Thank you for waiting! I hope y'all enjoy!
"Katsuki."
Shoichi's voice was cold, and he managed to keep the trembling to a minimum. His best friend's glare turned on him, with a hand still lifting the poor Quirkless kid off the ground as if he was ready to use his explosions against the child.
"What."
"Put him down." The 'please' went unsaid, but the hard stare made Katsuki believe it wasn't optional. Still, the need to challenge Zuzu won out over the concern. They'd be fine. He just had to put this Extra in their place first.
"Or what. You'll tell mom? She's already fucked off anyways." He bit out, channeling the sadness into anger easily. He'd done it for years after all.
But… it hurt, seeing Kacchan bullying someone. Especially when Shoichi had gone through that same thing, without the superpowers.
"What do you even get out of this? Some, some sick sense of satisfaction? People will go around saying wow, there goes Bakugo Katsuki, back at it again traumatizing someone just because he has an explosive Quirk and they don't?" Shoichi fumed, managing to only stutter once, but his point got across.
The kid dangling in the air was abruptly dropped, landing on the ground with a painful thump. In turn, Izuku stepped back in surprise as Katsuki began dragging him harshly by the arm. Once they were what he deemed far enough away, he let go of the arm taken hostage and sat on the ground.
"...Are you okay."
"Are you?"
He chuckled bitterly. "Guess that's one more thing you should tell my dad to fix about me. My anger issues." Katsuki let out an explosion, and it was then that Shoichi realized the other was crying.
"I'm always gonna have fucking reminders, aren't I. Hell, I'm the spitting image of her. Every time I look in the mirror I just see her glaring back at me, and I can almost feel the pain she inflicted daily. I just… I can't escape. I'm already turning into her, beating those who can't fight back into submission just because I can." He took a sharp breath, and his voice went a mangled turn. "I'm so fucked up and I don't know how I can be better when all I learned was how to be a shitty person."
Izuku sat down beside him, and after a nod he pulled the other into a hug.
"I'm not going to lie and say it was okay. But you know that, so let's focus on and deal with the root of this. You're aware of and acknowledge this, and I'm proud of you for that. Not many people can admit they aren't okay to both themselves and others." He mumbled into Kacchan's shoulder, still not letting go.
"We're gonna be Heroes, remember? We can't pick and choose who to save based on if they have a Quirk or not. The people who don't have one probably know that more than anyone else, but their worth isn't based on this power only some have. Katsuki?" Shoichi gently took his best friend's shoulders, forcing the other to acknowledge him.
"You are going to be an amazing Hero. I know you will."