PLEASE NOTE:
This is a SEQUEL to another one of my stories: Little Green Notebook.
Many of the plot points in this is dependent on the previous story, so please read that before this if you would like to understand what the hell is going on here.
Review Time!
TheDekuWhoLaughs: I'm glad you enjoyed it! While I don't really do commissions, I'm sure there are others who have already made stories based around that premise so it's really just a matter of finding one!
Ken-TheReader: Firstly, thank you for the compliment and review! However, I feel like that trope is way too overused and I feel like it would undermine the main aspect behind Bakugou's guilt. Izuku is dead and that is final. There is no afterlife, there is no ghostly existence, and there is no chance to make up with Izuku. Having him as a ghost that watches of Bakugou would directly contradict that.
Amadeus-Amadeus: Now THAT is some high praise there my friend. Just know that this only exists because you gave me the idea so thanks for that man! Also, I kind of forgot about Stain but yeah, he hates All Might.
isabellajz4: As much as I would like to, this story and plotline really doesn't have anywhere else to grow. Bakugou has come to terms with his guilt, he has resolved all existing conflicts with his classmates and close family members, and All Might has been persecuted for his actions. If I tried to make a sequel it would be forcing out something that wasn't true to the themes I tried to emulate throughout these two stories and as a result I think it would lose all of its charm or what made it good (other people's words not mine). But I am glad you enjoyed it enough that you wanted to read more :)
A Notebook's Legacy
Present Mic was lounging in the staff dorms, all of his grading done for the day and his patrol work long done by this point. He was watching a rerun of one of his favorite shows from the pre-quirk era, The Voice, when his phone rang on the other side of the room. A little annoyed that he would have to leave his comfy spot on the couch, he got up, walked over to the phone, and answered the call.
"What's up Aizawa! You wanna watch some TV with me before you go on patrol for once?"
"I am terribly sorry to bother you on your free time Present Mic, but a very… sensitive situation has come up and-" That was not a voice Mic was ever going to expect to come from his phone, and as much as he loved all his students, he really wished Iida would speed things up sometimes. "Yes sir."
Mic still had no idea what was going on or why a student was calling from Aizawa's phone. All he could gather was that something bad has happened, and it was bad enough where Aizawa can't call him himself. That never did good for his anxiety.
"Mic." Mic internally sighed at the sound of his coworkers voice, all of his anxiety melting away, there was no secluded villain attack, no one was hurt… hopefully. "Get Nezu and meet me in the meeting room in five minutes."
"It's serious."
...And his anxiety has just returned.
As Aizawa walked to the meeting room, he tried to get himself situated with the overflow of new information. Bakugou was feeling self-destructive guilt over the death of his childhood friend/victim as well as the fact that All Might had supposedly played a large part in the child's death. All of Bakugou's mannerisms, the nervousness he showed when he got too sweaty, his neutral interactions with most of his classmates, and most of all, the level of protection he placed over the little green notebook he held in his hand. They were mannerisms that should have been approached long before it ever got to this point.
But they never did.
Bakugou's problems had only gotten worse with time, as every situation would only remind him of what his friend could have done. He was constantly comparing himself to his friend, always trying to live up to his own impossible expectations out of guilt, and he was collapsing because of it.
The walk to the meeting room was mostly uneventful. Most students he passed were on their way to their dorms after studying or something students should be doing and they all gave him a wide berth to walk unabated. Maybe it was his tired look or it could have been the look of absolute murder he had on his face. It was probably the murder look.
He thrust the door of the meeting room wide open and was met with a worried Mic and a serious Nezu. Nezu rarely publicly showed any emotion other than bright and chipper, so this meant he was all ears.
Good, Aizawa thought.
"May I ask what the issue is Aizawa, and why it is serious enough to disrupt my planning for the provisional licensing exams?
He threw the now known-to-be bloodstained notebook onto the table and slid it to Nezu. Like most of the other teachers, Nezu had already seen the notebook and was more than curious about its origin and purpose.
"This notebook is covered in blood," That one statement was enough to make Mic pale and make Nezu's fur stand on end, "It used to belong to a middle school student named Izuku Midoriya before it came to be in Bakugou's possession."
"What does that mean Aizawa?! He didn't kill him did he?!" Mic was definitely panicking now, Aizawa sighed, he'll deal with him later.
"No, he didn't, and we need to make sure he understands that. Let me explain from the beginning."
Aizawa, Nezu, and Mic all sat in their chairs and prepared for what would surely be an emotional warzone.
It was going to be a long night.
"I can't believe it…" Mic tapered off.
"This situation must be handled effectively and delicately. The slightest mistake could destroy Bakugou's mental state and send Japan to shambles." Of all the things Nezu had been expecting, a suicide that could upend all of hero society was not a possibility he considered.
Bakugou had tormented his childhood friend for a decade so he would give up on his dreams to become a hero to save others in the hopes that doing so would keep him safe and protected. After the friend's death, he blamed himself and was caving in to the guilt. That already was a very delicate situation to maneuver but that doesn't take into consideration that fact that All Might, the former number one hero and symbol of peace, had shattered a teenager's dream and openly targeted him for discrimination which led to the teen's suicide. And considering his supposed outlook, it was likely he had done so to others as well. How many exactly? Nezu wasn't sure he wanted to know that bit of information.
Aizawa stood from his chair, "We need to plan how to handle this. I've already calmed Bakugou and he is in the care of the class, but there was some clear hatred and tension between the class. And while his existence is critical to the stability of our society, All Might cannot go unpunished. Nezu, can you research everything you can about All Might's interactions with the quirkless?"
Nezu nodded, his laptop already in front of him.
Present Mic ran his hands through his hair, his signature smile and radio persona completely void, "How are we going to fix the relationships between the kids?"
Aizawa looked from Nezu to Mic, "As much as I wish we could, that will depend solely on Bakugou."
The two teachers and principal left not long after, their plans in place. Over in the 1-A dorms, the class had already split to go to sleep for the night, the events of the day weighing over them.
It hadn't even been a week since his secret was revealed, but Bakugou could already tell that the entire class had drastically changed. Most of the class were awkward around him and some outright hated him. The Bakusquad had become fractured with both Kirishima and Kaminari splitting off from the rest. And to top it all off, Bakugou only felt much worse about himself.
He hated this. He hated dealing with emotions because he always made the wrong choice with them. Instead of being rational and telling Izuku his worries, he brutalized him for a decade and practically forced him to commit suicide. If that had happened then, what's to say it won't happen again?
He shook his head, trying to dispel his depressive thoughts, and looked away from his homework and at the state of his room. After the confrontation with the class, he had finally unpacked his room as a way to take his mind off of things, but even with everything unpacked, it looked so… barren. After All Might's meeting with Izuku, he had violently destroyed everything he owned of the smiling hero's merchandise and as a result, had very little to decorate his room with.
This isn't working, I need to focus on something else.
As a convenient segway, Bakugou's stomach growled. Obeying his body, Bakugou stood from his chair and departed for the kitchen. Passing by the common room, he saw a couple of his classmates, and they all noticed him as well. Iida gave a reassuring smile, Sero gave a small smile and waved in a polite gesture, Aoyama paled a little but still gave a wave, and Mineta practically shrieked and ran off. While he didn't care about what Mineta and his perversions thought, the reactions of the others did hit him hard.
He continued to the kitchen, seeing Shinsou drinking coffee and scrolling through something on his phone like usual. Bakugou grabbed his cereal, milk, and some spicy pepper flakes before sitting down and mixing them all together, creating an unholy food that has no right to exist.
Shinsou just gave a small laugh, "Really? Do you have to put spice on everything?"
