This is all a load of crap, Katsuki thought as he laid in bed the morning after the Sports Festival. Red eyes glared up at the early morning light stretching across his bedroom ceiling. He laid there in black sweats and tank top with his arms behind his head, reflecting on what had happened the previous day.
After having tried to show Deku his place in the world as Katsuki had always done, apparently he was the one in trouble and not the damn nerd. He had been caught by surprise when he had blasted Deku in the gut only to get yanked back as he was ensnared in clothe bindings. One second Katsuki had been in control of the situation and the next he found himself bound in his homeroom teacher's shitty scarf on the floor.
And there had been nothing he could do about it.
Not with the bandaged man glaring down at him with most likely glowing red eyes behind his shitty yellow goggles and black hair floating around his head. No matter how much Katsuki had fought against the bindings, he couldn't break himself free. All while his loud English teacher had been fussing over the shitty nerd who apparently hadn't even been affected by his explosion. The shirt had been damaged but there was something else underneath that protected him. Another fucking Support Item.
Another cheat is more like it.
'Is it though?' the inner voice countered as the blonde remembered something the Quirkless fucker had said during their 'talk'.
'I'm in the Support Course and therefore am authorized to use any Support Item I have made myself.'
Deku's words of the rule that allowed him to use those shitty gadgets of his rang through the blonde's head. True, it was a rule that said he could do that, but in Katsuki's mind a win wasn't really a win if it wasn't won using your own natural power. Which Deku didn't have because he's Quirkless. No Quirk means no power. So, any win he got using his gizmos wasn't considered an actual win to the explosive teen.
Which was why Katsuki had gone after Deku's gear.
Destroy the Support Item, destroy the cheat. That was the logic behind the blonde's actions. That along with his ever-simmering inner rage. As his teachers had told him before UA, his fiery personality most likely stemmed from his Explosion Quirk and so was just a part of him. Many of the top Heroes with fire-based Quirks had similar personalities.
'Like Endeavor?' the inner voice brought up.
The internal mention of the Number Two Hero made Katsuki grit his teeth in irritation. He hadn't meant to overhear about IcyHot's past. Ok, he had meant to eavesdrop on the shitty nerd's talk, but it was in an attempt to learn how the Quirkless fucker was still in the Sports Festival as well as to how he knew Half-and-Half. But the blonde did not learn either of those things and instead was subjected to hearing what Endeavor got up to behind closed doors.
Seriously. Quirk marriages? 'Creating' children to make a 'masterpiece'? Harsh training of a child? Spousal abuse that led to the Peppermint fucker being scarred for life? None of those things are Heroic.
'And yet, you beat down and berated Izuku ever since you were four. All while claiming to be a Hero. Hypocrite.'
Shut. Up.
Katsuki didn't understand what the hell he had done wrong. Not one of the teachers, administrators, or the other extras he had gone to school with had ever even hinted at that anything he did to the Quirkless Blunder was wrong. Even agreed with him and joined in. Nor did Deku ever do anything about it.
'Except for taking up self-defense so he could fight back.'
Ok, fine. So, the shitty nerd did do something but that just showed he finally grew a back bone instead of being a defenseless limp noodle with a stupid ass dream to be a Hero. But just because Deku could fight didn't mean he could become a Hero without power. All the top Heroes had strong Quirks which Katsuki wanted to become whereas Deku could never be. Not without a Quirk to defend himself with.
Take away all his gizmos and what does the shitty nerd have left? Nothing, that's what.
So yeah, this whole situation was a load of crap. Katsuki was pissed though that wasn't anything new. He was also confused because this was the first time anyone at school had called him out on his behavior towards Deku. But now he was in trouble for trying to put the damn nerd in his place.
Who would care how I treat that Quirkless fuck? No one ever has before.
Well, that actually wasn't entirely true. The Old Hag had tried to tell him on occasion, but rather than actually listen he just brushed it off as nothing.
'Nor did you ever tell her what you did. What you said.'
Stop reminding me of that!
