My Hero Academia: Katsuki's Secret

Rated M for cursing, trauma, adult themes, and Bakugo's language.

Chapter 3

Bakugo cursed inwardly as his knees wobbled as he stood. Move, damnit, move! He had to get to her! That long navy hair, the brown eye that seemed to penetrate his soul, the olive undertone skin…there was no doubt in his mind. Her name leapt up his throat but it was halted when the strength in his legs was sapped away. What was happening?! Why did he suddenly feel so weak?! It wasn't just his legs, everything felt as though it was shriveling up into a raisin the second his gaze wandered to meet the sapphire eye. Both her eyes had been brown when they were kids so where did this one come from?! The cold sweat that covered his body should have made it easy for him to use his quirk but it wasn't responding. Something was blocking it! This wasn't anything like Aizawa's power, whatever suppressing him was painful and caused every cell in his body fill with the want to scream in agony. A crystalline tear slipped down her cheek from the sapphire eye as a black cloak darker than midnight began to surround her, her lips moving for less than a heartbeat as darkness rose to consume him.

Oxygen flooded his lungs as he sat upright, a hand flying to his head as it began to pound painfully. "Ah, shit," he hissed lowly while clenching his eyes shut tight. "What the hell happened to me?" Events and faces rushed past him as his breath caught. It wasn't real. It couldn't have been. This was nothing more than another nightmare! There was no way she had been there! She was gone, dead, buried six feet under thanks to his damn hands….right? "Damnit, what the hell is going on?" the head of blonde hair fell as his knees bent then rose upwards towards his chest. He'd never felt this weak before, as if his grip on sanity and the world of reality was slipping despite how tight he was trying to hold on, but the eyes that had burned themselves into his psyche weren't that of a ghost.

"Kaachan?"

Bakugo tensed before forcing his body to release its near fetal position to lay back against the bed with arms crossed behind his head. Through the crack in his left eye he spotted an all too familiar freckled classmate with forest green hair sitting on the left wearing a worried expression while Recovery Girl sat on the right wearing one of boredom. "The fuck do you want, Deku? I'm not in the mood so get lost."

"You barely had any scrapes, a mild concussion at most from that nasty fall, so I don't even know why they bothered bringing you to me." She shook her head, wobbling back to her little desk. "Go ahead and take him, MrMidoriya, he's fit enough to pick a fight then he's well enough to go back to class."

"Screw you, lady, I ain't got time for this shit anyway." Bakugo swung his legs over, slipping bare feet without a care into the shoes that he had been wearing that now looked in desperate need of replacing, and stuffed his hands deep within the pocket of his sweat pants while marching towards the door. He came to a stop though in the doorway, turning and locking Izuku. "What the hell happened to Hawks? Why isn't he here?"

Recovery Girl blinked then narrowed her gaze with suspicion. "Why would a pro hero be admitted to a high school's infirmary?"

With a grunt, he resumed his trek through the doorway but found himself tangled within a white scarf. "And where do you think you're going?" Aizawa's heavily shadowed eyes stared down on both Bakugo and Midoriya, who had been quick to follow. They groaned softly as the scarf tightened around them both to the point where their breaths were rendered to short quick gasps. "One of you is supposed to be in class and I thought I had the other on dorm arrest. So tell me why I find the two of you where neither are supposed to be?" The teacher sighed. "Don't tell me you two were fighting again."

The explosions that both classmate and teacher expected from Bakugo never came, earning their brows to rise in unison as instead of going off like the firecracker he was the blonde explosionist instead opted for silence. What neither realized was the internal gears that were turning within his mind. He needed- No, he wanted answers. A twist of his head caused the scarf section that had been wrapped over his mouth fell just enough so that he could speak. "Is the big man here?"

"If you're referring to All Might-"

"Not him, moron, the big guy of the school."

Now both were suspicious. "Why would you, Katsuki Bakugo, my number one problem child, be willingly want to go see the principal?" The scarf tightened around the blonde, earning a grunt. "What are you scheming?"

"That is quite enough now."All eyes turned to the end of the hallway where Principal Nezu calmly watched the trio with a slight smile on his face, but the slight stiffness of the tail behind him spoke that they shouldn't be so easily fooled as he approached, the white fur that was his supposed pride seeming lackluster in the sunlight coming through the window as he came to a stop. "You have a class to teach and I have business with this young student of ours."

"You're right as always." The bottle of eye drops disappeared after depositing a few in each eye while releasing his hold on the pair but he only moved towards the awaiting classroom when the freckled teen hesitated. "Let's go, Midoriya, we don't have all day."

Feeling his classmate's gaze, Bakugo huffed while turning his back so that he was facing the principal. "Get lost, damn nerd, none of this concerns you so butt the fuck out."

"Goodness, someone has quite the sharp tongue. Come along then. We have much to discuss."

And the pair walked the entire way to his office without another word or glance backwards. It was as the door was closed, the telltale sound of the lock clicking in place, that the blonde's breath came out in a soft hiss-like nearby couch looked inviting enough, with its plush cushions wrapped in emerald green shiny fabric, but he opted to lean against the armrest as the principal took the seat opposite.