"I like spicy, all right?" Bakugou mumbled.
"Yeah but do you have to put it in cereal?" Shinsou retorted.
Bakugou said nothing and just continued to eat.
Shinsou looked up from his coffee and phone and took a deep look at Bakugou. His shoulders were down, his hair was a mess, and his mouth was set in a somber frown. Shinsou sighed, he recognized this look, he could see it in own eyes after all.
"You can't blame yourself," Shinsou stated.
Bakugou looked up from his food, "What?"
"I said you can't blame yourself," Shinsou restated.
Like hell he couldn't blame himself. It was his fault that Izuku was gone. His fault that everything has gone to shit. His fault that the class looked at him with fear and uncertainty.
"Really? And why do you say that?"
"Because it's the truth."
Bakugou's frustration showed itself with a small crackle from his palm, "Don't say that when you don't believe it, Shinsou. Everyone else in the class is scared of me. They hate me. And they should hate me."
Shinsou took a long sip of his coffee before looking Bakugou dead in the eye, "I won't say that you haven't lost a lot of trust, because you definitely have. A lot of our classmates will probably be scared of you or think you're a villain, god knows I know all about that, but trust can be earned back."
Bakugou looked away and Shinsou huffed in annoyance. This wasn't working, he needed to take a more direct approach.
"Let me ask you something," Shinsou said suddenly. Bakugou forced himself to look at the purple haired brainwasher. "Who do you think is responsible for your friend's death?"
Unprepared for the sudden and heavy question, Bakugou nearly fell from his seat in shock. He took a couple of calming breaths before answering, "Who else could it be but me? I beat him for ten years. I forced him into isolation from everyone else. I ostracized him and stomped on his dreams. I killed him."
"You're like me, then," Shinsou said while Bakugou just gaped at his classmate, "You blame yourself for something out of your control. Could you have known All Might would show up and save your friend?"
"No."
"Could you have known he would tear down your friend with his words."
"No!"
"Could you have known he would commit suicide on that day?"
"No goddammit!"
"Then how is it your fault?"
Bakugou stopped to think about what Shinsou was truly saying. He couldn't have known All Might, the number one hero, would treat someone so mercilessly, but he still tortured his friend for a decade.
Bakugou began, "...But I-"
"-I'm not saying your not partially to blame. You hurt your friend for a long time, and that is something you will have to come to terms with. But you are not solely responsible for his death, not by a longshot."
Shinsou chugged the rest of his coffee before abruptly standing up, putting his cup in the sink, and walking towards the common room. As he reached the doorway, he turned around, and gave a small smile to Bakugou.
"You have a lot of work to do Bakugou, but if you ever need help, I can always lend a hand."
And with that, he exited the room, leaving a stunned blonde and an unwashed cup in the sink.
What an asshole.
The various members of class 1-A were strewn about the dorm, all doing various tasks. Some were playing video games in the common room, others were talking with their friends, and some were studying for their exams next week as they should be. The now infamous blonde walked steadily through the common room, sparing quick glances to his classmates as he walked by. He was dressed in a tracksuit and a tank top underneath for his daily run and workout session. The fact he no longer had a partner to spot him didn't mean he could start to slack off on his training. No matter how awful he felt, he would still do his best to become a hero.
As he walked out the front door, Iida (who had been reading a book in the common room) looked at Bakugou's retreating figure before standing up and clapping loudly for everyone's attention. He had already discussed his idea with Yaoyorozu and she agreed that this matter must be dealt with. With this in mind, Iida took a deep breath and prepared to talk even louder than usual.
"All 1-A students, please come down to the common room for a class meeting! This is mandatory and cannot be skipped! This includes you Shinsou, despite the small amount of time within our class!" Iida shouted in his Iida-esque way. The students already in the common room shook their heads in the hopes of gaining their hearing back.
The rest of class 1-A sans Bakugou seeped into the gathering area that they had used on so many previous occasions for movie nights or fun game nights, but this time, the meeting would have a far more sinister origin. It seemed that most of the class had caught on to what he planned to discuss and were looking all the more uncomfortable because of it. Others, like Mineta, were still blissfully ignorant.
"Why did you call us down here Iida? I was doing something important!" The miniature sized pervert huffed.
Iida took a deep breath and spoke, "Yaoyorozu and I have noticed the tension that is prevalent between the entirety of the class and we have decided that the most effective measure to deal with said tension would be to discuss it openly. As I am sure you have all figured out by now, the topic at hand will be Bakugou and his past misdeeds." With his introduction finished, he motioned for all of the class to get comfortable.
It was going to be a bumpy ride.
With the class all situated, Iida took the liberty of speaking first, "While I'm sure many of you disagree with my stance on the situation, I am willing to overlook our friend's transgressions in favor of his many acts of heroism. He has on multiple occasions saved the lives of-"
"He hasn't saved anything," Shoji cut in. The class stared in shock as one of the quietest members of the class rose to challenge Iida's motion to forgive Bakugou, "I don't know what you are seeing, but I can see it plain as day Iida. Bakugou is not my friend nor should he be a friend to any of us. He killed someone. Bullied them for a decade, and from what I heard of Shinsou and Bakugou's conversation, he beat them senseless every day. He publicly humiliated him. He used his quirk on him Iida!" The enraged giant spat out.
Iida tried to recollect himself, "Y-yes but it was surely done for a good-"
"Good what, Iida?" Shoji stomped closer to Iida, causing him to sink further into his armchair, "A good deed? A heroic deed?! You've been on the receiving end of those explosions! We all have! They do damage Iida! If he wasn't so skilled at controlling them, I would have lost so many of my limbs! If anything, I'm willing to bet on my life that Bakugou used his quirk on his friend as practice," Shoji took a final step forward and leaned in, putting his face incredibly close to Iida's own, "So look me in the eyes and tell me that Bakugou exploding his 'friend' daily was done for a good cause." Shoji left Iida's personal space and sat back down in his seat.
Iida couldn't respond, how could he? It was clear as day even if Bakugou's motivations were pure at heart and only in the best interest for his friend, the execution of those intentions were almost exactly that. An execution.
"Y-yeah! That's all Bakugou is! He's a murderer!" The grape filled midget spoke, "He'll kill again and next time it could be one of us!"
Sero immediately sprang into the conversation, "Hold up! I don't agree with what Bakugou did, and I'm sure you all agree with me on that," numerous heads bobbed up and down, "But going so far as to say he'll kill one of us? That's absolutely insane Mineta!" It was widely known throughout the class that the grape headed pervert was a coward and was very quick to wild conclusions made from easy to attain fear. It was what lead to many of his wilder claims after all. Even so, as Sero looked around the room, the expressions of a couple of his classmates weren't the most reassuring.
Iida, Todoroki, Shinsou, Mina, and oddly enough Jirou give stern faces of clear disapproval towards the smallest member of the class. It was clear that they all supported Bakugou no matter what and would do whatever it takes to help him through his past. Hagakure, Uraraka, Tokoyami, Ojiro, Sato, and Koda all showed similar faces as the last group, but not as deadset in their resolve. While they would support Bakugou, it was obvious that they didn't enjoy thinking about what their classmate had done nor would they do whatever they could to help him. Tsu, Aoyama, Yaoyorozu, and surprisingly Kirishima all showed hesitation on their expressions. They all had their doubts about Bakugou but would be willing to overlook it within time.
