-In the Monitoring Room-
It was clear from what was showing on the screen that Bakugou and Kageyama weren't communicating well. It was completely one-sided from what the class could see. They seemed to be talking about something serious from Yuuma's expressions, and the kid turned around for a moment to face the bomb. He was most likely trying to formulate a plan in the few extra minutes they get to do so.
After literally ten seconds they see Yuuma turn around to possibly tell his partner his thoughts and share, but the ash blond walked out the moment the kid turned around!
"Their communication doesn't exist." Sero said, earning a nod from the others who had the same opinion.
"Yuuma doesn't seem happy, kero." Asui commented, getting the others attention. When they looked back at the screen, sure enough, the boy had an entirely different air around him. His hands were clenched tightly, trembling as he just looked off at where his partner just was.
Then he relaxed again as if what they'd just seen was an illusion. All Might then announced for the exercise to start and they saw the boy get into a stance. Well, it seemed like one he was just standing in a neutral position, his hands loosly at his side. It seemed like he wHe shifted his hands and they could see something spread out over the floor.
"Are those... Marbles?" Yaoyorozu asked. "Why marbles?"
"Maybe a trap?" Jiro asked.
"Not very effective, maybe something else?" They didn't have any idea why he'd done that, but the way Yuuma did it told them he had some sort of plan even without Bakugou's help.
"How come he hasn't left to go after Bakugou?" Kaminari asked.
"It seems that Young Kageyama is trying to formulate a plan without him. He's trying to adapt to an unpleasant situation by looking at all of the other factors in his favor." All Might explained. "Very mature of him." He complimented.
"Other factors?" This time it was Ashido who was confused.
"If both of them left the bomb room it would leave the weapon unprotected. Facing the enemy alone is reckless, but leaving the weapon unguarded with the enemy around is just as reckless and Kageyama is trying to avoid that outcome, I think." Yaoyorozu explained, earning a look of understanding from the pinkette.
"Oh! Look! Midoriya and Uraraka are in!" Exclaimed Hagakure, and sure enough they were coming through a window. The class watched with silent anticipation as the Hero Team made their way through the maze-like halls of the "Villain Hideout". But at the same time, Kageyama reacted, after a moment he seemed to reach to his ear an began saying something.
"Who's Kageyama talking to? Bakugou's on an entirely different floor!" Kirishima said.
"Each team has comms so that they can talk with their team mate, it seems that Young Kageyama is trying to help Young Bakugou in this manner instead since whatever he was going to do before did not work."
"So Manly..." Kirishima's Respect +1.
"How come we can't hear? Is there any way for us to hear what they're saying too?"
"I can hear them, students. It seems that Kageyama has detected Young Midoriya and Young Uraraka and is directing Young Bakugou to their location!" All Might explained, earning gasps of surprise and intrigue and even more questions. How could Yuuma of known if he was nowhere near them? He didn't have a quirk like Jiro's or Shoji's.
As far as they'd seen, his Quirk was strong form of Telekinesis, right?
Even Todoroki seemed intrigued by this small show of skill, and decided to actually watch this match.
All Might did not add that the younger sounded very upset and cut his partner off before he could reply, nor did he say anything about the bad feeling he was getting. The school had been briefed on Yuuma's unique and possibly dangerous quirk by none other than his Aunt, who knew the most about it after the user of said quirk.
She came by on two occasions.
The first was very light hearted. She wanted them to treat Yuuma the same as the other kids despite his younger age, but to also make sure he isn't super stressed as it could lead to problems. They arranged for Yuuma to go to therapy with Hound Dog twice a week just to check in on how he's feeling, and everyday after they've done hero training he's to report to Recovery Girl for a check up.
Yuuma is just as much her son as her actual son, they could tell just how much she adored them. The two lights in her life, her kids. Seeing her smile like that was a wonderful sight for the number one hero.
The second occasion, however, was for work.
-Flashback, Before the Start of School-
Nezu, principal of Yuuei, was called by Airi Kayeyama to discuss a recent case that seemed to be a pretty dire one brewing in the shadows. As the school is also the workplace of many heroes, it was the perfect place fir a meeting to be held. Earlier that same week she came in to talk about her nephew, Yuuma Kageyama, because of his special circumstance of being the youngest to ever attend the school as well as his SS-Class Quirk.
His history was something that was known by the staff as the incident was also a very sad day for them. They lost two alumni of the school, promising heroes, and good friends that dreadful day. Just recalling the memories were painful for all of them.
People started to fill up the conference room, many heroes taking their seats. Eraserhead, Present Mic, Vlad King, Midnight, Powerloader, Hound Dog, Ectoplasm, and All Might all sat in their respective chairs as the last person attending the meeting arrived.
