Bakugou Katsuki was a fighter. Everyone who knew him knew that about him. He excelled in close-range combat and his hits were hard and he did his best to make them all count, so long as he was thinking rationally. What he wasn't so good at, though, was… well, this.

"Bakugou-Kun! Help get people whom I can't completely heal on stretchers!" Recovery Girl called to him, barking out orders to others as well as she and some other medical personnel made their rounds to each injured individual that they could find.

"Right!" he called back in response, feeling just as nervous as he was angry. He was nervous because he wasn't used to tasks that were even slightly medical in nature. He was angry because, while he was worried (very, VERY worried) about Izuku, he was also angry at the shitty nerd for becoming a Villain and destroying the city in the first place. He didn't blame Izuku for this not-so-great choice, even if he was angry at the bastard – Heroes-in-Training like himself and Pro-Heroes like All Might had failed him and let him down, after all. Honestly, he was much angrier at himself for getting stupid Deku started on this path of crime that he had decided he would save the green-haired idiot from. He started grumbling furiously to himself as he rushed around and did all that he could to help, frightening some of the patients with his whispers and scowls. Seeing some of their fearful looks, he paused and reflected on himself, because they reminded him of the terror that was always on Deku's face when he was bullying him. He clicked his tongue unhappily and did his best to look less intimidating as the image of large tearful green eyes flooded his mind. It was annoying because he was bad at not being intimidating.

Now, Katsuki hated admitting to being bad at things. Being gentle, like what he needed to be right now for the sake of all of these scared and injured people? Yeah. He was really bad at that.

Still, he was trying his best to be gentle. He helped get Todoroki Shouta, a classmate of his, and a few others on stretchers to be taken to a hospital after Recovery Girl had done what she could for them and moved on to the next bunch of patients in need. That's when Katsuki noticed All Might on the scene helping with Aizawa-Sensei, and, well… Well.

See, Bakugou Katsuki was bad at four things, if he had to admit it. As mentioned before, he was bad at being gentle and unintimidating. He was really trying, considering how hurt and scared some of his classmates and teachers were – and it was really. Fucking. Hard. Especially since the other two things that he was bad at were getting in the way of his rational thinking at the moment now that he had laid eyes on All Might.

Katsuki had never been the most personable of people. That was strike three of the things he was bad at. Strike four was that he was awful at controlling his temper. In fact, being awful at controlling his temper was an understatement. He knew that he had been the instigator in all of this tragedy and destruction that was surrounding him, as he had apparently driven Izuku to kill himself, so he was extremely angry at himself, but…

"Well, Bakugou-San, you see... Before I helped you with that Sludge Villain, I ran into All Might. He told me what you and everyone else were always saying... that somebody like me, somebody without a Quirk, could never become a Hero. Between that and everything else that I was going through... And with what you said... Well, I tried to do what you suggested. I was so tired, you know? I didn't want to live anymore."

All Might had been the final push. At least, he had been the final push if Katsuki had understood Izuku's words correctly. All Might drove him to want to die even more than Katsuki already had, and it had somehow led Izuku to join the League of Villains. With that being said, yes, Katsuki was angry at himself. But fucking hell, he was so much angrier at All Might right now.

Izuku had always believed in Katsuki and had always looked up to him, he knew that – even if his rage normally blinded him and twisted it to 'Izuku is looking down on me' and lead him to bully Izuku for basically their whole lives. He knew now how unforgivable that was, and he was really regretting being a stupid kid with enough fucking pride in himself to want to beat down a person who was weaker than him and who was so sad and scared of him that he had flinched at Katsuki's mere presence and just by the sound of Katsuki's voice on several occasions. Right now, though, he thought it was even more unforgivable for Izuku's role model – his role model – the Symbol of Peace himself, to have put Izuku down in the same way that he had been putting Izuku down their whole lives. And, well… Hoo-boy. He felt that All Might had this coming.

Yagi Toshinari had been expecting a lot of things from today – injured students and Heroes and citizens, bodies, Villains… what he had not been expecting was a very sudden explosive punch to the face.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! YA FUCKIN' – YA – YA FUCKIN' STUPID ASS HERO, SYMBOL OF PEACE MY ASS!" Such language and rage from one of the new students of UA was… unexpected, to say the least.

He looked at the smaller male with spikey blonde hair and allowed his eternal smile to waver with concern. Some others, Recovery Girl included, were on their way to scold the boy, but All Might held up his hand and stopped them, telling them to leave the boy to him. He laughed, grabbed Katsuki by the back of his collar and dashed away while dragging Katsuki behind him with the teenager kicking and screaming and exploding the whole time. He ran from the area they had been in to a place that had been mostly evacuated in their devastated city. By the time he finally stopped and deemed that he was far enough from listening ears, he released the explosive child, who was panting and seemed to have tired himself out a bit.