However, Shoji, Mineta, and Kaminari all displayed hatred or clear cut fear. If anyone would oppose the forgiveness of Bakugou, it would be these three. And while after their outbursts, it wasn't a surprise to see Shoji and Mineta completely despising Bakugou, Kaminari was a shocking sight to see for many. He was shaking slightly and his face was pale. He was sweating at the mere mention of the other blonde's name and he reciprocated this behavior around the blonde as well. Whenever he was paired with him in group exercises, he would attempt to complete the task alone, and would shake in fear when he was forced to work with him. While it was no real surprise to see he was scared of Bakugou, it still hurt to see.
While Sero had expected a bit more support from some, it was still nice to see so many of the class supportive of Bakugou's attempts to redeem himself.
Tsu stood up, intent to make her own opinion heard, "I don't condone what Bakugou did, and I don't think I ever will. It also doesn't help that he has anger issues that need to be worked through. But, before I make any final decisions on how I will treat the situation, I want to know what Shinsou and Bakugou had talked about."
All eyes suddenly shifted over to the now nervous brainwasher, "Oh uhhhh," Shinsou had never had good experiences when there were this many eyes on him, "He came into the kitchen and he was really out of it. I'm talking like seriously out of it. He had this glazed look in his eyes and I could see so much regret and self hatred in them, so I talked to him." At the insisting eyes of his classmates, he continues, "I told him that he shouldn't blame himself, uhhh, at least not entirely, because when you get down to it, the final hit to his friend was All Might, if what he said was true."
The class looked down in thought again. If Bakugou was to be believed, then the number one hero had deliberately berated a quirkless teen for existing. They had known pro-heros could be absolute scum since Endeavor treated his son so horrifyingly (after the sports festival, Bakugou decided it would be best for the rest of the class to know of Shoto's abuse so they could help him heal) but for All Might to be grouped together with people like Endeavor was startling. In the end, it was whether they believed Bakugou or not.
Kirishima rubbed his eyes and sighed, garnering the attention of most of the class, "Listen," he began, "I don't like what Bakugou did. I'd even go so far as to say I despise him for what he did, but he…" another sigh, "he did it because he cared about his friend right? He wouldn't have done any of it if he didn't want to see his friend die trying to be a quirkless hero."
"So that justifies his actions?!" Shoji shouted.
"No, but it does give him some leeway in my mind. I want to see what he does before I decide to forgive him. I think we all should." Kirishima stood from his seat and left the room, the rest of the class following suit not long after.
Bakugou walked in from his workout to see Iida, Todoroki, Jiro, Mina, and Shinsou all sitting in the common room with tired but hopeful expressions on their faces.
Something is definitely going on here.
All Might had his suspicions, but now it was all but confirmed. His coworkers were definitely acting strange. Over the past two months, he had gotten some seriously worrying glares from some of his fellow teachers. Cementoss would often look at him with unbelieving eyes that reeked of despair. Power Loader would sometimes refuse to meet his eyes or even so much as look in his direction. Even Hound Dog looked angry with him! He's already tried to make amends with his seniors in teaching for whatever it was that he did which pissed them all off so royally, but nothing seemed to work.
And it wasn't just over the course of a week where anger would usually subside, over the two months he had been getting the stares, they had only gotten worse. But out of all of the teachers, It was Eraserhead who scared him the most. Whenever he was forced in the same room as the blonde hero, he would take every opportunity he had to give him the most hateful glare he could muster. And since Eraserhead's resting face is already a frightening glare, this meant when he really tried, he could pull off a glare that could make even All for One quiver in fear.
Why is this prevalent now? Because All Might is now sitting amongst all the school's staff for the recent emergency staff meeting that was called, and every teacher looked about ready to kill him.
Had he been able to still use One for All, he wouldn't have paid too much mind to the obvious hatred in their eyes, but as a frail and sickly old man, he had nothing he could use to fend them off should they choose to pounce on him.
Nezu sat in his chair, watching in glee as the thick tension caused All Might to begin to fidget uncomfortably in the presence of such heavy stares. As Nezu is not legally allowed to assault All Might himself or sick the staff on him, this is the best way he can attain his own form of justice before his plans are set into motion.
After another five minutes of complete silence, Nezu calls the meeting to begin. He begins the meeting as any other meeting would. He discusses future events that will largely involve every staff member and student as well as the current status the school has with its biggest investors and how the staff should move ahead in dealing with any unexpected situations. As he wraps up his explanation for the culture festival, he takes a brief glance at the despicable man that sits in his school teaching his students.
He's ready.
Nezu clears his throat and begins, "Before we go, I would like to discuss one more matter of utmost importance." All the teachers look between each other and give a firm nod, they're ready. "It has come to my attention that one of our very own staff members has committed themselves to incredibly heinous and villain-like acts that have resulted in the deaths of many," All Might shot up in surprise. One of the staff has killed? He looks between them all, attempting to discern which one it could possibly be, ready for a fight. "You can sit down, All Might. There will be no fights here."
All Might spoke truthfully, "But sir, if one of the staff here have killed, we should act immediately to detain them."
Aizawa's eyes twitched, a look of pure unfiltered and unabated hatred flowed freely from his eyes, He doesn't even think he did anything wrong. Similar feelings and expressions radiated from almost every other member of the staff.
Nezu held back his fury and kept a calm disposition, if he was to win this fight, he needed to be composed, "You are entirely right, All Might, and that is why after a lengthy discussion with Eraserhead and Present Mic, I have taken a look at some of your previous acts."
All Might was stunned, they believed he was the villain?! But he was the number one hero! The Symbol of Peace! He stopped villains by the dozens and brought crime rates down by simply existing! What could he have done to warrant being accused of villainy?!
"This is outrageous!" All Might shouted, "I have done nothing to warrant such hateful attitudes from you nor my fellow teachers!" He looked around, and the looks of clear displeasure and hatred were only thickening, "Enlighten me as to what you believe I have done, Principal Nezu."
A tick mark appeared briefly on Nezu's face before vanishing from sight, "After a rather unfortunate and delicate situation regarding the past of 1-A's own Bakugou Katsuki, new information was brought to light of a certain discussion you had with a teenager by the name of Midoriya Izuku."
Who the hell is that? All Might wondered, And how does Bakugou fit into all this?
Nezu continued, "During the brief mental collapse suffered by Bakugou brought about by an abundance of stress, he claimed that he had seen your discussion with Midoriya and that you said some very unforgiving and rather hateful words aimed at the boy."
All Might was struggling to understand what moment in time the quirked animal was bringing up before it clicked. The quirkless boy.
"The boy commit suicide less than an hour later. However, we could not take Bakugou's word alone as definitive proof, so I did some research on my own time and discovered that similar events have occurred before the death of Midoriya Izuku."
All Might needed to get a word in, to defend himself, before any of this situation gets further blame is placed on him, "Nezu, the boy was quirkless and yet he wished to be a hero. I was merely putting him back into reality. The quirkless are unfit for-" All Might could say no more before a fist was smashed against his face, breaking his nose and leaving a sweltering mark right under his left eye. All Might opened his eyes to see that Aizawa had attacked him in a fit of rage.
"Unfit for what!" Aizawa roared, "The only one I see unfit to be a hero here, is the mistake of a human being I see before me. You claim that the quirkless are subhuman, but you were quirkless yourself," All Might's eyes widen in fear, "We all know about One for All, how you received it, and who you gave it to. Nezu saw us fit to bear that knowledge."
All Might looked towards the rat sitting at the head of the table, wearing no discernable expression, "How dare you spread the secret of One for All! That is a national level secret that only a select few know of that you have just spread to the masses! You traitorous rat!"
