Today was not Katsuki Bakugo's day.
When sharktooth told the class what happened with Deku, they praised him. "If I was there, I could have stopped the villain," he tells himself as he walks, alone, away from school.
Even his extras, Cowlicks and Center Part, abandoned him for Deku. Well, he'll show them. Katsuki will be number one, stronger than anyone.
When the manhole cover explodes upwards behind him, years of training kick in and he dives away from the massive, fluid-like shape pouring out in his direction.
"Damnit kid, you're a fast one," the distorted voice cries out as what looks like an intelligence blob of sludge turns to flee. "No time to pick out a meat suit, she's on my tail."
As the villain flees down the narrow canal, the corner of Bakugo's mouth curls up. "If Deku can stop a villain, I can stop one too!"
Letting off an explosion, the middle school boy rockets forward. As he tries to close the gap, he tells himself, "Most of the top heroes show signs of greatness even as students. I'm not just a normal middle schooler. I'll show everyone that I'm different, that I'll rise to the top!"
When the Sludge Villain pushes past a crowd, Bakugo in hot pursuit, three sets of eyes watch with interest.
"I smell a scoop," the man holding the microphone tells his compatriots, who grunt and pick up their equipment, all bearing the Shoowaysha Publishing logo.
Turning a corner, the Sludge Villain finds himself facing a dead end.
Behind him, a loud voice cries out, "There you are!"
Looking back, the villain spots the middle school student standing there, his hands sparking.
"Oh, it's that brat again. You want to be a meat suit that badly?" the animated sludge asks, rearing up.
Slamming his fist into the open palm of his other hand, Bakugo proclaims, "I'll make you regret meeting me for the rest of your life!"
As the villain surges forth, the boy drops to one knee and holds both hands in front of him, screaming, "Stun Grenade!"
Yelping in pain, the Sludge Villain recoils, momentarily blinded by the flash. A second later, a second yell from the boy, this time above and behind him cries out, "DIE!"
In an instant, the sludge is expelled outwards, coating the walls of the alley.
When the applause breaks out nearby, Bakugo looks around, to see a small crowd gathered just outside the alley entrance. With a grin, he stands straight, looking at the result.
Hurrying around the corner, the pursuing hero finally catches up.
"Uwabami?" Bakugo asks, recognizing her.
Upon seeing the situation under control, and looking back to see the cameras, the Snake Hero smiles and fluffs her hair. "Naturally. Tracking such a foul odor was trivial for me."
When she looks at the alley again, she frowns, looking at the sludge villain, knocked out and spread out. "Did you do this, young man?"
"Yeah," the boy says, hooking a thumb to his chest.
Quietly she curses under her breath, glancing back at the news camera, the reporter already talking to the audience, before putting on her camera smile. "Kid, you're going to need to go with the police once they get here."
When his face falls in confusion, the Uwabami explains, "You attacked someone with your quirk, without a hero license. Technically, you just performed vigilantism. I'll talk to the police to see about giving you a lighter sentence, but with how much the HPSC is cracking down on unlicensed quirk use, no promises."
"But, it was an emergency," Bakugo explains.
The hero doesn't drop her smile even as her eyes harden. "Why do kids still believe this crap? Emergency quirk use only applies when you are under the supervision of a hero. You weren't. Normally I'd just claim I was supervising, but that news camera over there saw me arrive."
Glancing at them himself, the would-be hero grunts out, "Fine. Can you get a message to Mirko then? Maybe she can help, I don't know, with something."
"Mirko? Sure, I can do that," the Snake Hero says as the police wagon pulls up to the mouth of the alley.
Detective Tanuma was not having a good day.
First, there was an attack on the train station this morning. Then, this two-bit hoodlum decided on robbing a bank. And now, there's the current mess.
Sitting across from him at the interrogation table, Katsuki Bakugo leans back in his chair, clearly annoyed. Not that he could blame the kid, with the law forcing a situation neither of them liked. If it wasn't for that damn news reporter, it all could have been swept under the rug, with a slap on the wrist.
The bottle of whiskey back at his desk was singing his name at this point.
"Well, your story matches eyewitness reports," the detective admits.
The boy scoffed. "Like I'd lie about something like that."
"No damage to property, knocked that guy right out cleanly. Well, as clean as a villain made up of sewage can be, I suppose. What made you decide to chase him?" Tanuma ponders, tapping his pencil against the notepad open in front of him.
Bakugo leans forward. "When I saw him, he talked about grabbing a new 'meat suit.' With a body made out of liquid, and a hero hot on his trail, it seemed obvious that his idea of a suit would have involved killing someone, and I couldn't just stand back and let him do that."