Airi Kageyama. A beautiful woman with striking ruby irises and rich, deep brown hair hanging over her shoulder in a loose tie. She was in a dress-type red blouse and jeans, comfortable yet formal at the same time. No accessories and no makeup as they weren't needed to accentuate her beauty, and most importantly, no heels.
She couldn't stand the things.
"Airi! It's so nice to see you." She paused, getting a good look at her after having not seen her in a long time. "Have you been well?" Midnight was the first to greet her, a warm smile on her face.
"Peachy. You guys don't seem much different. Especially Small Might over there."
Said man had a small coughing fit, spitting a little blood at the jab. "Nice to see you again too, Airi-san."
"You better be taking your medicine for that, Yagi, or do you want what happened last time to happen again? Right here, right now." Airi's eye's narrowed in on the selfless and thin giant of a man who looked away from her nervously. The other heroes present showed varying degrees of shock that she was talking to the number one like that.
But what shocked them more was his response.
"Spare me, please. I-I learned my lesson from last time. I will rest and take my medication on time, I promise." He was scared! And nervous! What had happened during this "Last time" they were talking about?!
Midnight was having suggestive thoughts about what could of happened. She knew that Airi was the type to take control, in her domain she was the alpha and master. Her dominatrix senses were tingling.
Eraserhead was actually smirking as the rest were just confused and curious. Being the family friend and all and having worked with her frequently, he knew bits and pieces about what had happened. Both his sadistic and caring sides were very pleased.
All Might gulped down his dry saliva as he avoided eye contact with the fierce yet protective female.
Yes, last time. The attacks were so fast that he had no time to react, and she hit almost every nerve in his limbs causing him to revert to his Small Might form. She found out he'd skipped out on his medication and rest days to do hero work and made sure he couldn't move his arms and legs for the remaining week!
Airi's Quirk, Mind's Eye, was a sensory type quirk which relayed to her the energy in other people as well as her surroundings. It is a confusing and complicated power to use and control, but Airi mastered it fully to the degree that she could pinpoint where nerves and pressure points where in another's body. She could read a person's attack patterns based on how their energy moved. If one was planning to use a feint, she'd know about it immediately.
In someone who had a lot of energy coursing through them, All Might being the prime example, these points were very easy to see. To her he was like a walking, talking, massive target dummy. What she does, and how she trained her special martial art, was to hit these points with precision and speed. Strength didn't matter as long as the points were hit, and she hit them each and every time, but that didn't mean that she wasn't strong.
Yagi found this out this out on that day.
Each point reacted differently to being hit, and it took years of careful practice and experience for her to learn and understand what they all did. She studied from medical books, experienced first hand, and trained relentlessly until she knew what each point did. She trained until it became muscle memory for her to know where each point was.
Some caused extreme pain. Some caused paralysis. Some caused numbness. Some messed with the five senses and made them useless. Some rendered people unconscious.
Some even killed.
Yagi did not take into account how powerful this little woman actually was. It was easy to misjudge her because of her fair features and small frame. He didn't realize how much she'd trained and how much more experienced she was despite being younger than him.
He wasn't all that worried when she found out, and thought that she'd just tell him to take better care of himself like the others did, or at the extreme, hit him over the top of his head with a syringe shaped cane.
It was at that moment that he knew he'd made a very, very big mistake.
By angering this powerful female warrior before him, All Might learned very quickly that even as the number one, it was still possible to lose a fight. The moment she found out he wasn't taking his pills and resting properly, he lost. It was a miserable, pathetic, and one-sided loss. His credibility as the number one would have been completely tarnished had anyone seen his embarrassing defeat.
Imagine All Might poofing into Small Might and landing face first in the dirt with his hind-side in the air, and then having him being picked up and carried like he was an empty potato sack. It was not pleasant tossed over the smaller woman's shoulder and given to Naomasa, who was on his vacation at the time, to watch. Naomasa also gave him a lengthy scolding, and when he met up with Recovery Girl he got his well deserved syringe shaped cane to the head. Many times.
That old lady had one heck of a right arm.
Airi was probably the only person who could say she could defeat the current All Might in the span of about 5 seconds if given the opportunity. Never had he ever felt so weak and helpless. This little woman was probably the only one that could do that to him. He will never forget the menacing and sickeningly sweet smile she had on her face that day.
Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. Gran Torino levels of terrifying.
Never again did he skip out on rest days and he even set and alarm for when he takes his medication.
She had that same smile on her face right now. "That's very good to hear, Small Might."
All Might shivered, sitting down to settle his knocking knees. 'She's still terrifying even if she had good intentions!' "Ehem. L-let's get started with the meeting. I'm sure you're very busy with this case Naomasa was speaking of, right?" He composed himself again, shoving the embarrassing memory of being a potato sack walking through town out of his mind.
"Yeah. It ain't pleasant. Let's get started." She said, her demeanor returning to the serious one she was known to have when she was on a job.