Nezu slammed his palms into the table, "That is enough! Aizawa sit down, but be ready to stop that hypocritical son of a bitch if he tries anything." The staff had never heard Nezu curse before. "I have not spread your secret to anyone outside this room, as much as you deserve it, and I am not a rat, I am a bear-koala mix and I will not allow such disrespect and criminal activities to continue any further!" Nezu presses down on a concealed button and the door to the meeting room opens revealing Tsukauchi Naomasa holding a pair of handcuffs.
Anger and disappointment are clear on Naomasa's face with traces of guilt and despair mixed in as he says, "All Might, you are under arrest for 43 counts of quirk discrimination, abuse of minors, suicide baiting, and third degree murder." He places the handcuffs around All Might's wrists, "I'm sorry, old friend."
All Might is led out and taken into a squad of police cars, ready to transport him to the police station for further interrogation and questioning. Students gawk at the sight of the number one hero being surrounded by police officers and some heroes in handcuffs before being stuffed into one of the police cruisers. Come tomorrow, all of Japan will know of All Might's arrest.
Nezu looks amongst his staff, seeing many looking overly stressed or hateful. Their first step had gone without a hitch, but this would be the trickiest part. The media could force the soon-to-be trial in any direction and they must be prepared for any possibility.
All Might must be brought to justice.
Bakugou had gotten rather busy in the last two months. Ever since his talk with Shinsou, Bakugou has understood that he was not solely responsible for Izuku's death, but for the villainous acts he committed against his childhood friend, he had to atone. It didn't really matter what way he atoned in as long as he did. He considered a lot of choices from community service and cleaning up beaches or goody-two-shoes stuff like that, but in the end, he just couldn't overlook the state of the orphanage he had passed on his turn for the supply run. The orphanage looked run down, with deteriorating wooden fences and walls and chipped paint lining every surface he could see, but he noticed that there were still lights on inside the sorry excuse of a building and several children were looking out the windows with depressed looks in their eyes. Something about those kids just ticked something off inside Bakugou and he started volunteering there the very next day.
Bakugou did whatever he could for that orphanage whether it be cooking food, getting anything the place needs, or just playing with the kids there (that was his favorite). He had volunteered there for almost a month and a half and by then he had gotten to know the kids there pretty well. They were all shy little sweethearts who he would end the world for, but good luck ever getting him to admit that. There was Anta who loved to draw pictures of her favorite cartoon characters whose quirk let her take the shadows and give them form into scary looking demons, Makubo who would always try to get Bakugou to play tag whose quirk let him twist the thoughts of others, and his favorite, Sakira, who rarely ever talked. She was the most introverted of all the kids and rarely ever went near Bakugou, but when she did go talk to him, she was the most excitable person in the orphanage. She was quirkless and was left alone in her house by her parents when she was five. Most of the other kids were abandoned for having villainous quirks and the mere thought of their horrible parents mistreating his kids was enough to send him into a rage.
He always made sure he had time to spend at the orphanage and that was what resulted in his trip to the mall today. The kids needed a couple of things for the orphanage and Anta wanted to get some more drawing materials, so off to the mall he went. But the list was a bit too large for him to carry all the supplies back by himself, so he enlisted the help of Iida. While he was still unused to asking others for help, he was trying to change and for the most part, he thought he was doing ok at it.
As the two walked through the mall, getting item after item and slowly crossing everything off their list, Bakugou's thoughts drifted once more back to Izuku.
"Bakugou, if we wish to finish this trip in a short amount of time, you must stop getting distracted so easily!" Iida said in his signature arm-choppy way.
Bakugou looked away from his own thoughts and focused back on Iida, "Right, you're right. Sorry. Anyway, the next thing is a toy truck that got destroyed by Shinito by accident."
"How does one destroy a toy truck by accident?" Iida asks.
Bakugou shrugs, "Shinito doesn't have full control of his quirk yet, so he tends to be one of the more destructive kids." Silence settled between the two before Bakugou said, "When I was Shinito's age, I destroyed stuff with my quirk all the time too, so I get it."
But Shinito doesn't have full control of his quirk. I did.
"Hey Iida…"
Iida looked over to Bakugou, keeping enough of an eye on the space in front of him so he doesn't ram into anyone, "What is it, Bakugou?"
Bakugou looked away guiltily, "...Do you think I'm a good person?"
"Do you think I'm a good person?" Iida said without hesitating.
"Of course I do. You're always so dedicated to being a hero and helping people just like your brother. You never hold anyone to a grudge and you always look to forgive someone. I just don't see how I can quite compare to that."
"You are a far better person than I could ever hope to be, Bakugou."
They both stopped walking. Bakugou stared in shock at Iida as a look of regret passed over his face, "I lost all sight of being a hero and was so immersed in the thought of getting revenge against the Hero Killer that I went against the law." He turned to face Bakugou directly, "Bakugou, I wanted to kill the Hero Killer for what he did to my brother, and I was willing to do it too. But what allows me to continue on with my life is that I regret my decisions." Iida laid his hands on Bakugou's shoulders, "Bakugou, do you regret your actions against your childhood friend?"
"Every day of my life."
"Why?"
"Because if I hadn't done what I had done, he would still be alive. We would still be friends. The class wouldn't be divided like it is right now. Many of the problems we face now is a result of my actions and I deeply regret them."
"Do you truly regret your actions? Do you, Bakugou Katsuki, regret your past decisions, with your honor laid to bare?"
"Of course I do."
"Then you are a good person."
"How can you be so sure?"
Iida looked ahead of him and into the crowds of people that flowed around them without a second thought, "True regret isn't something that someone comes by often in this world. Many say they regret their actions, yet they go on to repeat them in a cycle. Regret serves as its own lesson in morality. If you ever hold true regret, then that is the greatest indicator to show that you truly cared."
Iida took his hands off Bakugou's shoulders and started to walk in the direction of the next store.
"Come on Bakugou, that toy won't buy itself." Iida said with a small laugh.
Bakugou nodded, a small smile showing on his face, "Right."
Another piece of trash hit Shoji in the back of the head, but he avidly ignored it and the person who had obviously thrown it. All he wanted was to get a replacement for one of his workout shirts, but he can never get an easy day. Never him.
A third empty cup (where is he getting all of these?) bounced off him and he was starting to get pissed. While it should be obvious that assholes like this douche behind him would always exist, it still frustrated him that he would always be forced to bear their discrimination with no hope of retaliating. While he had always appreciated his dupli-arms and their many capabilities, they did give him a very… unique appearance much like any other mutant type quirk would, but sometimes he wished he held one of the many emitter type quirks in the world, if only to avoid situations like these.
Shoji turned around and gave a rather heavy glare towards the kid who was pestering him, taking in his features should it spiral into conflict. He had grey hair that fell to his shoulders and looped around themselves, a small frame from a lack of clearly needed exercise, and was about two feet shorter than Shoji's monstrous height of 6'2" (is that really how tall he is? I guess he IS just 15 in canon). If the two ever got into a fight, it would be a completely one sided massacre, which meant he simply couldn't fight the bastard.
The runt gave him a sadistic smile that reminded Shoji of his earlier days with the other kids in his school, before he spoke in a confident voice, he clearly understood the situation exactly as Shoji had, "Ah, so now the octopus notices me; how convenient. Now would you mind stepping aside, I need to throw out my trash and you're standing in the way of the garbage."
Turning around to look behind him, Shoji did in fact see that he was blocking a garbage can and breathed a small sigh of relief as he stepped to the side to give the kid a path. Maybe he had just misinterpreted the situatio- The thought immediately ended as what had to be three full cups of soda rained down over him and his newly purchased workout shirt. He looked back to the kid, he had his sadistic smile at full mast and Shoji wasn't going to lie, that smile did wonders for making his face look far more appealing to pulverize. But Shoji shelved these angry thoughts and gave a heavy sigh as he resigned to purchase a new workout shirt, walking away from the asshole.
