BlueNova's Note: Hello, all! I'm so happy to tell you all that SuntoryAngel, my wife, is no longer suffering from Covid! She was nearly hospitalized with severe dehydration thanks to it preventing her from eating/drinking anything but has recovered greatly in the last twenty-four hours that I truly can't be relieved enough. She was unable to keep down water and lost over ten pounds in five days. For those who don't know, she is pregnant as well so we were very concerned for her and the baby. I'm excited to say that both mama and baby are healthy! I better get the show running before I start boring you all!

SuntoryAngel's Note: *wave* Hi, everyone! He pretty much covered everything up to this point so let's just jump in, shall we? I don't own rights!

My Hero Academia: Katsuki's Secret

Rated M for cursing, trauma, adult themes, and language.

Chapter 6

"…Tik…tik…tik…tik…"

The hours ticked by slowly with each shift of the hands on the clock yet the young blonde teen had yet to move from the chair that he had been instructed to sit in. Decorated walls failed to lighten the harsh sounds of the clock, each note echoing around his silent figure. Polished white floor linoleum was so glazed it could have reflected one's image back if they were to take a moment to spare a glance. Shadows that had been small from the morning sunlight through the nearby windows had now begun their stretch with the passage of the sun's course in the sky outside.

"Tik…tik…tik…tik…"

He had refused to allow anyone to touch or come near him since then and that was early in the morning. It was currently four in the afternoon. Simmering rubies were nearly hidden by the shadow of his bangs as he stared down at the crimson staining his hands. The nightmare and appearance of Ezekiel, her father, it couldn't all be a coincidence. The muscles within his fingers and hands twitched with the memories of feeling those bones snap like twigs, tremors slowly working their way upwards until his whole being was visibly trembling. Stop that! Bakugo gave himself a shake, viciously biting into the flesh of his lower lip until the quaking stopped thanks to the jolt of pain and tasted blood. Now is not the time for hysterics! Pull yourself together! You finally have a lead: Chimera Corp.

So lost was he in searching every bit of his mind for anything he might know about the name that he completely missed the sound of a nearby door opening. It was the soft sound of light footsteps that caused his thoughts to fall silent when they came to a stop in front of him. His head remained hanging, chin touching chest that allowed the shadow of his hair to conceal his face from the person who had approached, but his breathing did catch as a small pair of hands took gentle hold of his own, enclosing them within a cloth towel. The motions of the slim fingers were careful as they slowly worked at the dried blood that stained his skin until the pristine white cloth was rusty red. "Baki?"

"The hell you doing here, brat?" He croaked, unable to stand the sound of his own voice as it came out as raw as it had on the rooftop.

Eri gave his fingers a squeeze. "They asked for me to try reversing the transformation but didn't let me see."

Bakugo knew of her "Rewind" quirk, that allowed people to under a reverse transformation until nothing was left but their empty clothes, but knowing that they had called on her to perform it on Ezekiel was a bitter pill to swallow. All he could manage was a grunt of acknowledgement that he had heard her.

"It worked, I think, they helped me out of the room and told me to go back to class but then I saw you sitting here." The cloth fell away to lay on the floor between his feet, allowing her fingers to brush against his without hinderance. "Did you know him, Baki?"

"Nah." Despite the numbness that had taken over, a chuckle rose up his throat along with the slight lift of the corners of his mouth. "Barely knew the guy."

Slender fingers rose towards his face but came to a halt when his head finally tilted upwards enough that their gazes met, locking her with a bloodshot warning glare for her not to carry out the motion, and earned a slight flinch from the girl as she quickly moved her hands to collet the towel instead. "It has to do with that girl, right? That's why it's so hard for you to talk about it?"

"Don't be stupid."

"I only want to help, Baki."

He exhaled harshly, almost in huff. "Who asked you?"

A rare expression of determination crossed her features. "You're going to find her and I want to help! Let me come with you!"

"Are you out of your damn mind?" Bakugo growled lowly. "Who would take a brat like you on something like that? Why don't you go off shopping or karaoke or something that normal brats your age are doing?"

"If I Rewind her, Maximize wouldn't be near as devastating!" The explosionist blinked for several seconds at the sudden shout but it was clear that Eri was not done yet. "Not only that, but it would help render her in a docile state so you guys could escape with her! You'll have Aizawa with you, right? Canceling her quirk may not be enough!"

His lip twitched. "You think that just because your paths crossed it gives you the privilege of sticking your nose where it doesn't belong! You know nothing about her, Eri, so you don't deserve to be a part of this so butt out!" The incredibly short fuse that was his temper had been lit and emotion that he failed to identify rushed up his chest to explode from between his lips. "Do you know that she likes tomatoes, huh? What about her favorite song? How about her favorite color? You! Don't! Know!"

"And you do?!"