Katsuki regretted saying those words to Deku. Had regretted them the moment they had left his mouth. Telling him to jump off a roof in hopes of getting a Quirk in his next life was not Heroic at all. Baiting words said in the heat of the moment. Words he wished he could take back but once words are spoken you can't. There was nothing he could do but try to forget and take comfort in the fact of the shitty nerd's stubbornness to never actually carry through with them.
Standing there during the Awards Ceremony on the third-place podium had been a chore. Having to suffer through the annoying fanfare as they praised the Quirkless fucker and his Troll Doll friend for taking first and second during a fight the blonde hadn't been allowed to even watch. Places of prestige that were meant for those born with natural power like IcyHot and himself. Yet they were both left in fucking third while Deku and that Mindfucker stood above them in the rankings.
It wasn't right. It wasn't how the Sports Festival was meant to be. As if someone was pulling the strings to manipulate the outcome.
The rest of that day had been shitty. Aizawa wouldn't let him out of his sight except to change into his uniform. Shitty Hair and the other extras that followed him around kept trying to chat with the blonde, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with their crap. Instead choosing to sit and…
'Pout?'
Shut up!
…'reflect', as Aizawa had told him to do, on what happened. To stew in his thoughts as he waited for his parents to show up. Bored out of his mind as Aizawa did not give the blonde his phone back until the Old Hag and his dad arrived to pick him up. But the Mummy Man didn't even give it back to him when they did and instead to his parents.
When asked for more details as to why the Bakugous were called to pick up their son, Aizawa had informed them vaguely that Katsuki had been involved in an incident with another student. Not saying what exactly happened or with who. Rather stating the specifics would be discussed during the next day's meeting with the principal. The Old Hag wasn't entirely sated with the ambiguous answers but his dad was able to calm her down as always.
Dinner that night had been awkward. More so than usual as typically it was filled with bickering between mother and son with their clashing strong personalities while his dad stayed on the sidelines serving as referee for their verbal battles. But instead of that, when the Old Hag pressed him for more information, Katsuki kept quiet on the details.
'Trying not to self-incriminate?'
Shut up!
An evening that was supposed to have been filled with self-satisfaction for proving he was the best, instead was spent with Katsuki wallowing in self-pity with a heavy dose of anger. As soon as he had entered his room, the blonde had snatched the shitty bronze medal from his bag and had tossed it haphazardly to a random corner. Not caring where it ended up as it was a reminder that he had lost.
The next morning came quickly and, after shutting off his alarm, Katsuki had laid in his bed staring at the ceiling for a while reflecting leading to where he was now. In the same position but now contemplating what the hell was going to happen in the meeting later. It was scheduled in the early afternoon since Deku and the Troll were taking up the morning with their own meeting. He wondered what on earth they could be discussing that had made the shitty nerd and his creepy friend so damn happy yesterday.
'There is a clause in the UA bylaws that states if a student in a course other than the Hero Course places high enough in the Sports Festival, they can be offered the chance to transfer if they want to.'
Red eyes glared up at the ceiling as the blonde thought that there was no way that was actually a thing. It was either the Hero Practical or not at all. Right?
'I'd say placing first or second is high enough to be noticed, wouldn't you?'
The nerd had sounded so confident it had Katsuki second guessing his self-assured belief that it wasn't possible. The Mindfucker had mentioned it when he had declared war on the Hero Course but the blonde had brushed it off as nonsense. After all, he hadn't ever heard of a Hero who had entered the Hero Course that way. All the top Heroes that the blonde looked up to all had strong Heroic Quirks that allowed them to rise in the ranks. They were the ones he took inspiration from and were the kinds of Heroes he wanted to be. The best.
The rest of the morning dragged on as the Bakugous waited for their assigned time slot. Katsuki stayed in his room avoiding the Old Hag's badgering. His dad came by around breakfast and lunch asking if his son would be coming down. Both times Katsuki claimed he wasn't hungry and both times Masaru had come back with food he left outside his son's door with wishes for him to at least eat something. A fatherly gesture Katsuki appreciated though he would never say as much to his dad's face. It just wasn't his style.