Most of the heroes present had worked with her at some point in time, and those that hadn't knew her from rumors. Aside from the heroes who had worked with her, no one else knew much about her. Information on her as well as her team were kept tightly under wraps. To anyone else, she was just a police officer who had lots of connections and a fantastic record.
But she was a lot more than that.
The Special Combat Forces. These forces are comprised of highly trained military operatives that take care of and have the back of heroes and police. One could even say they are a secret organization that takes care of things behind the scenes. They are more tightly nit than the police force, and have much more freedom than the heroes. They were the last line of defense when heroes weren't enough. They were the support when everything seemed hopeless and out of control.
Special, they work with both police and heroes on cases that are large. They are hidden in plain sight, and do not reveal themselves to the outside world except for the people they work with. Their quirks vary completely, as it doesn't matter what powers they have as long as they have the skill to use it. Their body is enough power for them to have, which is what makes them different from Heroes who are based on flashiness and attack prowess.
Combat, there are different forms of this term when it comes to the SCF. These people are trained to the point that even their hands could be considered a weapon. One would think such a thing was an exaggeration. Yeah, no. Long distance combat, close quarters, aerial, underwater, darkness, and even extreme peril; they are trained to be able to function on all fronts efficiently. There was a reason Airi's training was call Hell's Regiment.
She was not lying when she said she watered it down for her nephew. There was no need for him to go through that type of hell. All he needed to know was how to defend himself, and how to defend another person if need be, as well as how to think on his feet. Her training would be his base, and he would build on it on his own from there and ask her for opinions if he wanted.
Yuuma was to be a hero, not a soldier, not a weapon.
Forces, her group was the last line of defense in perilous situations. They are everywhere, hidden in plain sight, waiting for a single command to mobilize. This was the reason they were thought of as more of a organization than anything. They were simply that efficient. And they were numerous. Not as numerous as one might think, but still not a number to scoff at. Where they trained these promising men and women was unknown except to certain officials, and where they stationed all of them is also classified.
There were only a few that were more well known. It was the spearhead of the SCF, the elite members of the force.
Airi was the Lieutenant Commander of this fearsome group. If this was so, then who was the commander? No one. Odd right? For ten years, that spot had been empty. Simply a place holder. If this was the case, then why isn't, no, why hasn't Airi taken the position even though she is basically leading them? It was because the previous commander was Airi's late husband, and to take his spot was something both sentimental and heavy.
It was something she was not ready for, so she did not take on the title even though she was over qualified for the position. And the reason no one else has tried for that spot? It's because they already view it as taken. Her entire team, their entire force, views Airi as their commander. She has every right, every qualification, and each and every one of their respect.
All they are waiting on is for when she was ready to acknowledge what was already hers.
But this was not what she was here to discuss.
"We believe that villains have begun to gather in one place. People have been disappearing, and the ones that have been found are all dead. At first, the cases were thought to be separate, but recent evidence says otherwise." She began her briefing. She spoke without emotion, even though everyone in the room was grim about the recent event she was relaying to them.
The bodies that were found seemed to have died in complete agony, but no wounds or foreign substances were found on or in their bodies. It looked as if they hadn't even fought whoever attacked them, there were no defensive wound depicting a struggle. In the beginning, they thought that the missing persons cases and the murder cases were done by two separate criminals, and one of these criminals was copying an old crime file.
It was a crime file that was deeply connected with the Kageyama family, one of the biggest, and most tragic cases their family had ever been involved in. Airi did not mention this, however, as she was not certain.
She thought that maybe this was a copycat of an ancient case, but... the M.O. of the deaths... She pushed those thoughts aside and continued with her briefing. The two separate cases.
What linked them was the account from an unlikely source.
"The man was a small time thug. He worked simple jobs for a local gang in the area. He said that a strange group of men approached him with an offer to take down the number one." All Might's scowl deepened. It wasn't the first time Villains had tried to band together to attempt to take him down. "And that they had a sure fire way of doing so."
This left the room of heroes intrigued. Even though All Might was weaker than during his prime, he didn't still hold the title of Number One Hero for nothing. What could they have they gave them such confidence?
Their curiosity about the subject was put on the back burning as the lieutenant continued to report the eye-witness's account. The horror on their faces growing with each word that left her lips from that point forward.
"He was a thug, but he wasn't stupid enough to go after heroes. When he refused, they didn't bother him anymore and went about their business. He thought it was going to be just another weird encounter to which he'd had numerous others. The man hadn't committed any crimes despite saying he was a thug, so he was released not long after giving the report."
"Why would a supposed thug report something like that?" Vlad King asked.
"Yeah, it's strange. You'd think the last place he'd want to be seen is with the police." Powerloader added.
"The man must have been fearful, scared enough by the men who approached him to report it in hopes of getting some form of protection." Nezu accessed, earning a nod from Airi.
