THE CAMP: A Brother's Tears.
Everyone woke up to the sound of an explosion, Katsuki was the first to see what was going on. Villains! Let's rewind a bit, shall we?
Earlier before the attack…
I woke up, feeling Momo shift a little, yawning. In the haze of waking up… Did I smell smoke? No one in class is a smoker… wait, no, that's not tobacco! That's… SHIT! I bolted up, grabbing my bands and sliding them on, feeling them go straight into Body Glove mode.
I saw the woods burning, and a weight crashed into my back, Momo wrapped her arms around me.
"What's going on?!" she gasped.
"I dunno! But get everybody up! We gotta get outta here!" I yelled, my heart pounding. My breath became short and my eyes closed.
Not again. No. No. No. No. Renaru, come on! Everyone's in danger! I tried to move, but I couldn't. I tried to say something. Nothing came out of my mouth but a small whine. Momo stayed right by my side.
"Meat… hungry… job. Here for a job…" Something mumbled. A weird straight-jacketed motherfucker came at us, I spread my hand out, sending a wave of explosions out of my hand, sending the guy tumbling backward.
I hoped that the explosion woke everyone up… The Freak raged towards me, "JOOOOOBBBBB!" he yelled, shooting his… teeth out?! WHAT THE FUCK? I felt myself get cut up a little bit, dodging the rest of the tooth blades.
"Mm! FLesh… Job… MEAT FLESH JOB!" the guy snarled, the tooth blades were sharp and I tried to dodge them all, but I couldn't dodge one and Kirishima got in the way, the blade breaking against his chest.
"We'll mop him up!" he said, with a grin, "You go find the Pussycats!"
I nodded, wondering where they got off to. Where the hell was Momo? She was right by my side earlier… all of the sudden, I'm in the woods and I was attacked by a Slipknot nightmare… I… I don't know where anything is.
"You know what? I don't get why Dabi didn't tell us to wait until tomorrow… I GET WHY! Why? BECAUSE IT'S LIKE A SURPRISE PARTY!" someone yelled, I saw a guy in gray and black spandex emerge from the bushes.
"Oh, there he is," he said.
"What the hell are you guys? First I got cut by a Slipknot reject, now Discount Deadpool wants to tango?" I sighed.
"DISCOUNT DEADPOOL? DEADPOOL'S HERE?! Shut up! Look, kid, if you just come quietly, WE'LL KILL YOU! No! Stop bein' so violent you fuck! MAKE ME!" he argued with himself and I stood there.
"Okay? So… what's your name?" I asked. Maybe I could make this guy like me and he can just leave me alone, maybe that'll be good…
"I'm… TWICE!" The man yelled, posing dramatically.
"Renegade," I answered carefully.
This was gonna take a while...
Meanwhile, with the Pussycats…
Things were going tits-up while Renaru was speaking with Twice. Tiger was despondent, Mandalay was going through a crisis about her nephew, and Pixie-Bob plus Ragdoll was MIA. Aizawa barely handled the pyromaniac and things were hitting rock-bottom faster than allowed.
"Aizawa! Please, tell me what's going on!" Mandalay demanded, "Ragdoll ran off spouting something about Little Bakugou…"
"Yeah, bad news, they're after Renaru," he sighed.
"What?!" Tiger yelled, "Why?!"
"Hell if I know! Where is he?" Aizawa demanded.
"I don't know, making out with Momo?" Jirou guessed.
Katsuki heard and tore his way towards the woods, "I'M COMING BRO!" he howled, "I'M GONNA MAKE SMOKEY THE BEAR WISH HE NEVER EXISTED!"
I came to with Tsuyu and Ochako, they were worried, but perked up when they saw me. The last thing I remember was clinging onto Renaru, he was panicking and then things got dark and cold.
"Momo-chan?" Tsuyu croaked.
"Yeah, yeah… I'm here, you two," I assured. Ochako was worried.
"Everyone was separated… I hope Izuku and everyone is okay…" she sighed. I smirked.