Finally, it was time for them to leave to head to UA and Katsuki reluctantly left his room in uniform to join his parents. The car ride was unusually quiet for the generally rambunctious mother and son who didn't hold their typical bickering while the father was his usual quiet self. After parking, at the gate they were met by Aizawa who then escorted them onto campus. Upon entering the principal's office with his parents, Katsuki was surprised that not only was Nezu and Yamada there who were joined by Aizawa, but Inko as well.
Auntie?
It had been a while since he had last seen the greenette mother. She would come over from time to time to have tea with the Old Hag. When they were younger, she would drag Deku along too and Katsuki would have to put up with the nerd in his own home. But as the years went by and his lessons he taught to the Quirkless boy became more…elaborate, he noticed that she stopped bringing her son with her to those meetings.
The change didn't really bother Katsuki all that much. It meant less time he would have to spend with the damn nerd who ruined their plans to be Heroes together by not developing a Quirk. If he hadn't been born so useless, then Deku could have been the sidekick to the blonde's future Pro Hero status and they would have beat down all the Villains in their path. With Katsuki taking the world head on and Deku finishing off the rest.
But no. That useless ass Deku just had to be Quirkless. Had to have the stupid toe joint that threw a wrench in all their childhood plans. Ruined everything they wanted for the future. All because of an extra bone in the littlest toe of Deku's foot. That single bone wrecked any chance of the shitty nerd joining him on the path to be a Hero. Because no Quirk meant no power and no power meant that even if Deku had become a Hero, there would inevitably come a time when he would get in over his head and die. All because of his own stubbornness and lack of Quirk.
I don't want Deku to die. Which is why I've tried so hard to get him to realize he can never be a Hero. It's too dangerous for someone without natural power.
'Then, if you don't want him to die, why did you tell him to kill himself?'
Fucking shut up already!
Why must his mind constantly remind him of what he had said that day? Katsuki already admitted to himself he regretted them. What more could that inner voice want from him?
'Confess. Reveal your sins and let them be known. Opening yourself to repentance and forgiveness.'
Gods forbid if Inko ever found out what he had said that day. She would never forgive him. Ever since Inko had stopped bringing Deku over for tea, Katsuki had noticed a change in how she acted towards him. Nothing bad. Auntie was as polite as always and the explosive teen felt compelled as ever to tame his temper around her. Because Inko was kind and gave off this aura that made him want to behave when he was near her. More so than he ever does around his own parents.
No, Inko never treated him badly, but as time passed and Deku stopped coming over, there was a subtle change. She acted more distant than she had before. Didn't treat him like a nephew as much and more like the son of a friend. Like distant family. Still connected but a sort of emotional barrier was between them. Treated him kindly and politely but the emotional distance was there.
The change hadn't really bothered Katsuki all that much. He didn't really do emotions other than pride and anger. They were the only ones he felt he would need as a Hero anyway. Pride to showcase that he was the best and anger as fuel to fight Villains to a pulp. So, he wasn't affected by Inko keeping some distance between them. But why was she here now?
"Welcome!" the principal greeted from his desk, with Yamada and Aizawa standing behind him on the mammal's left and right respectively. "Please come in and take a seat."
The chimera gestured a paw to the seats next to Inko to which the Bakugous moved to sit down with Mitsuki on the right, Masaru on the left, and Katsuki in the middle. Inko was positioned adjacent to them on the couch on their right with some space between her and the Old Hag. The greenette gave a nod in greeting to the family with a small smile but otherwise neutral expression. Katsuki wondered why but brushed it off as he turned his focus to the principal.
"Thank you for coming, Bakugou-san and Bakugou-san," Nezu said. "I am Principal Nezu."
Mitsuki and Masaru both introduced themselves and, since there were so many Bakugous in one room, insisted they be referred to by their first names. To avoid any confusion as to which Bakugou was being addressed. The mammal thanked them for that and the other two teachers introduced themselves as well before the meeting really began.