"Young Bakugou, my boy, what seems to be wrong?"

"THIS!" Bakugou gestured behind him, to the ruined school that they had just left behind them and to the ruined city that surrounded them. All Might frowned. The young Hero-in-Training was blaming him for not being able to save the whole city in such a large-scale attack? He'd done what he could. It wasn't fair for Bakugou to blame him for all of this.

"Now, Young Bakugou, I did everything in my power to-"

"SHUT UP!" All Might paused and was at a bit of a loss as to what to do when Katsuki's eyes grew wet with tears as he continued to hatefully glare and yell at him. "YA DIDN'T DO WHAT'CHA COULD! YOU – HE – HE HAD ENOUGH FROM ME! DID YA HAVE TO GO AND PUT HIM DOWN, TOO, YA FUCKIN' BASTARD?! BECAUSE OF WHAT'CHA SAID, BECAUSE OF WHAT I SAID, HE-! HE-!" Katsuki finally quieted down, tears flowing freely as he stared at the ground between himself and All Might.

"…I… I'm sorry?" All Might was confused and apprehensive as to how to deal with the situation before him; he didn't know what was going on, what Katsuki was talking about. "Who...?" What did Katsuki mean? Who was 'he?'

"DEKU! FUCKIN' MIDORIYA IZUKU, YA FUCKIN' SHITHEAD!" Katsuki sobbed with rage. He tried to stifle it, clearly feeling ashamed of himself – whether he was ashamed for crying or for something more, All Might was unsure. That wasn't concerning to him at the moment, though. What was concerning to him was the name that Katsuki had sputtered.

Midoriya… Izuku…? His frown hardened and he glowered at Katsuki for a long moment, his demeaner becoming much more serious. He remembered Young Midoriya, of course. He was the fanboy whom had brought him back hope. Given him courage to continue being the Hero he was supposed to be. The Hero he said he was.

Midoriya Izuku was the boy whom had gone missing a little over a year ago after trying to save Bakugou from the Sludge Villain, even though he was Quirkless, re-inspiring All Might to be what he had always promised to be. He was the boy whom All Might had searched for after the incident was all cleared up in order to tell him that he could be a Hero. He was the boy whom All Might had been trying to help find ever since he found out that he'd disappeared.

He was the boy whom All Might had set his heart on as his successor for One For All.

"What about Young Midoriya?" He watched as Katsuki flinched at the name being repeated back to him, and the boy's glare hardened further. It took him a moment that felt much longer than it was to reply, finally not yelling anymore.

"You told him he couldn't be a hero."

All Might tensed, guilt riding on his conscience. Yes, he did say that. That was the last thing he'd said to the boy before he had vanished, and it had stuck heavily to All Might's heart. But… how did Young Bakugou know that, and what did that have to do with…? Wait… No. No, it… It couldn't be.

"Because of what'cha said… and because of what I said and did to him for all of these years…" Katsuki's glare was enough to even intimidate All Might a little, and All Might felt what was about to be said. He just didn't want to believe it.

"He's a Villain now. And he helped do all of… this." The boy gestured to the destruction again, and All Might's heart sank. What? Young Midoriya was a part of this…? Because he…? No… His mistakes had done this? "But…" Suddenly, Katsuki looked unsure of himself – something that All Might had come to know was very unusual for the teen over the last few weeks since the curriculum at UA had begun. "I don't think he was there because he wanted to be. I don't think he's happy being a Villain. He was barely responsive to anything, and his eyes were fuckin' crying for help, I swear it. So… So help me make it right! Help me save him, or at least, help me keep him out of trouble when I find him!"

This caught All Might's attention. If Bakugou's words rung true and Izuku didn't truly want to be with the Villains, then he must have been kidnapped. If he really didn't want to be helping them then they must have done something to him to make him, or maybe they were holding something over his head. Besides that, how could Izuku have helped cause so much damage? The Izuku that All Might had met on that fateful day over a year ago ran head-on into danger to help people in need and certainly wouldn't want to cause death and destruction like he apparently had today. All Might's mind raced with thoughts as he pondered what could have been going on with Izuku that would make him capable of this, and what the Villains could have done to him to get him to help. Perhaps they had brainwashed him, or perhaps they were threatening him or his family, or-! His mind skidded to a halt when Katsuki started talking again.

"He wasn't… he wasn't right. He wasn't himself, he… Stupid Deku was…" The boy's fists were clenched and trembling and he was looking at the ground again. His eyes were still reflecting wrath but now were tinted with a hint of what All Might guessed was concern for Izuku. "He… He looked scared and sad, like when I-! Well… The way he was talking, it was like he wasn't really all there. And his smile..." Katsuki growled, his gaze flaring as he looked back up into All Might's eyes. All Might felt his shoulders tense. If there was a look that could kill, it would be Katsuki's glare. "And if it weren't for me and you, he never would have ended up killing himself and falling into their hands."