"Poor bastard was scared shitless. He said that one of the men told him he'd made the wrong decision, but sounded so happy about it that it sent shivers down his spine. He didn't know how refusing an obvious beatdown and prison sentence was wrong, and knew that his group wouldn't try to protect him with something as iffy as a gut feeling."
"But your team listens to your gut feelings and its even been debated whether or not its a second quirk of yours?" All Might chimed in.
Airi gave him a deadpan look. "Is he me?"
"N-no. He is not." He looked embarrassed, causing the woman to smirk.
"Exactly, Small Might." Airi continued on. "His info gave me my own gut feeling, and with Noamasa there it was confirmed he wasn't lying. But of course, someone just looking at you wrong isn't enough for the police to get involved. So, I had one of my people tail him. It was a week later I got the evidence I was looking for."
God, she missed her sister right now. With the loss of Dual Omniscience, the detective world would never be the same. No one had their level of skill, it was a peak that no one could hope to reach in this lifetime. If they were here, she could of gathered this piece of information without as many casualties. The sad truth, as hard as she works to gather the intel and take out villains, she is a fighter, not a detective. Her skill level may be high, but it will never be on the level of her late sister and brother-in-law.
Just as All Might is number one hero, Dual Omniscience were the number one's in the detective world. Nothing got pass them when they were on a case, they were the envy of the police as well as their idols. As they weren't flashy or out there, this fact about them wasn't as well known to people who didn't pay attention to the police side of society.
It truly was a great loss when they died. Airi could only sigh and continue on, she had to work with what she had left. Feeling sadness could wait until she was alone. There is a time and place to let feelings take over.
Airi continued on with what one of her agents found. The man seemed to fall off the map completely, and it had nothing to do with any of the gangs he was related to or just him hiding. It was a few days later that his family reported him missing. And it wasn't long after that when Airi heard grim news.
"The man turned up dead, same M.O. as the others. I think the culprit is working with this forming group of villains, and if he isn't a part of the group, he is working closely with them on whatever it is they are doing with the victims before they kill them."
Airi didn't mention one detail to the heroes present, waiting to speak with All Might when he was alone and ready. The victims... every last one of them... had their quirk forcibly removed from their body. It was removed completely even down to the cells, and she knew of only one person capable of such a feat.
The one that killed his master, the one that killed her husband, that man.
"I don't know what they're planning yet, but I feel that the reason for the missing people and whatever they got up their sleeves to try and one-up you," She pointed at Small Might who sat grimly at the other end of the conference table, "are related somehow. Keep your eyes and ears open, double your security, and keep watch on your kids." She stated to all of them.
"This is as much as I have at the moment, with that, my briefing is over. If you guys find anything while you're on patrol, inform either me or Naomasa." She got up to leave, more than likely going back to her office at home to look through more of her own files on the case. "This case is under heavy wraps, so everything said in this room is confidential as I'm sure you all know. With that, I'll take my leave."
-End of Flashback (sorry, I know it was long)-
Pushing his worry about this newest case aside, he watched as the battle trial began. He knew that Young Midoriya needed to overcome this in order to move forward, he needed to face Young Bakugou. So, he ignored his bad feeling against his better judgement. He knew it probably wasn't the best idea to just leave the pairings as they were when he saw the animosity between the two teens, but it was going to happen sooner or later, right? Might as well get it over with sooner.
And then there was Young Kageyama... he seemed to be friends with both of them, but it seems that something is wrong...?
'Yuuma's emotions are deeply connected to his quirk, because of this he keeps his emotions in check in any and all situations. But, there are times when that careful control slips, and he loses control over the limits of his quirk he set up. It takes a lot to get him to this point however, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. But in the case that it does... just evacuate everyone in the immediate vicinity.'
Airi informed them about it casually as if that wasn't something ominous she said. He didn't seem to be losing control... so All Might just let it be.
He wouldn't be able to feel the extreme pressure in that room through the monitor, so he didn't realize how wrong he was.
It didn't take long for the hero team to encounter their first villain, who seemed to be a be out for a certain greenette's blood. Everyone took a breath in anticipation.
-With Katsuki-
Katsuki Bakugou prided himself on being the strongest, on being the best. He was strong enough to get things done on his own. He didn't want help, he didn't need help. He thought that being feared was being respected and that it was only right to be praised for being the best. That was what 5 year old Katsuki thought.
But there was something that a certain Deku had that Katsuki just did not. And that something was a obnoxiously selfless and kind heart. He hated admitting that but he wasn't going to lie to himself. This alone, however, was not enough for him to be angry at Deku to the extent that he was.
Katsuki had thought that Deku was a weak hero wannabe without a quirk. He didn't start training until recently, and for the longest time he believed Deku thought a quirk would magically come to him through one of those notebooks of his. Katsuki watched Deku, he knew Deku, and because he knew Deku he didn't want him to be a hero.