"It is nice to meet you even though the circumstances as to why are not as pleasant," the principal said with a solemn tone. "As was informed to you via email and by Aizawa-san yesterday, Bakugou-kun was involved in an incident towards the end of the Sports Festival with another student. The actions taken and words spoken during the altercation have brought up some concerns in regards to your son."
"What did you do, brat?" Mitsuki asked, turning to her son with a hard look.
"Nothing that concerns you, Old Hag!" Katsuki snapped back with a scowl.
"It apparently does since we're here, Katsuki," the mother retorted, staring her son down before turning back to the principal. "What did he do?"
Instead of answering, the chimera turned to Katsuki and asked, "Would you like to tell us what happened in your own words?"
Katsuki ground his teeth as he thought what he should say. What he could admit to while keeping the rest a secret. After all, the Heroes hadn't come in until the end of their confrontation. There was only so much they could have heard and seen. Besides, it's not like what they had talked about what any of their business. It was between him and Deku.
"Fine," the blonde teen huffed as he crossed his arms. A typical thing for him to do but the trained Heroes saw it as a subconscious show of defensiveness. "I ran into Deku after I lost to that fuc-freak with the mind control Quirk."
The explosive teen tried to hold back the swear because Auntie was there. Part of the need to at least attempt to tame his temper and brash personality. His own parents and those he went to school with knew that he swore like a sailor and he had no qualms holding back. But with Inko, it didn't feel right to swear around her. She knew he did but he felt compelled to keep it to a minimum.
"Deku and I argued about shi-stuff and he started spouting cra-nonsense about still wanting to be a Hero. Said some bull about a chance to transfer courses or whatever. Pfft, yeah right, as if that's a thing."
Behind the desk, Aizawa's posture stiffened for a moment as he glared at the teen under his bandages.
"Even if it were, Deku could never be a Hero because he doesn't have a Quirk. Doesn't have the power to become one. Him winning the festival has to be some kind of fluke because there's no way he could win over everyone."
Over me.
"Deku said he was winning because of his Support Items. Which are total cheats by the way because the other courses didn't get to use them. Deku wasn't fighting fair so I evened the playing field. And that's it."
The adults in the room stared at him in silence as he let out a huff and slumped back into the couch. Mitsuki and Masaru looked confused because his explanation had been vague. On purpose because like hell was he going to say more than he needed to. They also looked disappointed for some reason. Inko did as well but it was harder and irate. As if she knew there was more to what he had said. The principal's face remained neutral while the teachers shared the same hard disappointed look as the greenette.
"Is that all?" Nezu asked from his place at his desk. "Absolutely nothing else?"
"That's it," Katsuki replied, letting out another huff and wanting this to end already. It was more explanation than he had ever had to give before.
The principal studied the student for a moment with his beady black eyes before sighing and said, "I had hoped more from you, Bakugou-kun. As a student in this school's prestigious Hero Course, we at UA hold you, as well as your peers, to a high standard. For academics, course work, and also being honest and truthful to authority. However, it seems you refuse to be so."
Huh?
"What do you mean 'refuse to'?" Katsuki growled. "I told you what happened."
"A rather short, choppy summary that held little to no information as to what actually happened," Nezu retorted with a slight shake of his head. "Is there nothing else you wish to add to your own recounting of the events that took place before the final match?"
The principal looked at him expectantly for him to say more. But he wouldn't. Deku and Katsuki had been the only ones in that room and were the only ones that knew what happened in there. If he was going to be in trouble for whatever they were accusing him of, he wasn't going to add anything else to that fire. So, instead of answering, the blonde teen clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"Very well," the chimera sighed and then turned to Aizawa behind him. "Aizawa-san, if you please."
The teen's red eyes watched at the tired man reached into his stupid scarf and pulled out a pair of green ski-like goggles. Katsuki eyed the odd thing to keep in a scarf as the Erasure Hero handed them to the principal. The chimera then placed the goggles on his desk positioned in a way for all those in the room to see them.