"They can handle themselves, for now… let's just try to find them…" I mumbled, "That's not hard, Momo… that's not hard at all, you're dating one of the loudest students in our class…"
"Momo-chan… you're rambling," Tsuyu said.
"I mean, his quirk IS Explosion Full Salvo…" I continued.
"Momo, stay calm, okay?" Ochako said.
"Calm? I'm calm, I'm completely… oh god, what if Ren got hurt? What if he's bleeding out somewhere and no one is there to help? What if he dies? What if… what if he… what if he's crawling somewhere bleeding out and crying and begging for his life? God, I love him…" I rambled, worrying about him.
I felt something cut me on the arm. And all three of us saw a girl standing there.
"Aww! Not deep enough… damn it," the girl pouted.
"Momo… hm… you're CUTE… so pretty!" she said, her golden eyes staring right into my eyes, "I guess that's why my crush likes you…" she cooed.
"What are you talking about?!" I yelled.
"Aw… you don't know? I'm talking about Renaru-chan! He's so cute when he's all bloody and beat up! But… you naughty little girl! You took his purity, didn't you?" she accused.
"What?!" I gasped.
"Come on… you smell like him… that sweet, burnt scent… Mm… I wonder if he tastes just as sweet as he smells…" that… that… creature crooned.
"Wait! They were s-serious?!" Ochako gasped.
"Kero?!" Tsuyu croaked.
"You… BITCH!" I yelled, summoning a shield, "You two get back to camp! Find Renaru and get the hell away!"
"Ohohoho! Looks like I struck a nerve! Come on! Let's see how strong you are! If I win… I'll BECOME you!" she yelled, "THEN RENARU'S SWEET LITTLE BLOODY SELF WILL BE MINE!"
I blocked her incoming knife, "I'm Toga! And Renaru belongs to me!" she howled.
"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM! I won't let you near him! I won't let you touch him!" I yelled, "I'm Renaru's girlfriend! AND I'LL BE DAMNED IF SOME SLUT LIKE YOU HURTS HIM!"
I summoned an iron bar, hitting that vampire girl over the head and smacking her with my shield for good measure.
"Oof! Wow! One hell of a hit, Momo-chan!" she said.
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" I thundered, Renaru's impressive curse word vocabulary and blinding rage rubbed off on me. I didn't notice that she was smarter than she looked, She feinted and grabbed my hair, yanking me down into a prone position.
"Haha! Gotcha… Now… all I need to do is get a little bitty-witty bit of your blood… then Renaru-chan won't tell the… Ooh…" she stopped, entangling my necklace, "Awww… he gave you this little precious, didn't he? With this, he won't be able to tell the difference between us! He'll be none the wiser!" she giggled.
She stabbed something into my thigh.
"Ooo! Nice and thick… no wonder he likes you!" she crooned, taking my necklace from me and smiling, "Say bye-bye to your man, Momo-chan…"
I felt woozy as she took my blood, pulling the needle out, she left me lying there, with some sort of odd substance after consuming it, she transformed into… me? She took a hair tie out of my pocket, one of my extras.
Tying her hair back into my ponytail, she grinned.
"Don't worry… I'll take good care of him… after all. He won't even know the difference…"
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This isn't good! This is as FAR from good as I can get! One second, I'm having a nice talk with Twice, nice guy, split, but nice, and then Burnt Chicken Nugget and the Insane Slipknot Reject show up.
Now I'm seeing Izuku tearing up a clot of muscle and I'm hiding in the trees below him, trying not to breathe, scream, or do anything that'd give away my location to anyone. I screwed my eyes shut. All I know is that they're after me.
I'm scared, cold, alone, and… and… no one's come to help… Tears stung my eyes, Miss Mandalay gave the order to fight back… but… I can't. I can't ignite. I can't even muster up a measly spark. Miss Ragdoll… she's gone from what I could tell.