He'd end up getting himself killed or someone else killed trying to save him.
What kind of hero can't fight, No, doesn't fight back? What kind of hero does nothing but take notes? Katsuki didn't know of any, and he knew that Deku did not have what it took to be a hero. It was one thing to want it, and it was another to chase after with everything you have.
Katsuki was always training. He always thought of different ways to use his quirk. He never wants to admit it, but he even studies to make sure he had good grades in school. Katsuki worked hard on everything, trained every part of himself. But Deku? No, he didn't.
This is what first made him angry. He did nothing but talk about being a hero. Katsuki did not want him to chase after his dream like that and just end up dead, so he did the one thing someone like him with an ego and pride the size of the moon could think of: He bullied him. He tormented him. And every time, he told him to give up on being a hero.
He left the part of him being worried out. He left the part of him not wanting him to die out. He left the part of him feeling guilty out. If he was going to talk his dream down, then there was no need for him to be nice about it. Being nice about something wasn't Katsuki's way of doing things. He was crass and rude and explosive in a literal sense, this was how he did things. He did them forcefully and with lots of attitude.
Deku was way too kind and smart to waste his time trying to do something impossible.
He got angrier and angrier the more he refused to just give up and go after something that fit him more. At this point their friendship didn't seem to exist anymore. He didn't allow himself to feel bad about that. Him not being friends with Deku anymore was better than Deku being dead. He convinced himself that he couldn't stand the green haired boy. He convinced himself that Deku was just an annoying pebble on the road that he needed to kick aside.
Yes, this was better. He kept telling himself that it was better this way. Tormenting the greenette ended up becoming a habit by then.
And it was at that time he met Yuuma for the first time. The kid still had baby fat on his cheeks and that same bowl-cut. He was quiet and shy and kind and loved to help others with their classwork. He was kind to the point it was unbearable. He was three years younger than them, and he hadn't gotten his quirk yet. One would think he was Deku 2.0, right? Wrong.
What made him different from Deku?
That's simple.
He was practical. He didn't spout nonsense, and he was honest with himself as well as other people. At first, Katsuki didn't pay any attention to this child, that was, until he said something when he was getting his regular dose of praise.
"How does getting an A on a test have anything to do with being a great hero?"
"Well, of course future heroes would be great in school."
"Well, Midoriya's score was higher, I don't see you saying the same thing to him. Are you lying?"
"But he's—"
"Deku?" This is where Katsuki cut in to the conversation. "He's a quirkless loser, no way he's going to be a hero."
"What does not having a quirk have to do with being a hero?" This caught the attention of everyone in the room, including the greenette boy who was paying attention to the conversation and not saying anything.
"Only those with the best quirks get to be heroes!" Katsuki said, earning a few nods from the other students. Said greenette looked down, almost ashamed with himself. Yuuma, however, was not impressed by this thought process in the slightest.
"...That ridiculous." Yuuma deadpanned in all of his five year glory. The other students were about to tell him how wrong he was when he continued, cutting them off before they even got started. "Are you saying that to be a doctor you have to have a healing quirk? Or that to be a teacher you have to have a quirk that makes you smart? To be a swimmer do you have to have fins?" Yuuma hit them with a barrage of questions, waiting patiently for them to answer the curious boy's questions.
It threw them for a loop. Usually, Yuuma was quiet. He didn't really interact with the others because he was very shy, but right now they weren't seeing any other that. He was looking directly at them, an air of maturity in his eyes that made it seem like he was much older than them even though it was obvious he wasn't.
"...No?" Eight year old Katsuki was caught off guard because what the baby was saying made a ton of sense that he wasn't sure how to handle. Should he get mad that his way of thinking was being violently shaken like this? Or should he take in this new information for the future. Before he could finish thinking his thoughts, Yuuma continued.
"Does a police officer need a quirk to do their job? Or do they need guns for hands or to magically make handcuffs?"
"They don't... but it could help?" Another child answered.
"Yes, it could help a lot, but it isn't needed to be a police officer, right? So why is it that only those with quirks can be heroes when their situation is the same as every other job? Sure, villains use quirks and having a combat-based quirk is extremely helpful, but to say that only someone with a quirk can be a hero is irrational. Their are heroes who have quirks that don't help them fight at all, that didn't stop them from being a hero."
"That... actually makes sense...but wai—No, even then it still makes sense..." The older children were baffled because they didn't have a retort to Yuuma's logic.
What had just happened?
Did they get lectured on the truths of the world by a five year old?
Yes, yes they did.
Reality. Checked.
Katsuki got angry. This kid seemed like someone who was just saying anything to make it seem like just anybody could be a hero. He was about to explode with childish rage when the bowl-cut chibi continued once again, leaving him without a valid reason (his reason before wasn't valid either thought) to get mad.
