Bakugou Katsuki has always been angry.
Always, always, to the very core of him, angry.
Blinking the spots from his eyes as his body twitches with aftershocks of pain, the memories of Uchiha Sasuke running through his head, he can't help but think, "Ah, that makes sense."
He'd started to wonder. To worry. He'd see people look to his mother, loud and aggressive and cussing up a storm, and they'd nod like it made sense but he'd always known that they were wrong. Because yeah, his mom was all of those things and more but she wasn't angry like he was. She wasn't so full of rage that it left her shaking and almost incoherent like he was.
She didn't look around her and wish to hurt like he did.
She didn't wonder to herself, "is this how villains are made?" like he did.
And now it made sense. It made so much sense.
Because Uchiha Sasuke, more than anything else, had always, always been angry.
Now he found himself just tired.
He'd died, he remembered that clearly enough. He and the dobe had won but they'd been sloppy and they'd missed it - idiots, they were such idiots! They'd let their guard down at the last moment and just look at where it had gotten them.
Dead, with their ambitions and their dreams left unfulfilled. Naruto would never be Hokage and neither would he. The other Kage would continue to live on and they'd never be forced to face up to what they'd done, what they'd condoned and allowed to happen.
What happened to the Uchiha Clan would never be made known. It would never be made right. Sasuke was dead and gone and would never be able to do anything about it.
Helpless. Again.
He scoffed at himself, forcing his tiny body onto it's hands and knees. Uchiha Sasuke was dead and Bakugou Katsuki was a brat who had more anger than he knew what to do with. What a joke.
There must have been something weird about the dimension they died in for this to happen. Or maybe it was simply because they were in a dimension not their own? Either way, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he wasn't in the Elemental Nations anymore.
He was fairly sure he wasn't invading some kid's body, either. Katsuki's memories were too clear, had too much emotional attachment for them to be anything but his own. He didn't feel like he didn't belong in this body. He felt like himself, just... more.
Reincarnation then? It wasn't too far-fetched. Hadn't the old Sage already said Sasuke was a reincarnation of his son anyway?
But why had it taken so long for his past memories to reveal themselves? Better yet, why had he remembered at all? He didn't think that was normal.
Sasuke - Katsuki now, he'd have to remember that. He may have more memories as Sasuke but Sasuke was dead - Katsuki jolted at a sudden pop of noise, the familiar tingle of electricity racing up his left arm while his right palm grew warm and then hot.
Oh, he found himself thinking as he started down at his open hands. Small, firecracker-like explosions were going off in one while tiny sparks danced along the fingers of the other. This must be my quirk.
For a brief moment, the four-year-old he was meant to be shoved it's way to the forefront of his mind, crowing in viciously smug victory. Of course his quirk would come in early! And it was way better than that stupid nobody in class yesterday that could only change her skin color. His quirk was the quirk of a hero!
And then his eyes caught the crescent moon on the palm of his sparking left hand and his older, more mature mind firmly reinstated itself.
The mark the Sage had given him had followed him? And he knew from his memories of Katsuki that it hadn't been there before. Had his quirk manifesting been the trigger for his memories emerging? But why?
He could only assume that was the reason for the electricity running through the left half of his body. As comfortable as he'd been wielding fire jutsu, as any Uchiha with any pride would be, lightning had always been the element he had the highest affinity with. He wouldn't admit it aloud but the fact that both had followed him into this new life was comforting.
"Brat!" His mother's voice called from downstairs, making him jolt in surprise. "Get down here!"
"In a minute, you old hag!" He called back on instinct before he froze, completely blocking out the screech that answered him.
His mother. Katsuki had a mother. And a father, and both of them were so unlike the parents Sasuke had had a lifetime ago. His mother was loud and brash while his father was quiet and kindhearted. And they both loved him openly, neither afraid or hesitant to show their pride and affection for him, even when out in public.
He hadn't had parents since he was seven. Sage, but how the fuck was he supposed to handle this?
Katsuki took a deep, calming breath and buried his memories of Sasuke down deep, at least for the moment. Sasuke couldn't handle having to face a woman that both was and wasn't his mother. Katsuki, on the other hand, did so on the daily and had no trouble with it.
Was it healthy, acting like there were two separate people living in his mind? Probably not. But Sasuke wasn't exactly a paragon for healthy coping and he didn't really feel like starting now of all times.
So, he let his four-year-old mentality and instincts take over. It was almost like he was seeing double, being in control of his body while also feeling like a passenger just along for the ride. He heard his mother talking to him, informing him that Auntie Inko had called because Izuku had manifested his quirk. He felt smug satisfaction when he showed off his own new quirk, preening at the praise his mom heaped upon him. He felt excitement at the thought of visiting his best friend so that they could talk about becoming heroes for real now that they both had quirks.
And all the while it was like he was looking through a fog, part of his mind in a haze, like none of this was actually happening to him. Like Katsuki was real but Sasuke wasn't, and still they both were crammed together within his mind.
Time went by quickly and he barely seemed to blink before he was being ushered into the car and heading to the Midoriya's apartment. And then they were at the front door and then Katsuki was standing in a bedroom, staring at the green-haired boy that had been his best friend since before he could even remember.
And for the first time in hours, it felt like Sasuke was real again. Because that wasn't Izuku staring back at him with wide eyes. That was...
"Naruto?"
.
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A/N: Short chapter is short but hey at least I actually wrote something.
Am I happy with this? No. Am I ready to move forward? Yes. So, here it is.
Hope y'all like it. Let me know what you think!