As he walked away, he heard the sounds of running before feeling the little bastard scramble up his back before reaching around his head and tearing his mask off. As he landed back on the ground, the grey haired brat held the mask high, a trophy for him to proudly display. Shoji's mouth was fully exposed for all those around him to see. His lipless mouth extended much farther than any normal person's would and showed his incredibly sharp teeth, even sharper than Kirishima's own. Shoji quickly rushed to cover his mouth with his many hands as the brat just laughed at him. He just stood there and laughed.
Shoji had never liked how his mouth looked. He thought it was far too different from all those around it, and they seemed to think similarly. All his classmates all the way through Elementary school screamed at the sight of his monster-eque mouth, so to stop the looks of fear, Shoji donned his mask, a protective shield to hide his imperfection from the rest of the world. But now… now that shield was gone. Ripped from his face like some empty bottle to be kicked down an alleyway. Shoji looked around at the crowd surrounding him, while most missed the brief flash of his grotesque mouth, one little girl stood off to the side, staring at him wide-eyed and her mouth wide open. Shoji looked away in shame.
Then he felt something collide with his face, tearing his hands from his mouth.
Shoji toppled over to the ground, using his arms to bear his weight and lessen the impact. His cheek mildly hurt. He was so worried about anyone else seeing him, he let the brat get the drop on him.
Damn it.
"It's like I thought! The rest of your body is as disgusting as your arms, you freak! There are so many of you out there, but none of you ever seem to understand just how disgusting you are. It's like you things think you're human! Frankly, I think it's completely ridiculous how things like you are free to walk around in the light of day." The brat gave a hateful glare at the fallen hero-in-training.
"Why don't you just off yourself so the rest of us don't have to look at you."
Even if he was used to harsh comments, some of them always managed to get through to his tough act. He didn't even know why he went outside anymore. This always happened.
"...rrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAH!"
A fist very quickly met the grey haired kid's face, before following the punch up with a gut punch and finally a controlled explosion to the face. The kid fell back, down for the count as Shoji looked up to see Bakugou standing, his palm still extended to where the kid's face had been moments ago. The relieved look on his face very quickly morphed into one of hatred.
Bakugou walked over and picked up the dropped mask, still in one piece thankfully, before walking back to his fallen classmate and offering him a hand up. Shoji slapped his hand away and stood up on his own before swiping his mask from Bakugou, putting it on, and walking away.
"I had thought you hated me for my actions alone, but I think I see the full picture now."
Shoji stopped, continuing to look away from what he believed to be a murderer.
As much as he hated to admit it, this was a good chance for Bakugou to smooth things over with Shoji. He had to make it count, "You never had a choice in how you look or how you were treated, yet you still paid too much for both. People took one look at you and decided that you were a freak. A monster. You hated it so you hid behind a mask, you hid what makes you you, Shoji. Wear your imperfections with pride, not shame. I'm sure any dumbass with more than half a brain cell would agree." As he finished Bakugou glared at the crowd that had gathered, daring them to challenge his proclamation.
"Some nice words won't erase what you did, Bakugou. What you did is nothing different from what just happened," Shoji simply stated.
"I know," Bakugou breathed, "I always wanted to save him because I never believed in him, but all that did was… you know what. Not a day goes by where I don't regret it, and not a day will go by where I don't, but I will not allow anything like it to happen again. And as for the nice words, you're right. I prefer to show what I mean through action, not some stupid little words."
Bakugou gave a solid smile as Iida of all people zoomed up to the two of them, finally having caught up to Bakugou.
"Bakugou did you just attack someone!" Iida practically screeched.
"So what if I did?!" Bakugou screeched back.
While the two of them argued about whether what Bakugou did was a good thing, the small little girl who had seen Shoji's mouth walked up to him. Shoji prepared to be referred to as some sort of scary monster, subconsciously tucking his multiple arms into his many pockets.
"Your teeth looked so cool mister!" The little girl exclaimed happily, "They're like mine!" She gave a bright smile, showing a mouth full of sharp and disfigured teeth. Shoji had to hold back his look of surprise at the positive remark.
Shoji spoke quietly so only the girl could hear him, "Thank you very much, it means a lot to me."
A small frown replaces the girls happy smile, "Do you not like our teeth mister?"
Shoji panicked just a little, "N-no! Of course I like them! They're a part of ourselves that we should always value."
A few tears pricked at her eyes, "Then why are they hiding?"
Bakugou's words flash in Shoji's mind, Wear your imperfections with pride, and he slowly reaches up to briefly show the little girl his teeth once more. Her smile returns in full force with the brief glimpse before he covers them again. Even with the sudden revelation that someone likes how he looks, it's still too soon to truly change how he looks at his body. Too much has happened for him to so readily cast aside his shield. But as he watches the little girl happily run over to her mom and start talking about the "cool octopus man with the cool teeth" he decided,
Maybe that time will come sooner than I thought.
Bakugou breathed a sigh of relief. He had only managed to escape punishment because everyone around him saw the grey haired brat berate and assault Shoji. Even so, he was still given a very harsh scolding and punishment by Aizawa who had placed him under house arrest for the next month as well as giving him almost all of the chores for their dorm. Well, at least things seemed to be getting better with the class. Most of their previous apprehension and uncomfortable actions towards him have lessened to a considerable degree and he'd managed to smooth over most of what he could with Shoji. Of course, that wasn't to say that Shoji forgave him, but rather that he could now tolerate working with him in an exercise.
Bakugou groaned and shook his head. He'd been trying to be more positive about his situation but he wasn't a very happy person naturally. Iida had told him that by thinking more positively, he would feel more positive, but it didn't seem to work for the short-fused Bakugou.
Bakugou huffed and focused back on his current task, washing to dishes for the dorm after their communal dinner of the week. And of course it was just his luck that they had made the messiest food in existence. Scrubbing another plate clean and resisting the urge to shatter it into pieces to dispose of the grime, he saw a hand reach in and place down yet another cup for Bakugou to wash. Bakugou looked up and glared at the offending hand before realizing it belonged to Kaminari.
Kaminari was sheet white in fear and quickly sprinted out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Bakugou rushed out after him, stopping at the entrance to the common room.
"Kaminari wait!" He called out. But it didn't matter, Kaminari was already as far as he could be from Bakugou, just like he always had been. Before he knew it, his frustration and anger at himself got the best of him and small crackles could be heard coming from his hands. "Dammit!" He ran back into the kitchen.
Sero and Todoroki looked over from their spot on the couch. They were watching some sort of hero documentary on an old age hero from the 2120s. Sero immediately got up to try and help his friend before a hand was laid on his shoulder. He looked over to Todoroki, who gave him one of his usual blank looks and a mild nod to the stairs. While to many the message would be completely lost, to Sero, who had all but mastered the language of Todoroki, the message was clear.
I'll handle this, you calm down Kaminari.
Sero nodded and looked towards the stairs of the boys dorms before marching out on his mission. Todoroki steeled himself. If the sounds he heard coming from the kitchen were any indication, this would be a very stressful talk for the both of them. Looking into the kitchen Todoroki was a surprising sight of Bakugou trying to rein in his anger… and clearly failing at doing so as the scrubber he was using snapped in two from the force he was applying. The broken handle landed on the floor next to another three pairs of broken scrubbers. All of this happened while he was cursing up a storm that would make a sailor blush.
On the first step Todoroki enters the kitchen, Bakugou immediately stiffens and gruffly barks out, "What do you want Todoroki?"