"I'm not saying that just anyone can be a hero either. That's just as irrational. You have to work hard and try your best, but don't waste effort in something you just aren't good at. That will just hurt you and that isn't something I want for anybody. I'd rather everyone be happy. Being happy is the best."
'...He's precious?' The class thought in a daze, getting hit with random sparkles as the kid before seemed to radiate sunshine and innocence. They couldn't really be mad with a five year old for telling them what they were thinking was "irrational" as he put it. Why? He was being really, really nice about it. Yuuma wanted everyone to be happy, but he gave out his opinion on the matter in a mature way. He wasn't yelling his thoughts to them as a normal five year old would, and he was explaining his thoughts in a way everyone could easily understand where he was coming from.
It was this maturity and intelligence that got him into their third grade class even though he was barely five years of age.
And that was his first interaction with Yuuma Kageyama. He thought over and over about what the kid had said. He began to think that maybe, just maybe, he was wrong about Deku and that he should stop trying to get him to quit trying. It made him think about what it was that he was doing, it made him more conscious of the fact that he wasn't acting much like a hero at the moment.
Katsuki knew that he was crass and rude and explosive. He wasn't going to change that for anybody. He was awesome and he was going to stay awesome. But the questions and the doubt wouldn't stop messing with him, and somehow, someway, he found himself hanging around the kid more and more as time went by. He found himself curious about this kid.
What did he think about him if he thought differently from everyone else?
What did he think of heroes?
Did he want to be friends?
Was he going to challenge him in the future?
Katsuki wanted, no, he needed to know. So one day, being Katsuki, he just up and asked him outright. There was no need to beat around the bush. Yuuma's response was just as unexpected as he'd thought it would be.
Because he didn't give Katsuki any praise whatsoever.
"Bullying is a big no-no, Bakugou-san. Not sure why the teachers haven't told you that."
Stab! Katsuki winced at the bluntness but knew he deserved it.
"Why would I want to get in your way to being a hero? That's none of my business, plus I'd rather read."
Stab! Stab! Katsuki felt like he asked something stupid and wanted to get upset because of his embarrassment.
"I'm five. I don't know a lot of heroes. You like heroes, do you know a lot about heroes?"
And this is where their conversations started. Whenever they were alone with just them, Katsuki would tell him about heroes he liked. This branched off into many other things, and before he even realized it he sought out the younger boy's company even during class. It became natural to him, Katsuki could feel relaxed around him for some reason. It was strange, but he didn't care.
Yuuma was different. Katsuki could confidently, to himself, say that aside from Deku who he wasn't sure about anymore, Yuuma was definitely one of his friends. He was always honest, never holding back his thoughts, he told him when he was wrong even when he saw the explosions flaring in his palms. Yuuma wasn't scared like the rest of them were.
It was that honesty with himself and with others that drew Katsuki to the boy.
But Yuuma was also friends with Deku, who he hit it off with around the same time. Because he was friends with Deku and Katuski, the two of them ended up having to spend time around each other to be with Yuuma. He didn't want to involve the kid in his problems, and Yuuma knew that him and Deku did not get along at all. He always tried to mediate between them, and to make it so the brat didn't worry about him being able to make more friends he stopped his antics when he was around.
Yuuma, being the wonderful and caring friend that he is, wanted Katsuki to make more friends he could play with that didn't just follow him around and were bad influences. Yes, the kid thought Katsuki's lackeys were bad influences and thought that friends that encouraged bullying weren't friends but snakes.
Yes, the child said that to their faces.
Yes, the child hurt their feelings.
No, the child did not apologize or feel bad about it.
And Yes, Katsuki laughed his head off. But this was besides the point. Katsuki was someone who liked to take care of his own problems. He could get stuff done by himself, without help. Asking for help or admitting he wanted something made him feel inferior. He didn't like it.
Yuuma didn't need to know about his worries or anger or doubts. He didn't need to know, Katsuki didn't want him to know. If he knew he'd try to help him, and Katsuki was suppose to be the older of the two. As the older, he was suppose to handle his own problems by himself. He'd keep Yuuma out of it, keep him happy. He liked Yuuma better when he was happy.
He'd never say that out loud anywhere. That it made him happy to see the younger happy. It made him happy because of the fact that Katsuki knew that Yuuma wasn't lying about his feelings or sucking up to him when he smiled at him, when he laughed with him, when they talked about random stuff. Yuuma was always genuine, honest to a damn fault.
He wasn't going to ruin that with his problems. His problems needed to stay away from Yuuma.
Then that horrible incident happened. One that killed a lot of people, and Yuuma left without a word. It was so unlike him to just disappear without saying anything. Katsuki almost thought Yuuma was among the victims, but the teacher confirmed that he moved away. He connected the dots that it had something to do with the incident. What had happened he still till this day didn't know for sure.