I curled into a little ball, 'Great… the Renegade, backed into a corner and all he can do is fucking cry? At this point in the shows, the hero would wipe the tears away and get a heroic second wind… right? Oh, who am I kidding? I'm just a kid! A kid who got lucky! I just banged my girlfriend for the first time, and… and now I'm being chased down by Duality's Child and Kwispy!' I thought, not hearing them.
'Why have they stopped? Where'd they go…? Something's not right…' I thought, 'I can't let down my guard if Momo or Katsuki show up… I gotta tell them…'
*Snap!*
'Guh! A branch snapped! Someone's coming…' I thought, 'Too big to be an animal and too small to be an adult… doesn't stink of mold or ash…' I froze. It… It was...
"Renaru? Where are you?"
Momo! She's okay! Yes! Without any thinking, I dove out of my hiding spot, "Momo!" I squealed, hugging her, she hesitated but hugged me back.
'She's gotta be scared…' I thought, "It's okay, everything's gonna be okay…" I assured her, she grabbed my hand and led me along.
"Hey, wait a minute, I… I think camp's back that way…" I mumbled, pointing back towards it. She turned and smiled.
"I know a shortcut…" she muttered, her dark eyes shining.
"But…" I was beaned over the head with a red flag, 'Her hesitation… it didn't seem like her normal hesitation… not like earlier in the bathhouse… or in the water…' I thought, growing suspicious. 'And how did she know where to find me? I haven't shot off a single blast in the run-up to the tree…' I continued, 'Something's off… I just know it.'
'Momo' led me down the way, cutting through the woods to a clearing, I couldn't ignite in time, I just didn't feel anything. The last thing I saw before that magician sealed me away was 'Momo' smiling. I heard an explosion in the distance.
"NO!" I screamed, blasting towards the villains as a small marble dropped to the ground, being caught by that blood girl. I saw red.
"GIVE MY BROTHER BACK, ASSHOLES!" I screamed, "I WON'T SAY IT AGAIN!"
The magician smiled, bowing mockingly, "He was so easy to lull into a false sense of security! Thanks to Miss Toga here, we secured our finest asset… thank you for your assistance, Katsuki Bakugou…" he mocked.
I blasted forwards, with someone stopping me, "Ah! Ah! Ah! One wrong move and that cutie is toast!" a man with red hair and thick lips crooned, dropping me.
"Gah!" I gasped, "No! Give him… back! Give him back!"
Then, I saw the girl drop the necklace Momo had from Renaru, smiling and skipping into a portal from the mist guy, I got up and ran at the portal, "NO! NO! NO! YOU BASTARDS!" I roared, loosing a blast and not hitting a damn thing.
The only thing left of him… was that necklace he gave to Momo. I knelt, my eyes screwing shut.
"Ren… I…" I hissed, "DAMMIT! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO GO OFF ON YOUR OWN AGAIN!? YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THAT IS!" I howled, sobbing for the first time in a long time, clenching that necklace in my hand.
"Why… for once in your goddamn life… WHY'D YOU HAVE TO THINK WITH YOUR GODDAMN DICK?!"
I punched the ground, my sparks flaring.
"I'll get you back… I… I'll always… get you back! You… you always see the best in everyone! So why?! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DO THIS?!" I ranted, not knowing I had an audience.
Mom was waiting when I got back with Renaru and I's stuff. She perked up, a smile on her face. Then, like the wind, it blew away. She saw my sadness.
"Katsuki? Where's your brother?" she asked.
I didn't answer, and it hit her, "Ooh…" she sighed, dropping onto the couch, her shoulders shaking, I sat down next to her, the picture of Renaru and Momo's first kiss and the gleaming gold medal mocked me.
"Mom… I…" I started.
"Katsuki…" she sighed, pulling me into her arms, "Katsuki…"
I hugged her back, saying nothing. Renaru didn't even see it coming. He barely had time to ignite. He… he's gone. It felt like my heart got torn out of my chest. Or half of it anyway. He was the baby. The younger twin with an unbeatable optimism and smile. The charmer, the… the piece I always needed.