"Better than anyone else on this freaking planet! She would coat the world in blue if it was possible by knows that the other colors are just as beautiful and necessary and she even choreographed her favorite song then danced when she thought she was alone or when no one was watching!" What felt like fire threatened to erupt within his veins. "I know her better than you ever could so stop forcing your way into this! I'm so sick of everyone trying to intrude and involve themselves when it has nothing to do with them!"

Eri's eyes blazed brightly. "They are only doing so because it's obvious you can't do it alone! They are trying to support you in the only way they can!"

Silence fell, leaving only the pounding blood in his ears until it too faded into the familiar sounds of the clock. "Tik…tik…tik…tik…" Neither looked away from the other, as if daring the receiver to break their locked stare down, ruby steadily grown darker until they matched vermillion that showcased his rising temper. That and the vein that was slowly beginning to appear within his neck and twitch in the left brow.

"A valiant suggestion," a voice called from the nearby door she had come through that caused their gazes to rise and meet that of All Might. The once Symbol of Peace now rendered to a thin husk looked even more rough than normal as he took a few steps until he came to a stop beside the pair. "But it's out of the question, Eri. You and I both know he would never agree to take you along on such a dangerous mission. Not only that, but if you were to suffer at the hands of her quirk you may very well affect all those present instead of an individual. That isn't a risk that we can take." His hand rose and patted the top of her head, taking care to avoid the little horn protruding from her temple. "For now, it is best to continue along the day's events and have faith in the others."

Just when they thought she was going to argue, she instead bowed her head and disappeared around the nearby corner with a whispered apology for raising her voice.

"It is not a bad plan but you were correct on several points, young Bakugo. This matter is extremely delicate so it is wise to be cautious."

With a huff, the blonde stood and faced the former Number One Hero. "Was it really him?"

All Might sighed so heavily that the air itself seemed to suddenly increase in weight as he met the young man's gaze. "I can only imagine how it must feel for Ezekiel Yamashita to approach you. Perhaps you are too tied-"

"Don't even think about taking me away from this!" The shout was his sole warning as the youth's fist impacted the neighboring wall to the right, the sheet rock crumbling beneath the sheer force of his punch and the white paint darkening as his quirk built along his knuckles. His hair had fallen forward again, threatening to conceal the upper half of his face within his tresses's shadow, but the rubies that were his eyes blazed brighter than any nova star. "None of you even knew about her until Hawks opened is damn mouth and it was me her old man came to, not him! I'm the one who would be able to identify and talk to her, I'm the one who could convince her to come with us!"

"You're clearly too emotionally involved, Bakugo, it's best for everyone if you were to-" Even the once mighty hero found himself at a loss for words as the young man before him's being erupted with concentrated flames that licked across his clothing greedily as he took a step towards him. All Might wasn't the only one who had once made the wrong assumption or prediction that Katsuki Bakugo may just one day become a Villain, those same thoughts rising once more as the "Explosion" quirk user seemed to become replaced by something nearly inhuman for a moment, but they were quickly put to bed as he refused to look away from those determined eyes. "If we were to remove you from this mission, you would go anyway, is that right?"

"Damn straight."

"And nothing anyone says would deter you?"

The aura around Bakugo simmered then settled into a dull flame, barely visible unless one were to solely focus their gaze upon the slight rippling of his clothing. "Fuck no. I'm going with or without you lot of side characters."

"Then what are you waiting around here for?"

A unified shout caused the blonde's head to snap to the side, catching sight of the nearing crowd of classmates who were each carrying their designated suitcases that held their hero costumes. At the head of the pack was Deku, his forest hued hair more wild than normal and emerald eyes filled with concern, as they came to a stop in front of the pair. "I grabbed yours."

Bakugo's gaze slipped downward to the case that was offered, noting his personal number, then cast each person present a brief glance until it rested upon Kirishima who gave a nod of encouragement. He swiped it with a huff, saying how he was about to go grab it anyway, but it was clear to each that he was fighting back emotions that they could barely imagine as his figure began to tremble. A violent shake, a shouted curse as his hand rose to impact the left side of his face, and he was off like a rocket down the hallway that led towards the school's entrance where the group of pro heroes could be seen waiting.

"So where are we going?" Deku asked, quickly falling into step beside him along with their other classmates.

"Chimera Corp."

"And what are we supposed to do about Black Trident's quirk?"

A near devilish smirk raised Bakugo's lips. "Leave that to Aizawa. I'm going to leave the other experiments and guards to you lot."

The freckled teen swallowed the bundle of nerves that had risen in his throat. "And you?"

"Isn't it obvious, nerd?" The blonde opened his case with a snap of his wrist, not bothering to slow down as he passed the pro heroes to enter the forest. "I'm gonna blow shit up until I find her myself!"

See you next time!