Wait… What? What did he just say? All Might felt himself begin to tremble. "Young Bakugou, what are you…? What are you saying, he…? But you said he was alive, as a Villain?" It made no sense.

"Well…" Katsuki walked over to the wall of a nearby building that's foundation was damaged by the attacks. He punched it in his frustration as he tried to figure out how to explain to the older Hero, blowing up a small section and staring at the damage that he had done, a way to explain now lying before him. He grumbled and calmed back down, sighing. His eyes softened as a more subdued look overtook him – it was very slight, but it was there. It almost looked as if he'd been defeated for the first time. After a minute or so passed, he sighed and started to explain. "The Fucking Nerd was like this wall. He was… I'd already broken him down a lot. He was cracked and damaged. I drove him to hurt himself, even though he was my childhood friend. Then, when you – the person he looked up to the most – told him the things that I had always been telling him, it broke him, like my fist did to this fuckin' wall. The fuckin' idiot tried to kill himself and found out he has a Quirk that won't let him die, and the Villains took him then. That's what he told me. So, ya see? We're the same sort of fuckin' idiots. We both talk down at people. We caused this. That's why I'm so MOTHER. FUCKIN'. ANGRY." He was back to yelling. "YOU CLAIM TO BE A SYMBOL OF PEACE, BUT YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN ME! YOU PUT DOWN A KID WHO WAS ALREADY SO DOWN ON HIMSELF THAT HE FUCKIN' KILLED HIMSELF! IT DOESN'T FUCKIN' MATTER IF HE FUCKIN' COMES BACK TO LIFE OR SOME SHIT, THE FACT IS THAT THE IDIOT WENT AND DID IT AND WE CAUSED IT! WE CAUSED HIM TO BECOME A VILLAIN! WE CAUSED HIM TO GO AND DO THIS TO OUR CITY!"

All Might shook, the words of the boy breaking through his tough exterior. If it was all true, then what the boy was saying was right. If what he was saying was true, then was he really any better than a Villain?

…Well, regardless of the answer to that, he'd have to make up for it. Somehow.

"Now… PUNCH ME! WITH ALL YA GOT, YA FUCKIN' IMBECILE OF A PRO-HERO!"

All Might made an incredulous expression at that demand. He felt sweat drip down his face. Smoke was starting to flow from his body. He was running out of time to be in his current form. Goddamn motherfucking shit. This always happened at the worst (and often most confusing) times.

"W-W-What, wait, Young Bakugou, I can't-"

"Yer a Hero, aren't'cha? Then FUCKIN' PUNCH ME. AND YOU BETTER NOT HOLD ANYTHING BACK." All Might's punch might kill the boy! Though, he had been weakening as of late, and his body was dissipating at the moment, so maybe not, but… Why did Katsuki want this? What game was he playing? And, more importantly, All Might was running out of time, he had to get going!

Katsuki sensed All Might's reservations, smiling a manic sort of smile as he reached up and grabbed All Might's shoulder when the Hero tried to say something and make a hasty exit. "Yer not fuckin' goin' anywhere, you piece of trash, so don't even try it." His smile vanished and his glare was suddenly back to being unnervingly calm. "Look. I punched you with all I had, you Pro-Hero scum. I did that for motherfuckin' Izuku. To get back at'cha for what'cha said to him, for your roll in instigating this whole mess. Now, the least ya can do for him is punch me back for what I did to him. Then, when we're done helpin' all the people affected by this mess, you'll fuckin' help me find him. Kapische?!"

All Might groaned, trying to play off that he was in pain and struggling to keep up his form. He knew that he would probably face assassination if he tried to leave again, even in his current state, so without saying anything more, he simply nodded to Katsuki since he now understood. He raised his right fist, took aim –

"Detroiiiiiiiiiitttt!"

Fire!

"…Smash?" With a sizzle and a poof, he was a cloud of smoke – just as his fist made contact with the teenager's face. It barely did any damage as he shrank down to an emancipated man before Bakugou Katsuki, blood spurting from his mouth as he did his best to maintain his composure now that his secret was being revealed. Bakugou stared, wide-eyed, unsure of what to do or say.

"The Fu-"

"I know what you're thinking, young man," Yagi Toshinari grumbled through a fit of coughs, "and I know that I have a lot of explaining to do." He cleared his throat a few times before finally clearing his trachea of the red iron-tasting substance, his dark, sagging eyes narrowing at the explosive child before him, who was shaking in shock and indignation, if Toshinari was reading him correctly.

