold, his hands twitching violently like a lunatic itching to wrap his fingers around that pale, fragile neck and squeeze it until his anger ran out.

Izuku didn't know how many minutes he had spent just standing still, staring at the murderer with ashen blond hair, a gleeful smirk on his face, and taunting red eyes, burning it all to his memory and not leaving out a single detail. His vision continued to flash in shortening intervals, faster and faster. And soon, the world was completely red.

More notifications popped up and Izuku dismissed them as well and instead focused on suppressing his anger. He was fully aware of the dozens of dark thoughts whispering in his mind and the repercussions of him acting upon those voices. He could end up saying things he didn't mean or doing stuff he had been fantasizing for years. It would feel good, but surely, he would regret it later on.

"What are you looking at, idiot!" Bakugo's bitter voice jerked him out of focus. The raging waves of anger came rushing back at full force. "I just saved your life! Do you know what would have happened if a bug that big bites you!? It was so close to your hand! You should have been more careful, Deku! Like I said, even if you have a quirk now, you're still weaker than me! How would you defeat that with Metal Control, huh? Pull down an airplane from the sky and smash into it!? Don't make me laugh!"

"Bakugo…" Izuku whispered, his body trembling like never before. He clenched his hands into tight fists, not even feeling the pain as his nails broke skin. The red darkened. Morality and heroic qualities thrown out of the window, only one thought remained on his mind.

He wanted this person to feel pain.

"Eat shit, asshole!"

"The f—!" Bakugo began but was silenced as a Pile of Poop landed right into his mouth.

Ignoring the retching sound from his currently most hated person in the entire universe, Izuku took out the security alarm from the inventory—the first birthday gift Bakugo had ever given him—and threw it at Bakugo with as much force as he could muster before running back to the school, stepping into the classroom at the same time the bell rang.

Bakugo didn't come back to the classroom. Yama-sensei asked if anyone knew where he was but no one spoke up. Gamu nudged Izuku with his foot, saying how he was pretty sure Bakugo followed him out of the classroom, but Izuku merely shook his head because he didn't trust his voice at the moment. He was trying his hardest to hold back his sobs, and if he were to speak right now, tears would probably flow out along with his words.

He kept his head down as class began. The ringing in his ears was gone and his vision stopped flashing red. The anger dissipated and only then did he feel the pain when his nails broke skin. Not wanting to cause a scene, he merely licked the wounds and bandaged them with a few band-aids from the bazaar. The blood tasted like metal and reminded Izuku of that times when he had to get his teeth pulled at the dentist. He swallowed thickly and washed down the taste with a few mouthful of water, but the saltiness still remained.

Izuku pulled up the notifications he dismissed earlier and glanced at one of them, trying to read what it said but somehow the words couldn't reach his brain. By the time he had read the same sentence three times, he gave up and folded his arms on the desk, hiding his face behind them.

Thousands of emotions ran through him, but the one that stood out was disappointment.

Ever since he first met Bakugo, Izuku thought the blond, daring kid was cool, and amazing, and strong, like a hero. He could do so many things little Izuku never dared to do, like standing up for himself when confronted by a group of older kids. Bakugo was strong and he always won, just like All Might. When Izuku thought of victory, he thought of All Might's signature grin and Bakugo's confident smirk. Izuku wanted to be just as strong as Bakugo. He looked up to him, befriended and followed him around, hoping that one day he would become just like Bakugo and be one step closer to reaching All Might.

Bakugo was as strong as a hero.

But he was no hero.

And Izuku was disappointed at him for not inheriting heroic qualities. He was also disappointed at himself for choosing the wrong role model.

Half way through the lesson, Bakugo barged through the door with enough force to topple a bull. His head was tilted down but his furious, red eyes were glowering straight ahead with so much hatred and fury behind them, scowling at the class and settling down on Izuku. Bakugo gritted his teeth as smoke seeped out of the hand that was clenched onto the door frame. He was seething as if he were about to start a fight with Izuku right in the middle of class before turning to Yama-sensei as if he just realized the teacher was here.

"Bakugo-kun, please go back to your seat. You're already late. Don't interrupt the class and get yourself in more trouble," said Yama-sensei in his usual, dull voice. He didn't seem to like Bakugo very much.

Bakugo glared at the teacher for a few second before slamming the door shut and marching back to his seat. As he stormed past Izuku, Izuku could smell the distinct odor of feces in the air and he had to suppress a giggle. Revenge was sweet.

