It was perplexing. Detective Naomasa held a worried and confused face as he flipped through the millions of files on his desk. He'd read through them what seemed like thousands of times, and despite this he could never figure it out the new villain, Deku's, motive. He leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his messy hair. He'd been up all night trying to create a statement to the public, but the words just wouldn't come out. And then there was the photo released of the teen in the news. Luckily they had cropped out the bottom portion of it.
Naomasa fished out his own copy of the photo from the stack, and began analyzing it with a grim look. It was the same bright face, emerald eyes and hair, but the rest of the photo was just surreal. The kid, well Deku, sat perched on top of a beat up figure with a relaxed posture. They later identified the beat up person to be, Naomasa sighed, Eraser Head.
Now releasing a photo of Eraser Head beaten to a pulp by Deku probably wouldn't alarm the public too much since Eraser Head's name is very vague, but Naomasa was freaking out. A large portion of police and government officials were terrified as well. Eraser Head's loss against the new villain signifies that he probably has incredible hand to hand combat capabilities. Paired with a strong quirk things could go south quickly.
And then there's the high probability of him being Stain's child. When they had Stain in their possession, no matter what questions they asked him, he never broke on this topic. Every other thing he'd answer in a heartbeat, but Stain refused to speak of Deku.
That was what brought Naomasa to the perplexing yet horrifying final report. He pulled out a large folder nearly overflowing with papers. The label read 'Attack on Hosu Police Station'. The attack happened nearly an hour after the Nomu's were reported as defeated. So far they had been able to blame the destroyed police station on a stray Nomu, but what this police file held deemed that something very different had occurred.
Naomasa flipped the cover of the report and began to read. According to this, Stain was taken into captivity around 8:15 and at approximately 9:00 was when the station's attack had commenced. It's a miracle that they were even able to interrogate Stain within that time frame because around 9:30 was when he was shot and killed by the intruder. After the attack, they found one security camera that was somewhat salvageable and held decent footage showing a green eyed and haired, short figure running through the hallways of the police station. The only person they thought could match that identifier would be Deku. Making Deku the prime suspect of the attack and Stain's death.
But here's the part that doesn't fully match up to Naomasa: why would Deku, presumably Stain's kid, kill Stain?
Well by now it wasn't presumably. Chizome Akaguro, that is Stain's real name. With the name they found an adoption document attached to it with a kid named Midoriya Izuku. Midoriya and Deku had to be the same person. He was sure of it. There's no way they weren't, everything added up there. But it was strange, strict guidelines are generally attached to people adopting kids, and it seems like a single parent home with a very unstable source of income would not allow for an adoption to be made. This notion caused Naomasa to search even further into Midoriya's past until he found one golden source of information that could explain a lot.
Midoriya is quirkless.
Although cruel, it seems like child services would try to get a quirkless child off their hands as soon as possible since many would not want such person living in their household and so Midoriya ended up with Chizome Akaguro aka Stain. And since Stain is likely to not be in his right mind, it is possible that Midoriya was abused. But, if a person were to run with such an idea, why would Midoriya break into Hosu just to kill Stain? Stain was already going to be sent to jail for life meaning they would never see each other again. Making it a lot more probable that Midoriya was trying to save Stain.
Naomasa sighed and put his head down.
He was stumped at what truly went on, but for now he thought there was a higher probability that Midoriya was innocent of Stain's death at least. And despite himself, he couldn't help but be impressed by the skill that Midoriya portrayed. To break into a police station and literally destroy almost all the evidence except for one security camera and a few witness, and not get caught in the process cannot be done with just luck. Meaning exactly two things: 1. Midoriya would be a pain in the ass to catch and 2. It doesn't matter if the kid has a quirk or not; the kid, obviously, should not be underestimated and is incredibly dangerous. Those facts could not be disproven.
But how the hell is he supposed to tell the news that a fifteen year old, maybe quirkless, kid single handedly destroyed an entire police station?! They'd be an abomination! And most of these thoughts were just conjectures and for all they know it could be someone who looked extremely like Midoriya Izuku. But that is highly unlikely after all green is not a common hair color.
After a while Naomasa fell asleep from thinking too much.
...
Aizawa yawned as he looked through the final exam footage of the students. Almost all had performed and grew exceptionally from a few months ago, but there was one outlier: Bakugou. It was clear that Bakugou hadn't been sleeping well. His speed was greatly decreased and his punches were sloppily put together, even so, Bakugou managed to pass. It was the strangest thing though. Aizawa narrowed his eyes and slowed the footage to clearly see how Bakugou was evading All Might's ridiculously fast punches. He was stumbling? Every time it was like Bakugou tripped over right before All Might made contact with him. A strange tactic, but it worked and Bakugou was able to escape All Might's grasp.
Aizawa recalled the conversation he and Nezu had over Bakugou. Nezu described the strange behavior of Bakugou, so, during the training camp, Aizawa decided he would observe Bakugou closely, and then decide what course of action to take. Aizawa reached for the crutch next to him and pulled his aching body off his seat.