"Do you recognize these, Bakugou-kun?" Nezu asked with a tilt of his head. The blonde teen quirked an eyebrow in irritation and silent question. "They are the same pair of goggles that Midoriya-kun was wearing during the festival."
"Why would I care about a stupid pair of the nerd's goggles?" Katsuki asked with a roll of his eyes.
"Midoriya-kun was wearing them during the incident as well," the mammal pointed out.
"And?" the blonde teen asked with a huff of annoyance.
Get on with it already.
"Because this pair," Aizawa spoke up from Nezu's right. "And its matching pair…"
The tired man reached into his scarf again to reveal an identical pair in all but color being yellow instead of green. Katsuki eyed between the goggles on the desk and the ones around his homeroom teacher's neck suspiciously as the tired man continued.
"…have some added features. Such as infrared, a warning signal, and the ability to record."
What.
Katsuki suddenly turned pale at the implications a recording of their 'talk' would bring.
"I've watched the recording provided by Midoriya-kun already," Nezu said, his expression neutral but his tone hinted at an underlying anger in regards to what he had seen. "It does not paint a pretty picture I assure you."
Deku fucking recorded it? Fucking why?
"So, I ask one more time, Bakugou-kun," the principal said, eyeing the student in front of him sandwiched between his parents. "Would you like to tell us what happened, all of it, in your own words?"
Katsuki sat there for a moment thinking. If they had a recording and knew what happened, why did they keep asking for him to say it? What difference did it make? He didn't think having him say it would do anything so he stubbornly kept quiet and shook his head.
"Very well," Nezu said, turning to his computer. "Then we shall view the footage instead."
With rapid clicks on the keyboard as well as the chimera taking out a remote from his desk, the curtains drew themselves dimming the room slightly as a screen lowered from the ceiling behind the principal. Aizawa and Yamada moved to stand on either side of the desk, the tired one on the side near Katsuki and the loud one on the other near Inko.
Nezu remained at his seat as the video would be projected onto the screen as well as on his computer monitor so he could see. But mostly it was so he could watch the reactions of the parents and student in front of him. The recording was not a pleasant one to watch and he wasn't sure how his audience would react. The positioning of the other two Heroes would be beneficial if anything did happen though.
Once the room was set up, Nezu started the video. It started with a view of the wall only to shift with the nerd's head as Deku had turned to a scowling Katsuki who had just barged into the room. In the peripheral of the feed, Katsuki now saw there were other boxes strewn on the other tables. He had been so hyper focused on Deku that he hadn't noticed them before now.
"What do you want, Katsuki?"
The greenette's tone was flat and tired. As if the nerd was already done with the blonde's antics and he had only just entered the room. The video continued with Katsuki demanding the answers he sought. How the Quirkless boy had made it into the finals? How exactly had he beaten all the others to end up in the last match for first place? How had Deku been cheating his way the entire time?
"I'm not cheating, Katsuki. I fought my way to here same as you."
But Deku hadn't actually. He didn't fight with his own power as Katsuki had because he didn't have a Quirk. Had no natural power to fight with and instead relied on those stupid gadgets of his. The ones that the blonde still considered a cheat despite the rules saying they were allowed. Which on the video the greenette had said as much. Again.
The on-screen Katsuki reiterated his thoughts of Deku's Support Items being a cheat regardless of the rules as well as that Troll Doll also having cheated somehow. Because how else could the weak Quirkless Deku and that manipulative Mindfucker be the ones to end up in the last match. Neither of them had a strong Quirk, or a Quirk at all in Deku's case, so it didn't make sense to the blonde that they had placed above him. As the recording of him said again, Katsuki viewed the Sports Festival as a competition for the Hero students alone as they were the ones being scouted. To which the nerd had the nerve to sass back at.
"I'm trying my absolute hardest to see things from your perspective, but I just can't get my head that far up my ass. Do you seriously believe the crap coming out of your mouth? The Hero Course isn't above the other courses."