"So you managed to track the trouble maker down? Sweet." The retort that rose up Bakugo's throat died on his lips when his head snapped to the right, spotting Hawks calmly lounging within one of the armchairs, and earned a dark chuckle from the pro hero when his expression blanched. "Yeah, I know, shocking, aren't they?"

Ruby red eyes widened farther when Hawks slowly rose from the chair and turned so that his back was to the student, shedding the coat and black tee A noise sounded within the back of Bakugo's throat as there, between where the now shattered wing joints were, was a small footprint that had black veins that looked to be entangling themselves around the ruined bases. He'd thought the feather count looked a bit low and the frames of the wings themselves seemed a bit off but the sight before him left him speechless. But just for a moment. "The hell happened to your wings?"

"That is why I came in search of you, young man, to see if you have suffered any similar damage but it appears that the worse you had was a mild concussion." The principal sipped from his steaming cup that had been retrieved from the nearby end table as Hawks redressed then returned to his seat careful to not brush his wings against the chair. "Truly a relief."

"Relief my fucking ass!" The hard edge was back in his voice as he stood, sparks flying off his skin that earned both adults' blink. "How the fuck is any of this relieving?! A girl I thought I'd killed as a kid, who happens to somehow be a pro hero's fucking niece, thanks to my quirk suddenly pops up out of fucking thin air and does this to him?! What sort of shit show universe are we living in here?! This isn't some damn comic book world where people just magically come back to life!" A twitch settled in his brow as he turned his full attention to Hawks who looked mildly amused. "I think that's the perfect fucking place to start. How the hell are you two related? You look nothin' alike."

He held up a finger. "Funny story. Turns out I had a lost sibling, who died tragically in an accident, but honestly I didn't find out about them having a daughter until yesterday."

"That's it?!"

"Think about it. If I had known she existed, do you honestly think I would let any family of mine be neglected like she was?" The icy tone used by the hero, combined by the shadow that fell over his visor, caused Bakugo to gulp. "I was furious when I found out she had been taken by complete strangers after the accident but it took me too damn long to follow their trails until yesterday."

A clink sounded as the cup was placed back on its saucer. "But it wasn't exactly how you feared."

The ash blonde hero sighed heavily. "The League of Villains weren't behind it, so I guess I should consider her lucky, but that's about as far as it goes."

Heat seared through Bakugo's veins. "You're talking about Black Trident. I've heard a little, that he literally showed up out of the fucking blue. I forget what his quirk is though."

"A dangerous fact. No one truly knows what it is since he has been managing just fine with that double-forked weapon he wields." The principal rose to his feet to stand beside Hawks. "Though it is the girl that we are concerned with since it was she who inflicted such a devastating blow to our friend here."

He blinked for a few seconds then fell backwards onto the couch with a slight bounce. "No way! I don't believe for a second that she caused that. That fucker must have forced her!" His shout rang in the air as he inhaled sharply. "She was crying as they took her away. Whatever they did to her, whatever that bastard did that changed her eye color and made her cry, I will payback a million fold!"

Hawks shifted to the edge of his seat. "What did you just say?"

"Her eyes are supposed to be brown, like that sugary sweet crap that girl's eat, but her left one was blue like a fucking gem on a ring! It was wrong!" His hands rose to tangle fingers within his wild blonde tresses. "It doesn't make sense though! The hospital where she was admitted said that she had to be moved but they couldn't tell us where! I know what I saw that day on the playground, damnit, she looked crispier than a fucking drumstick in a bucket meal! How did she not fucking die from my quirk activating mere fucking inches from her face?!"

Silence fell for several minutes, possibly almost an hour, until the ringing of a phone replaced it that sourced from the principal's pocket. He held it up to his ear, nodding every so often or asking a question that neither hero or student paid any mind to since his voice had become so soft and hushed they could barely hear him, and ended the call with sigh. "Well, now, that is interesting indeed." A knock sounded, causing their gazes to rise from the floor, and three pairs of brows rose as through the crack of the door appeared a small girl with platinum hair and a small horn. "Ah, welcome, little Eri! I apologize for pulling you from your classes but would you mind answering a few questions for us please?" The principal smiled, ushering her inside and taking a seat alongside with her as she cast a curious glance between the solemn hero and student.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Bakugo's snarl lightened, just slightly, as she offered him a small smile.

"Would you like to go ahead, little one?" The principal encouraged. "Don't be shy."

She shuffled her dangling feet a little, as if searching for the right words, then audibly gulped as if she were swallowing a lump in her throat. "There was a girl I once saw, with long navy hair and a bandage wrapped around her head, when the compound had visitors." Neither needed to ask who she was referring to. Kai Chisaki had been the one who constantly mutilated and taken advantage of the young girl in front of them to creat the Quirk Destroying bullets. It had been nothing short of a miracle that their teams of misfit students and heroes had managed to rescue her with the few casualties that had occurred.

Bakugo was the first to recover from the initial shock. "Names?"

"Sorry, I don't remember." Eri sniffled, hanging her head lowly. "It was horrible back then."