The class session continued in this tense atmosphere. Everyone was visibly rigid and afraid to even move a muscle, as if the tiniest little sound would tick off Bakugo.

When class ended, Yama-sensei collected his stuff and told Bakugo to meet him in the staff's room before exiting the classroom.

The moment the door slid shut, Bakugo jumped out of his seat before anyone could make a move and charged towards Izuku, grabbing his collar and lifting him off of the ground before he could make an escape.

"Deku! What the fuck's your problem!?" Bakugo screamed in his face.

Their noses inches apart, the foul smell of feces was even more obvious. Izuku held his breath so he wouldn't inhale Bakugo's breath, but that turned out to be the wrong move. Bakugo noticed, and his face darkened even more if possible. His eyes narrowed into slits, his lips curling into a twisted sneer.

"You dare to hold your breath, huh!? Whose fault is this!? I tried to save you and you—"

"Back off!"

Bakugo was suddenly pushed off of him by no other than Gamu. Pink eyes glaring straight at red eyes defiantly, Gamu stood his ground in front of Izuku like a bodyguard, as sturdy as a statue, while chewing a piece of gum.

"Take your disgusting hands off of him, Bakugo." Gamu spit the name as if it tasted awful in his mouth. "By the way, has anyone ever told you that your breath reeks?"

"You little shit…" Bakugo glowered, a cruel smile climbing onto his face as he pulled back his right arm.

"Watch out!" Izuku cried in surprise before the explosion slammed into Gamu's face, the force shattering the window behind them but, to his surprise, Gamu stood unmoving. Guarding his face was a pink net made of bubblegum, which had taken the full blow of the attack.

"It'd take more than that to harm me," Gamu taunted as he chewed the gum a few times before blowing a big, pink bubble and merging it into the net, adding on to its elasticity and strength.

"Move out of my fucking way. This is between me and Deku!"

More and more explosions hit the net but none could penetrate it. Some even got deflected back to Bakugo and the rest of the class, turning the classroom into a warzone. Students screamed and duck beneath their desks. Some cowered in the corners and some ran out to call the teacher.

Being shielded by Gamu, Izuku didn't need to hide. His current spot was the safest location in this classroom.

It didn't take long for the teachers to arrive and stop the fight. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Bakugo was the perpetrator and Gamu was only defending himself, thus he was only asked a few questions as Yama-sensei tried to figure out the situation before he was let off hook. Bakugo, on the other hand, was yelled at harshly by the usually calm and collected Yama-sensei and the Principal and was then jostled —as he writhed in the hold— into the staff room for further reprimanding.

After he left, classmates crowded around Izuku eager to find out the reason behind this pandemonium. The moment the words "He killed my pet" left his mouth, tears started streaming down his cheeks like a waterfall, hitting the desk with enough force to topple it over. At first he clamped his mouth shut, but soon a sob escape his tightly sealed lips, then another, and before he realized, he was bawling his eyes out in front of all his classmates. Heat rushed to his cheeks in embarrassment. There was a dull thudding in the back of his head, as if a hammer was slamming against his skull. His vision swayed, toppling him off balance.

He was caught by Gamu who rushed to his side, followed by the rest of his classmates. Multiple voices surrounded him, trying to comfort him and make him feel better. Some even suggested to beat the living sunlight out of Bakugo for committing murder. Feeling a little claustrophobic being surrounded by so many people, although he felt warm inside hearing all those comforting words, Izuku excused himself and left the classroom, hoping to collect himself in the infirmary.

The nurse ended up excusing him for the day. Izuku rode his bike home and ran up to his room, jumping onto his bed and muffling his sobs with his pillow. Inko was at work so the house was empty, allowing him to wail as loud as he want. He cried and cried until he couldn't produce any more tears and slowly fell asleep with saltiness in his mouth.

School was over. Teachers and most of the students have left the school, but one class remained seated in their respective seats. All the students had a livid expression, barely suppressing their wrath.

In the front of the classroom stood a boy with a pink, puffy, bob hairstyle and pink eyes. He scanned his eyes across the faces of every individual classmates, save for one Izuku and Bakugo.

Closing his eyes, Gamu took in a deep breath before declaring.

"We're going to make Bakugo pay."

AN: Talk shit, eat shit.

Next chapter, Bakugo gets bullied.

Chapter 22 Bakugo Cries

Will he learn his lesson?