"Where is All Might?" He asked, glancing around. "OI! FUCKIN' COWARD, WHERE'D YA GO?! GET BACK HERE AND FUCKIN' PUNCH ME ALREADY!"

"Sssshhhh!" Toshinari hissed loudly, getting the short-tempered teen's attention and making him look at him. "I'm right here! I didn't run! This is just my true form." Katsuki stared at him, quivering, his burning temper at least somewhat dying down for the moment as bafflement and disbelief doused his flame of undying anger a little.

"Wha-?"

"I'm an old man, what did you expect?"

"Then-"

"I can only use my power and be in my other form for a maximum of about three hours per day. I'm like those swimmers in those pictures where they choose a flattering angle and pose and suck it all in."

"Eh?"

"I know you probably think I'm lying to get off of hitting you like you want me to, but I assure you that I'm not lying, Young Bakugou. I suffered a terrible injury five years ago, and the after-effects of that injury and the surgeries that I had to have due it have been causing me to grow weaker with time."

"Is that so…?" Izuku probably would have known about something like that happening to All Might – to some extent – if he had been in Katsuki's shoes right now. Katsuki, however, was not like Izuku, and while he had promised to take on a new set of ideals for Izuku's sake because of his own mistakes, he was still Katsuki. And if Katsuki was anything, it was short-tempered and short-sighted.

"DO YA THINK I'M A FUCKIN' IDIOT?! WHO'D FUCKIN' BELIEVE BULLSHIT LIKE THAT, YA FUCKIN' LIAR!"

Toshinari moaned unhappily, running a skeletal hand down his bony face, his mouth curved downward into a deep frown. "I'm not lying, young man. But whether you believe me or not is your own choice." He crossed his arms and looked away from Katsuki, towards the sun, which had just started to set. "I promise that I'll hit you later if you still really want me to. I also promise to help you in your search for Young Midoriya." His eyelids lowered over his eyes, shadows cast upon his gaze.

"To be honest, I've been looking for him ever since he went missing. I have a lot I want to say to him." It was true – he really did have a lot that he wanted to say to Izuku. Just like how he now had a lot to ask Katsuki about what part he implied he had in Izuku's current situation. That would be a later issue he dealt with, though. He was too drained to want to ask the boy about it now.

"YEAH?! LIKE WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU WANT TO SAY TO HIM!" Toshinari took a deep breath. Why was this kid so damn loud and angry? He liked his spunk, and the kid had talent, obviously, but… he really needed to work on that temper.

"It's like you said, Young Bakugou." He finally released his breath, puffing out his chest as much as he could in his skeletal form. "I need to apologize to him. Ever since I told him that he couldn't be a Hero, ever since I saw him trying to save you even though he was powerless… I knew that I was wrong. I tried to find him that night, but, as you probably know, that's when he disappeared. When I heard that he had gone missing, I immediately started using any free time I had to search for him."

Bakugou finally went quiet, and while he didn't drop his glare on Toshinari for a second, he seemed to at least understand. "…Fine. I S'pose that that's an acceptable answer, old man." He raised the upper right corner of his lip, practically snarling. "But ya'd better keep yer word. I've got my eye on ya, and if ya don't do what ya just said you'll do, you'll be sorry."

Toshinari raised his hands up in defeat. He was exhausted. He was feeling bad. He was in pain. He just wanted this day of awful happenings to end. "Fine, fine. If it comes to it, sure. If I lie, throw another punch at me. But for now, young man, you'd best get home. Heroes strong at night will keep helping people around here, but until then, you should rest. Tomorrow class will consist of emergency aid relief."

"Tch! I already knew that," Katsuki replied smugly. Then, his whole demeaner changed, determination overtaking his angered expression.

"I promised to myself that, to make up for the things I did that caused this, I'd become the hero Izuku always saw when he looked at me." Toshinari's eyes widened upon hearing such a powerful statement from the hot-headed boy, watching as Katsuki turned away, looking up at the darkening sky. The way his body and voice trembled, Toshinari could tell that he was doing his best to suppress tears. That, along with the words that Katsuki had spoken, hit Toshinari right in the gut. Right in his weak spot.

"Yeah… Do your best to be just that, alright, kid? And I…" He slumped over a little, looking at the ground beside him, trying his best to not think too much about his mistakes as they came crashing down around him while his last words to Izuku came back to his mind.

"You can never be a hero."

"I'll do my best to be the hero you say he always saw me as, too." He took a few steps and stopped, standing beside Katsuki as he too looked up at the sky, feeling his own resolve start to flow through his veins. "And I will help you find Young Midoriya. I will help you save him." He was sure he was going to have many fights and arguments to come with the young lad, but for now, at least, he felt that he had finally managed to establish a vaguely good connection with him as a teacher and as a role model.