But with Yuuma leaving, he was left alone with the nerd until their last year in middle school. By then, he stopped his antics towards the greenette. He thought more about what Yuuma had said all those years ago. He didn't want to waste Yuuma friendship by continuing to be a jerk. Katsuki wanted to prove to Yuuma that he was worth being friends with.
Maybe he was wrong to doubt Deku because he didn't have a quirk?
Maybe he didn't need to worry about anything and just let him be?
Just because he was quirkless didn't mean he couldn't be a hero... Just because he was quirkless didn't mean they could be rivals... just because he was quirkless didn't mean... that they couldn't be friends.
The thought was in the back of his mind, and when Yuuma came back it got stronger.
Maybe. Just maybe. He could try this. Maybe, just maybe he could fix his fuck up.
And the moment he thought he might just act on that thought, he finds out that all along, Deku had a damn quirk. A quirk so strong it made his look like a joke. All of those years of him saying that he shouldn't be a hero, all of those years wanting the greenette to stop because he was weak and would just hurt himself.
All along he was right to think the greenette was mocking him.
All along he was right to think the nerd was looking down on him.
All along, all along, everything was a lie.
It made him want to vomit. It made him angry. It made him jealous, and that infuriated him. Everything had been a damn lie, he felt cheated. Katsuki's mind was in chaos as he turned another and entered yet another hallway.
"They're around the corner from where you are. Please be careful." Yuuma said over the comm in his ear. He ignored the fact that Yuuma sounded worried and upset. He ignored that fact that he'd completely left his partner without a proper plan. He was much too pissed to care about something like that. He couldn't care, his mind was only running on a single track.
He jumped out in front of them, surprising them both as he charged up and dished out an explosion, aiming it directly at the cause of his current internal problems. All of his rage was aimed like a dagger at the green clad hero wannabe before him, he completely ignored the round faced nobody beside him.
Everything was red, his mind was focused on only one thing.
"Come Deku, don't dodge."
-Meanwhile, at a certain abandoned building-
Grim had grown yet again, taking the form of a young adolescent... something. His grotesque mouth was twisted into a sinister and manic grin as screams from his latest victims rang in his phantom ears. He was testing his recently acquired abilities on them. He was relieving stress from something that he'd just discovered the only way he knew how, with murder, torture, and torment.
"I have to thank you, Shiggy, your Quirk really is wonderful." He said in a normal way, his deceivingly childish voice sending a chill down the decay user's spine. They were in a basement of the bar, Kurogiri up top tending to it as he usually did.
Normally the two were always together, but Grim always said that he wanted to eat Kurogiri, and the fact that he even had scarce thoughts of doing so made it so that Shigaraki made the conscious decision to keep them as far from each other as much as possible until Grim... didn't want to devour the soul of his warp gate.
The only reason he hadn't yet, and he quotes, "I like you more than I want to kill you. So you're good, I think. That could change though. You never know."
Yeah, no. Shigaraki still needs his warp gate.
Usually, Shigaraki would not care about other people dying. The only thing he cared for was winning the game. With his sensei and their boss-monster, Nomu, his escape route, Kurogiri, and his legion of throw-away pawns, he was was sure he would be winning this game he was planning.
But the factor of Grim. the glitch, the anomaly, the cheat, came into existence.
Recently, he had 'ate' a piece of his and Kurogiri's 'soul'. As he'd told them, it didn't hurt that much. It was like getting a shot at the doctor's: a pinch and then it was gone. But what happened after was not fun. Again, just as he said, they did not have good control over their body and quirk. Kurogiri kept warping to random places, unable to return to his normal state for the rest of the day, and Shigaraki? When he tried to go left, he went right, he couldn't control the strength of his decay and almost took out one of their many hideouts, and he ended up dusting his favorite console.
Yes, Shigaraki Tomura was royally pissed.
But the fact that the demon ghost told them the truth, in great detail mind you, made it very hard for him to remain as upset as he wanted to be. He was a player on their team. Making a player on his team stronger was a good thing, that meant his chances of winning went up. Shigaraki loved to win.
Plus Grim killed some dude and stole his console to replace the one that got ruined so he really couldn't stay as mad as he wanted to be. And just slightly, a tiny bit, just an infantile amount, he began to tolerate the little demon ghost more.
But there was also the fact that Sensei couldn't stop Grim even if he wanted to. There was no way to make sure that Grim was on their team. No way to make sure that he stayed on their side. They had nothing that could hold him, no weapon that could hurt him, and honestly nothing that he wanted that he couldn't just get himself.
Grim was a cheat code. He had a cheat as an ally. This made him very happy. But he had no way to control this cheat. This did not make him happy. But he was an ally nonetheless, which he would not argue with.
Like now. Some villains that didn't want to join their game became like lambs in front of the wolf for Grim. He quite easily managed to knock them out and take them with him to their shared hideout and lab. And now, they were here, him watching in disgusted curiosity as he tested his version on decay on them.