But it was, wasn't it? The Hero Course was the most sought-after program at UA and the school itself was considered one of the top schools for Heroics. Which would mean that being in said course of said school would make one above others. Make them the best. Or at least, that's what Katsuki thought despite Deku's arguments that he was wrong.
"This is a festival for everyone to compete and show what they can do. To prove something."
"And what exactly are you here to prove, Deku?"
"That me being Quirkless doesn't define who I am or what I am capable of. That, despite what people like you say, I am not 'useless' without a Quirk. That I have what it takes to be a Hero!"
That's still a load of crap, Katsuki thought as his on-screen counterpart said as much.
The video continued with Katsuki voicing his opinion on the ridiculousness of Deku still wanting to become a Hero. He wasn't in the Hero Course, hadn't taken the practical to even try, and he didn't even have a Quirk to fight with anyway. Only that dumbass gear. At his harsh but true words, out of the corner of his red eyes he noticed Inko's shoulders tense up but did not look away from the screen. On the other side, he caught a similar reaction from Aizawa at his claim that the Hero Practical was the only way into the Hero Course.
The footage played on as Deku had actually snorted at his words. Who went on to spew that crap about being able to transfer courses if he placed high enough in the festival. As if. Katsuki still didn't believe that was a thing because he had never heard of a Hero who did that. And even if there was someone who had, the blonde figured they would be some weak ass sidekick in some minor Hero agency. A nobody.
On the screen, the explosive teen's face grew bigger as he stepped closer to the nerd. Attempting to use his superior height as well as his harsh but necessary words of his uselessness to intimidate the other to back down. But he hadn't. Instead, Deku claimed he wasn't useless and said some shit about being a 'blank canvas' and having the 'potential to do anything'. Stuff about Quirks being only a tool giving a person an edge in a fight and that his Support Items were his in place of a Quirk.
"And there's nothing you can do to stop me."
Like hell there hadn't been. The feed didn't show Katsuki's exploding the nerd's glove but it certainly caught the sound of it. Inko jumped at the noise and clenched her right hand. The same one the blonde had gone after before the nerd had kicked him away.
"What the hell, Katsuki?!"
Honestly, the blonde didn't know why he had done it either. It was more on instinct than anything else. His inner rage at the whole situation looking for a way out that typically was vented through his explosions. A habit developed over the years as he wasn't one to deal with his emotions and feelings since those weren't important to becoming a Hero. A habit he used to get rid of those annoying cheats Deku had used to force his way into the finals. Starting with that stupid gun of his.
"You say these are your edge in a fight, right?"
Katsuki watched as his on-screen-self picked up one of the nerd's dumb shoe things.
"Your substitute for the natural power of a Quirk. So, if you no longer have this edge…"
An explosion rang out as he destroyed the gizmo. Beside him, both his parents and Inko jumped at the sound.
"…that means you won't be able to fight."
Past Katsuki dropped the shoe which clattered to the ground out of frame.
"You'll only be…"
He had grabbed the other one.
"…as you always have been…"
The footage showed him exploding the other part of the pair as well and dropped it like the first.
"…a useless Quirkless loser."
For the next minute or so, the video featured him grabbing and exploding the rest of Deku's cheats one by one. All while the shitty nerd did nothing to stop him and just stood there like an idiot as Katsuki put him in his place. Which was beneath him. Lesser. Lower. Powerless. Quirkless. A lesson he thought Deku was finally absorbing until the greenette snapped.
"BAKUGOU, ENOUGH!"
Just as it had the first time, the use of his family name and not his first made Katsuki flinch. He still couldn't place what that sour feeling in his gut was, but it grew more as he glanced at Inko. The greenette mother had a hard look on her face with tears threatening to fall under furrowed brows and her mouth was taunt in a wobbly thin line. But still, she did not take her eyes off the screen.
"Now listen here, nerd…"
"NO, YOU LISTEN, BAKUGOU! I'm sick and tired of you and all of your bullshit!"