"Not much, I'm just grabbing something to eat so I can give you more dishes to clean," Todoroki said with a neutral expression. Even with most of the class being well versed in the language of the stoic boy, none of them could ever figure out when he was or wasn't joking. Thanks to this, Bakugou had been one of the few to assume they were jokes and role with it, a teasing sort of banter becoming standard between the two.
Bakugou just looked up at him, a low effort glare sent his way, which Todoroki aptly ignored, "Thanks, I really appreciate the extra work." Sarcasm was also common.
"Anything for a friend."
Silence settled between the two, only the sounds of running water and the open fridge could be heard. Bakugou takes a deep breath, the scowl on his face disappearing and being replaced with a very tired look.
"Thanks," Bakugou said.
Todoroki gives a tiny smirk, "You're the first person I've ever heard saying thanks for being given more work. I didn't take you for a masochist, blasty."
Bakugou gave a chuckle, "Takes one to know one Half n' half."
His scowl returns and the happy mood that existed is gone just as quick as it came. The angry scrubbing returns and Todoroki went back to scrounging for food.
Of course, it was just an act to take up time so he can wait for Bakugou to calm down so he can talk to him. And not just a friendly chat, but a good long chat so that they hopefully don't lose anymore scrubbers to his crackling fists… which have just returned and destroyed another brush.
"If you keep that up, you won't be able to clean any more dishes," Todoroki observes
Seemingly haven given up trying to clean anything else, Bakugou drags a hand down his face, a clear sign of his exhaustion, "I know but I just…" he sighs, "I'm just angry right now."
"Everyone gets angry now and then, there's nothing wrong with that."
"I already knew that, Icepop, but I'm just angry all the damn time," Bakugou states, "Every little thing pisses me off more and I do what I can to try and hold out but I just end of exploding like an idiot every time. Did you know when Kirishima and the crew asked me to go the arcade for the first time, it actually pissed me off? They were trying to be nice to me and I nearly exploded on them. And I wouldn't have even been friends with most of the class if I didn't go on that first trip to the arcade." Todoroki listens silently as Bakugou vents his frustrations. "I'm an emotional mess."
"While the sheer amount of anger you seem to possess probably warrants a trip to therapy, the way you go about dealing with it is the most harmful way possible." Todoroki says plainly, as if he was asked to tell the date.
"Well that's pretty damn obvious, I can't hold it all back and I explode on everyone."
"That's not what I mean." Bakugou looks on with interest in his eyes, "You already know the trash that makes up my father and most of what happened in our family, but I never dealt with it all until you helped me." Bakugou's eyes widen with surprise before he sets them back to a neutral face. "I was always enraged with everything. My father, my quirk, my life, my purpose. I hated it all. I used that hatred to isolate myself and I essentially became what my father had been all my life, a hateful, enraged person with ambition fueled by spite. It was only after the sports festival when you got everyone to help me open up that I realized how harmful my own anger had been. So, I used it."
"You… used it?" Bakugou repeated, confusion laced with the question.
"Yes, I used it. Instead of repressing it and having it build within me, I used my frustration to fuel something productive. Did you know I have about a guitar hanging in my room now?"
"I didn't know you played."
"And neither did I. But I began to play so that I could use it as a funnel for my anger. I displayed my anger through music rather than holding it in."
"So you're saying I should start throwing my emotions onto a guitar? What a load of crap."
"Sort of. Find something that works for you and funnel your anger into it. Use it to be productive." Todoroki began to walk out of the kitchen. "Anger isn't something that can be ignored. So when the time comes to use it, direct it into something you can enjoy."
Bakugou thought to himself for a moment, "There isn't much I used to do as a hobby other than training, but that hasn't been working. The closest thing to a hobby I have now was continuing with the analysis in Izuku's notebook, but I was doing that solely to keep something of Izuku alive I guess."
Todoroki gave a small smile, "So start doing it for yourself. From what I saw, you can draw pretty well and your analysis is becoming very accurate."
Bakugou gave a hum of consideration before nodding to himself, "Alright, I'll do it, but only if you give Sero a turn in the next Sports Festival!" He gave a cheeky grin.
They both chuckled when they could hear Sero groan Oh, come on! He made a glacier! from the common room.
Since Sero was there, it looked like he had finished talking to Kaminari. So now it was Bakugou's turn.
Kaminari sat inside his room playing his favorite handheld game from the pre-quirk era, Pokemon Emerald. It was always the game he went to whenever he wanted to clear his mind. He didn't know why but he guessed it was because the game could become so incredibly immersive with all the different Pokemon, but he didn't really care why, moreso that it actually managed to distract him from his current problem. Sero had just left with a warning that Bakugou may come up to try and talk to him so he could prepare himself. Except the thing is, he doesn't want to talk to Bakugou.
But he also really does.
Kaminari groaned, throwing his head back in annoyance. This is exactly why he buries himself in his games, so he doesn't have to deal with this crap. A knock on the door threw him from his stupor.
"Hey Kaminari," it was Bakugou's voice, "We need to talk."
Kaminari tried to suppress his shaking, he really did, but as he opened the door and saw Bakugou's determined expression falter, even if it was only for a moment, he guessed he failed horribly.
Kaminari tried to calm himself down, "About what Bakugou?" Bakugou grimaced again, he guessed he couldn't do that either.
"About… what happened," he said grimly.
As he stared down the blonde he was most definitely not terrified of, Kaminari stepped aside to let him in the room, "S-sure, come on in." Stupid stutter!
The two blondes of class 1-A walked in the room and stood still in the center. Kaminari offered him a seat on his bed with an awkward arm shrug thing and sat in the desk chair himself. Neither really looked each other, just brief glimpses. Kaminari looked around the room and Bakugou just looked down at the floor.
"So, uhhhhh…" Bakugou started, "I kind of hyped myself up to do this but I never thought about how to do it."
"That's something I would do, can't believe you of all people would do something like that," Kaminari shot back.
Bakugou gave a small laugh, "Yeah, well, this week has been pretty weird."
They both went back to silence, unsure of where to go with the conversation.
"I want to apologize for… for everything," Bakugou blurted out.
Kaminari was confused. Apologize? To him? The only person Bakugou should really be apologizing is this Izuku Midoriya he read about in Bakugou's notebook. "Apologize? W-what for?"
Bakugou's guilty look worsened at the simple question. He knew exactly what he needed to apologize for, "For getting angry at you time and time again. For threatening you. For attacking you, Kaminari. It was the exact same thing with Izuku. You did something I didn't like and I hurt you for it." He looked up at the ceiling, a small shine of tears struggling to poke their way through his eyes.
Bakugou heard nothing. He looked down and saw Kaminari with a pained expression, "I know you didn't mean it in… that way, but I don't think I'm ready to get over everything. You scare me, Bakugou," Kaminari rubs the frustration in his eyes, "And I don't want to be afraid of you, but how you acted and how you still act is terrifying to me. I want to talk to you again, I want to hang out with the whole squad again, and more than anything I want to be your friend again but… you terrify me."
"I can't be friends with someone when it feels like they don't care."
Out of everything that Bakugou had gone through since his secret had been revealed, that one sentence had to be one of the worst things he'd heard. He's had his classmates run from him in fear, curse him out as a murderer and a villain, and attempt to subject him to the same discrimination many of them had smilarly faced, but even through all of that, Kaminari's expression of his total distrust in the blonde bomber struck a chord within him. His body tensed, he squeezed his eyes shut, and clenched his fists firmly. Bakugou didn't know what he was expecting from this talk. He supposed he and Kaminari would just become friends again just like that, but clearly it wouldn't be nearly as simple.