He'd already tried it on objects, and found that it was close to useless on them. His body, more like lack there of, wasn't meant to interact with the living world or anything in it. Thus, his decay did not work well on objects. But with people it was different. His original power, Reap, was something that is able to touch anything with a living soul, and when mixed with the power of decay, it created a type of poisoning effect on the living body.
It was not strong enough to crumble someone to dust like Shigaraki's in a short amount of time, but it does something else that the original owner could not. Grim's original touch was something that caused damage on a spiritual level. As close to human as he might look, they all knew that he wasn't. His touch was like poison, his very energy messed with peoples' minds as if they were drugged and forced into a nightmare.
This fact was not able to appear physically though... until now. Now, Shigaraki was able to see that same effect on someone else's body.
From his touch, black veins crawled and ripped through the victim's body. That person's very cells were being purged as Grim's essence spread through them. If that wasn't enough, the body could not handle the foreign entity taking hold in itself, their internal network became a mess and a river of blood erupted form their mouth every time they tried to breath or run after such a long period of exposure. Shigaraki could see every pore in the npc's body bleeding as they tried and failed to escape from the cause of their suffering.
A small, laughing dark mass of ill intent wrongly shaped to look like the silhouette of a child with a smiling maw filled to the brim with sharp, monstrous teeth. Teeth, which he had already used to kill the other victims in the room just to change things up a bit.
They ran and ran, fought and fought more, cried for help and screamed for mercy. The only response they got a child's laughter. It was something that was suppose to be innocent, something that would normally warm the hearts of those around. But this... this belonged to a monster wearing child-sized clothes. Clothes that were covering in blood as if it was washed in it. Its eyes were white ports devoid of pupils, milky and eerie as it looked upon them with sadistic glee.
Another pleaded for mercy, only to be mercilessly massacred like the rest. Viciously, with no regard for anything. A predator killing prey. A beast. A demon. And during the entirety of the process, Grim was smiling as if he found it to be funny. No, he did find it funny. Prey thinking it can escape, thinking that there is even a shred of hope, looking for someone to save them...
He found it all to be very funny.
"They never seem to understand. The only option is to die. That is the only thing I allow of you." Grim smiled even wider, his victim letting out their last bloodcurdling scream before he finally 'devoured' them. Whatever it was that he just 'ate', Shigaraki could not see, but he could see the body fall helplessly to the ground, their face contorted as if it was the most painful experience they'd ever known.
If there was a physical representation of what it felt like to have one's soul devoured by Grim, Shigaraki was sure that this was it. Only this victim showed the physical evidence of their pain, but he was sure that if they did, this was what they would look like.
A bloody, tortured, brutally contorted mess.
And because his decay was still active as he was still touching the body, it became nothing but dust that blew away at the slightest wind. Not a drop of blood was left at the scene of the crime as if what he'd just witnessed happen was a lie.
The only evidence left being the trail of blood left when the victim was trying to escape.
"Your power really is fun, Shiggy. Thank you again."
"...Whatever. How come you didn't do that to your other meals?" Shigaraki asked, having a tinge of respect for the older, yet younger appearing creature after the ordeal with Sensei. As well as a healthy dose of fear which was smart of him to have.
"I wanted them to be found. I wanted her to find them."
"Her?"
"An interesting child. A very, very interesting child." Grim's smiled as he returned to using his demonic voice. It was something Shigaraki would see in his nightmares that night. It was a mix between glee, rage, and a primal insanity which, for a brief and fleeting moment, was displaying on his distorted and absent phantom of a face. His body was still dripping with fresh crimson which made the scene even more traumatizing.
The room became colder than it already was until Shigaraki could see his breath. The pressure around them became heavy and uncomfortable, Grim's energy rippling off of him and into the secluded room at the base of the abandoned building.
Grim had found a clue to what he was looking for. He'd found one of that blasted esper's descendants.
"Yes, very interesting indeed."
[A/N] I AM BACK! HOW WAS YOUR HOLIDAY?
Sorry for the long wait! But updates should be up like normal now, every Monday and/or Tuesday. Also, a little news from me. My facebook connected account, Jenna is Writing 3, has been disabled because of a mishap that is happening with my facebook account. I can not access it at all anymore until I find a way to fix it... It's a good thing I had this account as an author of this book or I would have lost everything!
...How terrifying.
I did lose access to my polls though... so I'm going to be making another "The Little Esper Hero Poll" for this account! As soon as I have some new questions to add to it, I'll put the link in a "NOT AN UPDATE" chapter.
Also, this chapter was me trying to flesh out my characters more. Airi, Grim, and Katsuki. Did I do well? I'm not sure... but I tried!
Since this chapter was late, I wanted to post it a little earlier than I would normally. The next chapter, hopefully, will be on time, which is either next Monday or Tuesday. See you next chapter!