The Katsuki in the video growled while the present one kept silent as Deku's rant was displayed. Talking of how long they had known each other and bringing up what they had done together as children. Of their wish to be Heroes together.
But you can't, Deku. Not without a Quirk. You would be defenseless and just get killed, you fucking idiot.
The nerd spoke of how Katsuki had changed after Deku had been diagnosed Quirkless. Which was true. Mostly it was due to anger because Deku being Quirkless ruined those plans to be Heroes together. So, at first it was because at-the-time four-year-old him was mad that since the greenette didn't have a Quirk, that meant they could never be Heroes together. Then it grew to him being frustrated and angry that despite not having a Quirk, the shitty nerd still wanted to be a Hero.
You just fucking can't, Deku!
At the word 'bully' being uttered by the nerd again, Katsuki found himself cringed just as his past-self did in the video. He still didn't like that word being used to describe him. The blonde wasn't a bully. He was just trying to teach Deku a lesson that he never seemed to learn. That he was useless and weak without a Quirk. That he could never be a Hero because of it. It was at that time that the Deku on the video dropped the bomb of the words Katsuki had regretted as soon as he had said them.
"You even gave me a bit of advice once. 'If you want a Quirk so bad, why don't you take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a Quirk in your next life.' "
As if knowing an outburst was coming, Nezu paused the video as Inko suddenly stood up in a rage facing him and yelled, "YOU TOLD MY BABY TO KILL HIMSELF?"
Katsuki flinched as the greenette mother moved forward as if she wanted to slap him for those words. But she was stopped by Mitsuki who had got up and grabbed her friend into a hug. Inko sobbed into the fellow mother's embrace as the blonde woman maneuvered them to sit back down. Leaving space between the son and his mother as she attempted to comfort his Auntie.
'But is she really your Auntie after everything you've said and done to her son?' the inner voice chimed in.
Shut up! Katsuki yelled internally as the sour feeling grew again. He had never meant to hurt Inko like that.
The others in the room allowed some time for the distraught mother to calm down. When she did, Mistuki let her go from the hug but kept a comforting hold on her friend's hand while wrapping her other arm around the greenette's shoulders. Not moving back to sit by her son leaving him only with his dad as some kind of barrier. But judging by the disapproving grimace, Masaru was most likely not going to put up a fight to defend his son.
Once the two mothers were situated and gave an affirming nod to the principal upon being asked if they were okay to proceed, the chimera pressed play. On the screen, the nerd said something about the blonde's regretted words were said on the same day he was supposedly attacked by a Villain. Which Katsuki didn't buy because that had been the first he had heard of it. But Inko let out a gasp to his right at the mention.
Wait…did Deku actually get attacked by a Villain? Well, guess that proves it. This is why you can't be a Hero, Deku. You had nothing to fight back with and had to be saved from a Villain by a Hero. Without a Quirk, you're useless as you always have been.
The video of the confrontation continued and depicted Deku's explanation of how he didn't know Katsuki anymore. He watched his own conflicted face as the Quirkless boy spouted about how he wasn't the Kacchan or even the Katsuki he once knew. The spat-out utterance of his last name again made him flinch as he had done before.
Katsuki had to listen again to Deku laying out what he had done to the other over the years. Treated him 'like shit' after he was declared Quirkless. Labeled him 'useless' since they were four. Had used his Quirk on the other until he finally grew a back bone and fought back. He cringed once more at being labeled a Villain by the greenette. Then came the outburst of an inner insecurity Katsuki was reluctant to ever admit to. But he did.
"WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU, BAKUGOU?!"
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE LOOKING DOWN ON ME!"
The blonde could see the conflict in his own red eyes in the recording. Watched as he confessed his insecurities of thinking the weakling in front of him had thought he was better than him. Which he couldn't be because Katsuki was the best. Had to be the best. Because if he wasn't, what else could he be? It was either he ended up the future Number One Hero or nothing. Otherwise, what would have been the point of everything he had done to the point? It was then Deku confessed his own thoughts.