A slight sound from the next room tells the detective that one of the observers just rushed out of the room, likely to look up that clue. "Perhaps this kid could have solved a case or two without realizing it," the man considers.
"So, what made you think it was okay to go all vigilante like that, kid?" Tanuma asks finally.
Bakugo leans back with a grunt. "Someone had to stop him, and the heroes were nowhere to be found. Plus Deku did that thing at the train station this morning."
"Deku… you mean the boy who pushed the train out of the way? Sorry kid, if it wasn't explained to you, but there was a pro hero there supervising him. That's why he could do it, and you couldn't," the detective says regretfully.
The middle school student inserts, "Usagiyama used to jump in when she was my age too."
"Yeah, Uwabami already mentioned that you know her. Bad influence rubbing off already," the detective grumbled, even as a slight smile rides the corners of his mouth. "I can see why she would take an interest in you, but even she can't just bail you out. The law is pretty strict, you know. I still don't know how she avoided getting locked up, let alone make it through hero school."
"Because she's that good," the boy insisted.
The door opens noisily as a deep voice on the other side joins the conversation, "Because she wore a mask, Detective. Plausible deniability, even when her school uniform and quirk were so blatantly obvious."
The detective starts to open his mouth to say something, but Bakugo gets the words out first.
"Doctor Tsubasa?"
Behind the round glasses which ride above the thick, unkempt mustache, the Doctor pauses a second as his shoulders slump slightly before entering the room. "Good to see you, too, young Katsuki. Detective, my card."
The Doctor reaches into a pocket and checks a few cards before handing one over.
"You're… a consultant with the Hero Commission?" the Detective asks.
Nodding, the Doctor confirms. "Yes. When Uwabami put out the call to this young man's mentor, well, I recognized him immediately and rushed over. Young Katsuki here used to be a playmate of my grandson, and to see him in trouble I wanted to see how I could help."
The detective looks between the two of them before shrugging. "Well, I suppose no harm there. Any idea how long it will be?"
"Oh, considerable. Mirko is currently busy with another situation," the man says. "And his parents are at work in Tokyo. With the trains still fouled up from this morning, it will take a few hours for them to get here."
Groaning, the detective rolls his eyes. "Great. Just great. Mind keeping him company while I grab something to drink? Do you want anything, hero hopeful?"
Bakugo dismisses the offer.
Left alone with the boy, the Doctor sits down in the seat the Detective just left. "I don't know if you realize how much trouble you're in, young Katsuki."
Silently, the boy watches the Doctor cautiously as he listens.
"I know you well enough that most penalties do not matter. Fines, a record, you'll shrug it off. But, the black mark will go on your school record. That would block you from most hero schools."
As Bakugo narrows his eyes, the Doctor smiles slightly.
"And here is where I can help. You want to be at the best school, right?" Tsubasa says, folding his hands in front of him.
Bakugo nods. "Yeah, U.A."
"Ah, U.A.. A few years ago, I would agree, but ever since the attack, the luster has worn off," the Doctor laments.
Irritated, the boy vents, "I was supposed to be the only kid from Aldera to go there. Me! The perfect origin story once I reach the top."
"Did something happen?" Tsubasa asks, tilting his head in curiosity.
Bakugo scoffs, "Yeah, those Tomura brats. Brother is already in UA. Rumor has it he's who stopped the attack."
"Ah, so you don't want to be the second kid from your school to go to U.A. I take it?" the Doctor says, reaching down next to him to flip open the top to the accordion style briefcase he'd set there.
Bakugo throws his hands up in frustration. "What's the point in being second? You're either first or nothing."
"Then, what I have here might be of interest, young Katsuki. The Hero Commission has been working with an associate of mine for a few years to develop their own elite hero school, one better suited to develop the leaders we need in this trying time," the Doctor informs the boy, folding his hands in front of him as he watches the reaction.
The boy scoffs. "How can they do better?"
"By hiring the best teachers, by integrating programs with on duty heroes, by focusing on heroics without the distractions of a standard school, and by inviting the best students… like you, Katsuki. Without formal training you captured a bank robber who is wanted in the deaths of three people. Punishing you by denying that heroic spirit, like the law demands, would be the true crime here," The Doctor tells him, pulling out a folder from his briefcase and sliding it over. "Take some time and think about it, young Katsuki."
Flipping the folder open, Bakugo looks at the cover sheet, and the logo in the upper corner, before asking. "You're serious? You want me for this new program?"
"Absolutely. You are precisely the kind of student we want, young Katsuki. A natural leader, a capable fighter, a born hero. You could be the first of a new generation of heroes," Doctor Garaki says as he watches the eyes of the boy in front of him already agreeing to join.