Even if he was a little bit of an idiot. Chucking his walker and making me shit bricks. He was the nice one, the one driven by the determination to become a hero no matter what. He deserved every victory he won. Momo was just as bad if not worse off than Mom.
She broke anything in her way, mostly with a bat. While Mom… well… she had Momo make her an unbreakable one. Hell, even the cougar was up in arms about it. All three of them were storms of pure anger, with the cougar being the calmest one.
Mom had a ton of murder in her eyes. She went down to the gym DAILY. Mom worked out just as much as Renaru if not MORE. Now I had one final duty to fulfill.
I looked over at Momo in class, she looked down at her desk, she seemed a lot more tired than usual. I looked down at the necklace. I passed it over to her and the whole class felt down. She picked it up and I saw tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Gentlemen… we lost a brother," Mineta sighed, "He's in the hands of some villainous bitch, look at Momo, look at her,"
Sero and Denki nodded. Momo looked right back up at them. She was less of herself like me. Still crying, nearly sobbing.
"We gotta get him back! We can't just sit here and twiddle our thumbs! We can't just… leave him like that…" Kirishima sighed.
I grit my teeth, I was so close to getting him back… I agreed with Kirishima.
"Momo. You always said that he was your hero… He needs you. You're better than… than me. I was so close. So close to saving him. Now he's gone and what have I done? Nothing. Not a damn thing… I was so… so ready to catch him when he falls, to put him in a safer spot where he'd be happier, out of harm's way… but I realize now that he's not like that, I realize why he became a hero…" I started to cry.
"It was out of love! Out of love for me! For my Mom! For you and everyone standing here right now wondering what the fuck to do! Every decision he made… every time he put his life on the line… it was because he loved to be here! It's because he was never seen as anything less! That people liked him and wanted to be around him!" I growled, getting down on my hands and knees, everyone surprised, most of all the woman Renaru loved.
"So please! Do what I can't! He needs a hero, and I'm… I'm not that hero! Every time he looked at you, every time he smiled and talked about you, he told me that you were the worthiest hero he'd ever met… he always dreamed of being one, and all I've done is shove myself in his way! So please, Momo, SAVE MY BROTHER!" I yelled, feeling a hand on my back.
"I'm weak and I'm useless, and all I've done is throw my weight around… I bullied him, I pushed him to where he is and now? Now… he's stuck in a place where we don't know where the hell he is… Or even if he'll be the same wide-eyed little kid we all know him as… or one of those damn monsters! I'm worried and scared… all he had as a role model growin' up was me and Endeavor, for better or worse," I admitted.
I took a deep breath, "If I had my way… he'd be here right now, cheering you guys up and making you all feel better or exploding the entire school in rage… I sheltered him too much… so I apologize… and I beg for all of your forgiveness," I finished.
I remembered one day when I saw Renaru get beat up by Jaku, that piece of shit…
I remember his smile, his laugh.
Renaru…
We'll get you back. We'll get you smiling again.
That time when Renaru gave Mom his allowance back, even if he wanted a new Endeavor toy… how she cried and hugged him so tightly, how much he smiled when things were tough.
That day in the USJ… him bloody and broken, loping towards the Nomu, me carrying him out…
"Ka…" he heard, barely a whisper.
"Ren. Hey, you okay? You can hear me, right?" Katsuki asked. Renaru didn't nod, but his lips quirked up in a smile, he passed out again.
"Ren… I'll getcha home, I promise…" Katsuki muttered, going to the now opened main door, cradling his twin in his arms, tears poured down his face. If Renaru had died… he'd never forgiven himself.
I felt Momo stand, "Katsuki…" I looked up, and I saw her hand reaching out. Her eyes were full of determination, her expression stern, and her voice commanding.
"Save him with me,"
I smiled and took her hand. She helped me to my feet and I nodded.
"Yeah,"
'Momo and I are gonna bring you home, Renaru, I promise…' I thought.