Bakugou stood up and left the room without a word and Kaminari did nothing to stop him. He ran his hands through his lightning-esque hair and tried to calm his pounding heart.
Without warning, Bakugou re-entered the room with the infamous blood splattered notebook in his hand. He opened the notebook and turned to a page before reading from the entry.
Denki Kaminari:
Quirk: Electrification
By utilizing and overclocking the electric potential of the body's nervous system, Kaminari is capable of discharging massive amounts of electricity, his highest reaching 2 million volts. In doing so he is considered to be one of the most powerful students in the class in terms of raw power, only beaten out by Shoto Todoroki and Myself at full power.
Special Moves:
Indiscriminate Shock:
Denki releases a large buildup of electricity, reaching as high as 2 million volts in all directions, becoming a very powerful AoE attack, however, it can lead to his removal from the battlefield should he go over his limit and shock himself.
Possibly improve control through meditation (?)
Localize the areas of release to give better direction of blasts
Support Item: Sharpshooter
Kaminari shoots out a copper disk from a wrist mounted gauntlet to attract his discharged electricity. In doing so he is capable of long range controlled attacks.
Possible Improvements:
Possibly improve control through meditation (?)
Localize the areas of release to give better direction of blasts
By localizing the discharge entirely on his fists, Kaminari can theoretically become a close ranged fighter with a taser for a punch
Ricochet sharpshooter will give an unpredictable factor towards discharges to distract villains
Multiple copper shots
Known Info:
Birthday is on June 29th
Blood Type O
Height of 5' 6"
Enjoys spending time with friends, dancing, and flirting (one day you'll get a girlfriend Kaminari)
Second best at DDR, only beaten out by Mina Ashido
Once ate three whole hotdogs in under 30 seconds
Quite funny at times
My favorite member of the self-named Bakusquad
Bakugou looked up to meet a teary-eyed Kaminari who grabbed the notebook from Bakugou's hands. He looked in the page himself, everything Bakugou had just said was in there, carefully written in such a way where everything portraying who exactly Kaminari is as a person is on that sheet of paper.
"I care about all of my friends," Bakugou said, "Of course that would include you, Denki."
Kaminari's lip wobbled, "Ah crap, don't you dare cry on me Denki! This is a new shirt!" Bakugou shouted but it was for naught as Kaminari already had him wrapped in a tight hug as he bawled into Bakugou's nice new shirt.
Bakugou sighed, Whatever, if it was between this and losing Denki as a friend… I think I prefer this much more.
With the re-addition of Kaminari to the group, the Bakusquad was very nearly back to full capacity one again, now only missing their sunshine child. Even without the red-headed shark following them in their endeavors, they still greatly enjoyed spending time with one another greatly. They began their trips to the arcade again and Bakugou told them of everything that had happened thus far to a degree. They were all really supportive of him and for that he was and still is incredibly grateful to have people like them as his friends… friends that just so happen to be idiots.
With the exception of their leader, the Bakusquad was not very academic in the slightest, with many of the lowest placements belonging to their members. This greatly annoyed him and if it weren't for the fact that they were his idiots, he would have left them behind. To try and help his idiots, Bakugou took it upon himself to tutor them extensively to help them prepare for any and all upcoming exams and material. These impromptu study sessions could and often did happen out the blue as Bakugou would practically jump one of the Bakusquad before dragging them back to his room where a lesson was already planned and waiting. These lessons held three facts about them; they were often borderline cruel, left the student in a great deal of mental pain and exhaustion, and were often two weeks apart from one another or less. While the first two facts were horrifying to the four members of the Bakusquad, it was the fact that nearly three weeks had passed that scared them the most.
Which brings Mina, Denki, Toru, and Hanta to huddle up inside of Sero's room in fear of being taken should they split off from the safety of the group. They were prepared to last the night in safety, having smuggled copious amounts of snacks, extra pillows and blankets, and some games to last them the rest of the weekend. They were determined to survive this trial.
The first night (Friday) went without any sort of action. The four of them enjoyed their snacks and played some games of Mario Kart to pass the time before finally retiring for the night. The first morning they awoke in complete and utter fear. Mina was missing.
They knew what this meant, her fate was sealed, but they were safe.
Mina woke up from her night's rest and saw herself tied to a chair. Being tired out of her mind, this didn't really faze her. However, as she looked at the room around her, she did not see Kaminari, Hagakure, or Sero, but rather she saw an empty room filled lightly decorated with mementos from Bakugou's UA experience. Still quite dazed, she looked at other parts of the room until she froze. To her left was a clean white board.
Mina screamed in terror, she kicked and thrashed in her chair but it was no use. She used as much acid as she dared, melting the chair to goop but the ropes held firm.
She heard a voice behind her, "Finally, your awake." Mina craned her neck to look behind her and saw Bakugou sitting in his desk with four different textbooks stacked next to him. She immediately gave up struggling, she knew it was inevitable.
"Well, I can't say I didn't expect to lose a chair, but those ropes really are acid resistant. Honestly I thought I got scammed," Bakugou quipped. "Anyway, we have a lot to cover Mina, you almost failed your Algebra, Chemistry, and English tests, so this might be a bit of an… extended session." He broke out into a smirk as Mina's face paled.
A floor above, Sero, Hagakure, and Kaminari gave a salute to their fallen classmate.
The Chemistry went by relatively quickly considering its the fundamental basis for Mina's quirk and she was only confused regarding a couple of questions. Algebra was where Mina really began to struggle as the whole idea of functions and their near infinite uses began to make her head swirl, but she got through it. English though. English was hell.
Where Chemistry and Algebra combined only took two hours, English had already lasted up to four hours with no sign of stopping anytime soon. Mina continuously mixed up the same lessons and made the same mistakes and seemingly refused to learn the correct way even though she was actively trying to learn the words. But, where most teachers would get frustrated, Bakugou waited patiently for Mina to connect the dots in her head. And it was here where Bakugou's change was most evident.
"Y'know, you've really changed a lot," Mina said in the middle of her god-given break.
"It doesn't feel like I have," Bakugou replied almost instantly.
Mina was more than confused at his answer. It was clear to everyone in the class that their resident hot-head was becoming much calmer and kinder by the day. Even when they first met him, they thought he was quiet, but still incredibly thoughtful if his actions towards them were any consideration.
"What?! You're almost a completely different person now!" Mina exclaimed. Bakugou didn't respond, prompting Mina to continue, "You're so cool and caring towards everyone all the time! You even beat up an idiot just because they said something mean about Shoji! But I'm not saying you weren't kind before everything, now you're just a… different kind of kind."
Mina finished her cheer up speech with a wide smile. Back at her Junior High School, she cheered up people so often that she became something of the unofficial school mascot somehow, so you could say she has some experience in bringing up a person's mood.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about dammit! I explode way too easily and I'm so quick to anger that I scare everyone around me. Until last month, Denki was terrified that I would beat him within an inch of his life Mina! How can I say I've changed when I'm still doing exactly what I did to Izuku?" He was tense, he was frustrated, and he was just so disappointed in himself.
Putting all thoughts of the pronunciation of Mississippi out of her head, Mina rubbed her hands together, took a deep breath before slapping her hands on Bakugou's cheeks (rather painfully mind you) and forcing him to look her deep in her black and gold eyes.
"Bakugou, if you don't stop talking bad about yourself right now I swear to you I will sick Kota on you and have him forcefully talk about your accomplishments until you bleed from the ears!" And that was not an idle threat. After the training camp, Kota had made his own Ground Zero action figure and tried to give it to Bakugou in the honor of the hero who saved him. Mina still has the video of him trying to not cry at the gift that was now displaying itself on Bakugou's desk proudly.