"Are you an idiot, Bakugou?! I LOOKED UP TO YOU, DUMBASS!"
The shitty nerd's words of acknowledgement of his strength and potential to be a 'great Hero' was bittersweet. Good to hear as further proof of his superiority but also not at the same time as it paired with that sour feeling. Katsuki watched his own conflicted expression as Deku called him out on his desire to be the best over anything else. Stating that that wasn't what being a Hero was all about. That it was rather to 'save people'.
Katsuki knew that. He wasn't some airhead blonde who was stupid like that Discount Pikachu in his class. He knew Heroes were there to save the day and protect people from danger. No fucking shit. And it's with power that a Hero does that. The more power a Hero has, the more people they could save. Like All Might. His idol and aspiration. But that wasn't the Hero the nerd compared him to.
"Strength helps, sure, but you won't be a true Hero with your head so far up your ass that you don't realize the way you're acting is nowhere near Heroic. Do you know who you remind me of, Bakugou? Endeavor."
Even though it hadn't been what he had meant to overhear, after all that IcyHot had revealed about his own father had Katsuki not appreciating the comparison. Not. One. Bit. His past-self said as much as his face became even bigger on the screen as he pinned the nerd to the wall.
"Don't you dare compare me to that bastard."
All the adults eyed him as the recording of him growled out the word 'bastard' in reference to the Number Two Hero. But Katsuki said and did nothing about it. Half-and-Half can deal with his own fucking problems. He had enough as it is.
The footage went on with Deku calling him out on his eavesdropping. So what? Heroes do that all the time for espionage. To learn all they could about any given situation. He was just practicing for when he was a Hero is all. The Quirkless shit continued comparing him to that 'flaming pile of trash' known as Endeavor. Not saying what he had done to deserve that description but it did earn the present blonde teen another eyeing from the adults. Which he ignored as they finally got to the fucking end of Deku's rant.
"You need to rethink why you want to be a Hero, Bakugou. Do you want to be one to help people like All Might? Or do you want to be one to be the best like Endeavor? The choice is up to you."
Deku's words had at first stunned Katsuki as his mind had worked to process them. Had offered him two choices. Either become a true Hero like All Might or a sham of a Hero like Endeavor. This or that. One or the other. A sort of yin or yang choice. Either the light or the dark. A limited selection. Katsuki didn't like being limited. And so, he made a third choice.
Which was not to choose.
Instead, as he always did, Katsuki allowed his anger to wash over him like a tsunami. Fueling his actions as he moved to let off an explosion against the nerd's gut out of frame. All they could see on the screen was the feral look of pure rage on the blonde's face as he screamed. Brows furrowed deep over angry eyes. The reds of his eyes so small in his fury that his eye appeared practically white fringed with blood veins around the edges. His teeth bare and mouth open as he let out the verbal embodiment of his ire. The sight of it brought back that sour feeling in his own gut as he saw himself for the first time through Deku's eyes.
Is that really how he sees me? Katsuki thought as he felt like he was having a 'walk a mile in one's shoes' moment if even for a second. Is this how I come off to other people?
The moment felt so much longer than it was and so Katsuki was caught by surprise same as his past-self was by a flash of white. He had to watch as he was dragged away from Deku toward his homeroom teacher. All while another blonde's face, Yamada's, took over the screen as he checked on the nerd. It was there that the video was paused.
Katsuki found himself wondering what exactly was going to happen to him as all his actions had been laid bare. But with no prior experience to a situation like this, he didn't know what to expect. Of the teachers actually caring about Deku and saying what Katsuki had done was wrong. Something his inner voice had tried to tell him constantly over the years which he pointedly had ignored since no one outside of his head had told him so. Surely the absence of the mass's voice in protest meant he was in the right even though his own mind told him he wasn't.
Right?
...
Tumblr blog name: ja0-s-blank-canvas-fic
Notes extension: post/649026219006918656/part-2-chapter-4-lay-ones-misdeeds-bare