He had to pack for tomorrow's journey.
...
Bakugou laid in his bed trying to remember the dream he had. It was 3:00 am, his body was drenched in sweat, and when he woke up he had been panting hard. And yet, nothing. He couldn't remember a thing. Bakugou's eyes wandered through his room until they fell on a suitcase. That's right they have the training camp tomorrow. Bakugou sighed and tried to go back asleep, but it seems the god of sleep had forsaken him and before he knew it it was 6:00. Bakugou groaned and pulled himself unwillingly out of bed to begin getting ready for the day.
He was out the door by 7:00, giving him an hours worth of time before he needed to be at school. So since it was a thirty minute walk to UA, he had thirty minutes to himself.
"Can we go shopping?"
"No."
"I want an All Might toy." Deku glanced up at Bakugou with pleading eyes and technically Bakugou did owe him for passing the midterm exam, but Bakugou refused to have such an article in his bag. If someone found it they'd think he's crazy.
"I said no."
Deku pouted, but continued walking alongside him. An idea came to Bakugou. He glanced down at Deku with calculating eyes, and decided to try it.
"Hey brat, how 'bout we make a bet." Bakugou spoke in a low voice trying his hardest to not draw attention to himself. "Whoever wins rock, paper, scissors gets what they want, so if I win you can't talk to me for one week, but if you win, I'll buy you an All Might action figure."
Deku thought about it for a minute until a smile blossomed onto his face. "Ok!"
Bakugou won.
"Not fair, not fair, not fair!" Deku sobbed.
"Hey, you can't talk anymore." Bakugou grumbled.
"I wasn't talking to you."
"Eh?" Bakugou glared at Deku in disbelief.
"I was talking to the air." Deku's face revealed a slight smirk enraging Bakugou. He forgot that kids are sore losers.
...
Aizawa scanned the sea of children that stood in front of him, counting all those present. He noticed the worried looks that many were staring at him with, but decided to ignore them. He'd address that topic later. Luckily all 19 students had made it on time, so he didn't have to chase after anyone.
"Aizawa sensei what happened?" The crowd lead forward intently all curious as to how Aizawa had been beating so badly.
"I ran into a villain, that's all." Aizawa left it there since they didn't need to know anything else besides that. "Get in the bus, problem children." Aizawa pointed to the large charter bus sitting on the road next to him and the students all clambered in with their belongings.
"Kacchan." Deku meekly got the attention of Bakugou. "The steps are too big."
Bakugou glared at the steps on the bus, and mumbled, "Too bad." Proceeding to leave Deku behind.
"Wait!" Deku wailed behind him; Bakugou ignored him as much as he could. He took his seat in the back of the bus with Kirishima.
"Hey, Bakubro, you ok?" Kirishima had been worried for Bakugou for quite a while now. All the stuff that happened with the sub and the finals exam, it was just so out of the ordinary, however Kirishima had no idea how to bring it up casually. Especially considering how prideful Bakugou is, he doubted that Bakugou would tell him anything anyways. So when he asked that question, the words held a lot more weight than either Bakugou or Kirishima himself had noticed.
"I'm fine, shitty hair."
"KAACCHHHAANNN!"
"You sure?" Kirishima's face clearly portrayed his worry now, but Bakuogu was staring out the window.
"Yeah, I'm sure."
Little footsteps echoed through the bus and Bakugou visually tensed without noticing. They halted when they approached his seat. Deku fiercely glared at Bakugou. His face was stained with tears and tinted pink from the from the panicked temper tantrum he had thrown.
"You were gonna leave me, Kacchan." Bakugou stared straight ahead refusing to acknowledge the presence of Deku.
Deku squeezed his way into the bus seat past Kirishima and clambered on top of Bakugou. While climbing, he spitefully dug his nails into Bakugou's arms and legs which hurt way more than Bakugou anticipated. Bakugou bit his bottom lip trying his hardest to show no reaction to the child.
'He's not real, he's not real, he's not real.' He repeated those words over and over again in his mind, but dammit Deku wasn't disappearing.
Kirishima glanced over at the obviously uncomfortable Bakugou, and it took it a bit personally. "I can sit somewhere else if you want?"
"Shut up, shitty hair."
Unsure how to respond to that statement, Kirishima decided to stay where he was for the time being.
Aizawa glanced into the large mirror the bus had and found where Bakugou was sitting. The kid definitely had a different air about him. He seemed tense most of the time, his eyes were usually unfocused and had impressive bags that could rival his own, and he was definitely not as talkative. It was almost like Bakugou was trying to avoid attention which is an action that definitely defies his personality. Bakugou, who usually will try to portray himself as number one in any situation, is stepping away from the spotlight.
It's concerning. That's the only thing Aizawa could really say.
"Ok we're leaving!"