"No one was blaming you, brat, so quit that." The wild blonde haired youth sighed heavily.

Her head rose, eyes shining with the want to help. "I did hear some sort of code word or nickname they used when talking to her directly though."

Hawks and the principal shared a glance as Bakugo looked about ready to tear into the couch. "What, now we're in some spy universe?! Pick a fucking world and stick to it already!"

She stood and crossed the room until she came to a stop in front of Bakugo. "They called her Maximizer and the person they made her touch had a quirk that allowed them to change their facial appearance…their face swelled like a balloon until it…"

All breath escaped him as the room grew cold, the twitches and sparks that had been flitting across his skin dissipating. "What're you saying, that they are forcing her to use her quirk on others until their own destroys them?!" He shot to his feet with a roar, explosions building across his body as he trembled. "A squishy shy girl like her with a fucking quirk like that?! How the fucking hell is that fair?! She should have something to make flowers grow where she walks or make the sun come out from behind the clouds, not something like that!"

The principal gently pulled her away from the seething teen as he fell to the floor to pound clenched fists against the carpet. "That's enough for now. Thank you, Eri, but I think it's best that you return to class for now." He sent her off with a wave, assuring her that the elder student would be taken care of, and closed the door with a click of the lock.

Hawks, who had been watching the spike-haired explosionist with a narrowed gaze, allowed his exterior to soften slightly. "You knew her back then, Bakugo, and what you just said answers my next series of questions. Her quirk must have activated at the same time yours did, causing that explosion and resulted in her being hospitalized. Because of her "Maximize" quirk, your own that should have started out as mere sparks ended up being a full scale explosion." He rested his chin against interlaced fingers as the fallen teen slammed both fists and head against the floor. "You don't have to say it, you'll deny it probably, but your guilt and reaction just now expose just how much you care-"

"Shut your fucking mouth!"

The elaborate and expensive decorations on the walls shook dangerously from the sudden roar. Though he would later deny it, Principal Nezu's fur stood on end for a moment as heat erupted from the hunched teen's form. As for Hawks he could feel the ring of determination and sorrow hidden beneath the outburst. Both could feel Katsuki Bakugo's conviction, the choice clear as the sky outside.

"What I feel is none of your damn business. I'm not some fucking puzzle or riddle for you to solve!" Emotion rose in a tangled ball within Bakugo's throat but it was forced down with a hard swallow. "You make it sound so sappy and disgusting, something that the Nerdy and Round Face have, but I don't feel anything like what those two show! It's so sick and disgusting that I can't even stand it some days!" His red gaze rose to meet Hawk's golden to reveal eyes that blazed with fires that would put those found in purgatory or even hell to shame. "All you need to worry about is making sure you don't get there first cause when I'm through with them you might not have a body to bury."

If it were possible, principal and pro hero could have sworn that the teen's outline blurred to become something that wasn't human, but both shook off the crazy assumption as he rose to his feet. "Now hold on there-"

"Go to hell! No way in fucking way am I going to waste one more second here! Not when she is out there being used like a fucking pawn!"

"I was not going to stop you." Principal Nezu shook his head, moving to the door as another knock sounded and opened it to reveal several of his classmates who flinched back when faced with his blazing gaze. "I was merely going to ask you if you wished to include any of your fellow students in a party."

Ruby eyes blinked for a moment as they slowly entered the room, then set his sights on the forest haired teen which earned a nervous smile. "The hell you doing here, nerd? Don't you got some test or damn studying to do?"

"If you think I'm going to ignore when my classmate is acting stranger than normal then you're mistaken." Izuku's smile was reinforced as the others nodded in agreement. "We know something's been up with you since yesterday but then there was the whole thing earlier that landed you in the infirmary-"

"Damnit all, I fucking told the lot of you it was none of your fucking business!"

"But we care about you!" They chorused. "You didn't tell us we could but we do anyway! You're one of us, moron, so deal with it!" A few members shifted nervously when Bakugo's twitching eyes locked on them for a moment, but they remained steadfast.

Hawks rose from his chair to stand beside the blonde haired teen when the shadow of his bangs fell to conceal his gaze. "Sounds like you've got quite the roster to pick from but it's up to you if they should know everything." His elbow bumped against the youth's while dropping his voice down to a whisper. "I'm not any good in the state I'm in so you'll be the head honcho for this operation. You bring her back, capeesh?"

One of his arms rose to swipe across his eyes, nodding, causing the students in front of him to nervously shift when his lips lifted into a devious smirk as the arm fell. "Ya hear that, you bunch of shits?" Bakugo fixed every classmate in turn with his red gaze until it finally fell on Izuku's. "I call the fucking shots, so I don't want to hear ya complainin' or whining! You follow my lead now, you bunch of side characters!"

"With the guidance of a few other pro heroes, yes, you would be the main head being as you are the sole person who has seen the target and the one holding them." The principal called from the couch, sipping at his cup. "So long as they agree, you are free to go about this however you wish."

"Wait, seriously?!" Bakugo blinked, turning full attention to the white animal. "Ah, hell, and here I thought I could finally run the show how I wanted!"

See you next time!