Bakugou sat uncomfortably for the entire three hour drive as Deku stuck his face against the window and was able to hum continuously for the ride, switching from song to song. It was sort of impressive, but it didn't change how much of an annoyance it was to be elbowed in the stomach every five seconds. The worst thing though was he couldn't do anything about it. If he were tell someone about Deku, nobody would take it seriously. He'd look like a fool. What was he supposed to say?! 'My childhood friend follows me around everywhere, so that's why I act weird.' That's fucking stupid! It's BS! No one would believe that. So he was stuck. Stuck with a child that only he could see.
"Look at how big that tree is, Kacchan!" Deku pointed excitedly to a tree outside the window.
Bakugou sighed and threw his head back against the seat.
"We're hear!"
"Hallelujah." Bakugou mumbled and quickly made his way off the bus. "Wait, why're we in the middle of nowhere?"
Deku pointed into the forest and whispered, "I think we gotta run through the forest."
Bakugou deemed the information that Deku was giving him unreliable, and continued to search for a credible source. And that's when the Wild Wild Pussycats appeared.
"Hey students, to get to your camp you must run through the forest! Better get there fast or no dinner! Oh yeah, also there are mud golems, so watch out!"
"Eh?"
Deku skillfully climbed onto Bakugou's back and commanded "Onward!"
"Oh fuck no." Bakugou boiled with rage. His hands started shacking uncontrollably and his face gradually turned pinker with every passing second. He was not a fucking horse.
"Hey Bakubro, you go-?"
Bakugou dashed towards the forest barely avoiding the large golems that sprouted out of the ground. He continued to maneuver skillfully around the golems and squeeze through tight spaces. He grinned. Sure he could get through tight spaces by himself, but there was no way the little runt on his back wasn't hurt.
Bakugou cackled. "You hurt yet, you little shit?!"
He heard giggling. "This is fun! Go faster, Kacchan! Faster!"
Bakugou gritted his teeth through rage and sped up to a full sprint, but after a while the exhaustion took affect. He expertly crashed his face into a few trees and fell on his ass countless times like the graceful gymnast he is. In a haze, Bakugou glanced up to see a large parting of trees and the Wild Wild Pussycats standing there, and tried to stop, but apparently inertia hated him, so he flew straight into what's his name? The ti-ger? Is it tiger? Would somebody really name themselves that? Bakugou's mind blanked as he ran into a man wearing a tutu. No shade or anything, but it just wasn't the ideal situation.
"Woah there angry fella, meow." The man smiled at Bakugou. "Congratulations on finishing first, meow!"
Bakugou nodded and unsteadily tried to walk away from them as they congratulated him.
Aizawa, noticing that his student was the first one to pass, hurriedly walked over to great them, and realized, surprisingly, that it was Bakugou. Aizawa wasn't trying to underestimate Bakugou, but the dip in his performance was gigantic, so he couldn't help but have low expectations. Upon closer look though he realized just to the extent Bakugou had pushed himself. Shallow cuts and bruises littered his exposed skin and just in general Bakugou looked exhausted. Not only that but he expected Bakugou to be happier about being first, instead he just looked...defeated.
"Bakugou," Bakugou felt a hand clamp onto his shoulder to see Aizawa. "C'mon I need to give you first aid."
"No, I'm fine."
"No, you're not." Aizawa forcefully dragged Bakugou to the first aid kit and began dressing his wounds.
"How many golems did you defeat?" Aizawa was curious at the change in mindset. He'd seen Bakugou dodging the golems at the beginning instead of attacking. Having observed Bakugou's fighting style for long periods of time, he had learned that Bakugou was more of the 'explode things that get in your way' kind of guy.
"Zero." Bakugou grimaced as Aizawa applied disinfectant a particularly large cut on his face. Aizawa's eyes widened momentarily and went back to normal. It happened fast, but Bakugou still noticed it.
"You didn't defeat any of them?"
"No."
It was surprising. Nothing much else to say.
"Why didn't you attack them like you usually would have?"
Bakugou hastily put together an excuse. "The objective was to get to the end, right? Not destroy golems."
"Fair enough."
Despite himself, Bakugou was struggling to stay awake. His eyes would lightly droop every now and then. Deku yawned next to him while intently watching Aizawa patch up Bakugou.
"Sorry, teacher." Deku whispered suddenly. Bakugou glanced over at Deku slightly confused as to why he was apologizing to Aizawa and not himself. Acknowledging this Deku explained even further.
"I hurt him."
The hell does that mean? Bakugou had come to terms that at times there was some validity to what Deku was saying, but most of the time still couldn't make sense of the statements the kid would randomly throw together.
"Ok, you're good. Go away now." Aizawa grumbled forever in a grumpy mood.
Too tired to eat dinner, Bakugou made his way over to the sleeping area and promptly fell asleep. Luckily, this time, sleep embraced him dreamlessly.
Quick A/N-
Thank you very much for the support! I was wary to post my chapters, but now I'm glad that I did :). Also as a writer I am very inexperienced, so any feedback given is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for reading and have a great rest of your day!