"Kota doesn't count! He only idolizes me because I saved his life!" Bakugou shouted.
Mina flailed her body trying to convey her total and utter disbelief at Bakugou's self-deprecating beliefs, "That's the thing! You saved his life! You are a good person!"
Bakugou scoffed and went back to writing on that accursed whiteboard that the Bakusquad hated so much. Mina splashed her acid over it, melting it into two pieces.
"What the hell Mina?!" Bakugou fumed.
She was putting her foot down, "You are going to listen to exactly what I have to say and you are going to listen to every single word Katsuki!" Bakugou shot up in surprise, to this point, no one had used his first name to address him, so for Mina to be the first especially right now was shocking to him. "You are a kind person who only wants to help others, even if your methods are a bit screwy. And I'm not just talking about Midoriya, you helped Shoji, you helped Kaminari, you helped Iida, Yaoyorozu, Shinso, and everyone else in our class! You are one of the greatest people I've ever met and it hurts seeing you hate yourself so, so much Katsuki. Everyone in the class cares for you, I care for you, and we just want to help you. Yes you made a mistake, but we all do, we're people Katsuki. People make mistakes, but they learn from them. So tell me right now what you learned from this whole terrible situation!"
Bakugou stared at her wide-eyed, "Alright, who taught you philosophy?"
Mina stomped her foot before pointing at Bakugou accusingly, "I'm being serious, what did you learn?"
He thought back on the consequences of his actions, how his classmates reacted, and how he tried to fix everything with them. He thought back to Shinsou who helped him realize the blame isn't entirely his own. He thought back to Iida who helped him realize that his regret is a sign that he truly cared. He thought back to Shoji who was forced to deal with isolation and ostracization from others. He thought back to Todoroki who taught him how to better control his anger. He thought back to Kaminari who overcame his own fear and once again became his friend. He thought back to everyone in his class who has helped to support him. He thought back to Mina who, even right now, was doing everything in her power to motivate him and help him heal.
"I've learned that anger is an emotion that everyone needs and ignoring it will only lead to one's own guilt. But I've also come to realize that it wasn't just my fault. I saw what would happen to him and I did everything I could to protect him, but it wasn't my fault that he isn't here now. At this point, I'm just angry it took all of you idiots to help me figure that out."
Bakugou looked Mina in her black and gold eyes, her determination practically infecting him through sight alone, "So, for everything you guys did… thanks."
Mina, with tears gathering in her eyes, rushed forward to hug the blonde, encompassing him with all the support she can give. He was her friend and she'd be damned if she let him fall down the rabbit hole after just climbing back out.
"Y'know," Mina began, "I've had my fair share of guilty accidents too." Bakugou looked at her, his curiosity stoked, "I've melted plenty of things by accident in my home. I even burnt my Dad's arm and he still has the scar to prove it. So if you're ever feeling a bit guilty, come on down and we'll talk about stupid shit we're guilty about together, alright?"
Bakugou chuckled, "Now who has a fuckin bad mouth?"
He turned to the destroyed whiteboard behind them, "Also, you're paying to replace that," he deadpanned.
"That's alright, I did melt it after all." She paused, clearly stalling for time, "Sooooo does that mean the tutoring session is over?"
"No."
"Awww maaaaaan," Mina groaned.
Sitting in a cell was not a fun event nor was it one that Toshinori had ever expected to experience. Yet he had sat in that dingy cell for two days, stewing in his disbelief and hatred. The former number one hero was released on the third day, his connections finally having worked their magic, setting him back into the world, but by then, everything was out.
Every editorial, newspaper, ad, news outlet, tv show, and website was talking about what they believed to be the largest scandal in the entire hero industry's lifespan. He looked at every one, scoffing at the ridiculous titles for their articles.
All Might! Hero or Villain?
Former Number One Pro-Hero commits 43 acts of murder. Trial set for June.
Scandal Time! All Might and the truth about his past!
All Might's trial is bigger than you think.
Toshinori actually agreed with the last one. The trial, has the potential to derail every pro-hero from their success and begin investigations that could shut down the entirety of the hero industry. At least Toshinori would have the undoubted support of most of the big name heroes, since most of them haven't exactly been the best of people, Endeavor least of all.
5 months passed and the scandal only seemed to grow exponentially as the trial neared its beginning. People all across the world were interested in seeing such ridiculous drama that they would believe anything the media tells them, but Toshinori can't really do anything about people's ignorance. But he can prepare for the trial.
Despite his innocence, his opposition was headed by Nezu, one of the smartest living things on the planet, so he could be falsely convicted, even as the Symbol of Peace.
His agency used almost half their funds (most of which would normally go straight to Toshinori's hefty bank accounts) to purchase hundreds of lawyers to their case with the personal lawyers of many other pro-heroes joining the massive team as well. In those 5 months, they had created a nigh unbeatable case, with public support of 37 out of the top 50 current pro-heroes.
Before he knew it, the date of the trial had arrived. Dressed in his best (fitting) suit, Toshinori stepped into the courtroom with his top lawyer at his side. The small room was packed to the brim, each person in the pews practically laying on top of each other to get close-up on the action. Taking his seat at the front of the courtroom, he and his lawyer mapped out members of the jury they could easily win over. Out of the fifteen present, they counted twelve that looked to the blonde with nothing less than complete adoration. They would win this in a landslide.
(Please note: I do not know how the law system works in Japan nor do I know exactly how American courtroom cases are acted out so I'm just going to have introductions followed by two witnesses so please give me some leeway in this section)
The Judge called, "All rise!" The room followed the order, "Toshinori Yagi, you have been charged with 43 individual counts of quirk discrimination, abuse of minors, suicide baiting, and third degree murder. How do you plead?"
Toshinori responded, "Not guilty, your honor."
The Judge spoke accordingly, "Very well, the case of Bakugou v. Yagi is officially underway."
Toshinori was slightly surprised to hear the name of case, especially considering that Bakugou would undoubtedly be targeted by furious fans for attempting to stain the name of the Symbol of Peace, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Once the introductions had passed, the prosecution made their way to the front of the room to present their case, "Now, this may be a bit improper but I would like to call everyone's attention, not just the people sitting in this courtroom or behind those very cameras that film this historic trial. I would like to call for your attention so that we may expose a man who has no value for human life and cannot see past what a person has been born as," the man began, "Before you sits Toshinori Yagi, former pro-hero All Might and the Symbol of Peace. Three different people, all within one man, but there is another person contained within his body, and that very person is a murderer. One who kills others he does not see fit to exist alongside him and who will…"
Toshinori zoned out from the Prosecution's drabble. It was already obvious he would win the trial, in every poll taken by media outlets asking if they supported All Might, he scored 95% or higher.
Sudden movement to his right snapped his attention back to the case as he saw his lawyer's eyes wide with disbelief. Something happened. Looking around the room for clues, he saw the prosecution sitting back down, a confident smile on his face. Toshinori didn't like that one bit.
His lawyer cleared his throat before standing to take his argument, he spoke long and hard about the good acts of All Might throughout his entire career and how through All Might's words he was merely trying to protect them from pursuing a dream that would merely result in their deaths. That was their main argument, that All Might had said what he had said in the hopes of protecting these young teenagers from the reality they were born into.
"These boys were delirious. They held illusions of grandeur and heroism so close to their hearts that they couldn't make the distinction between their own fiction and reality. With All Might's talks between him and these quirkless individuals, he attempted to ease them away from their delusions and more towards reality. Unfortunately it seems that many couldn't stand to live without their delusions and it lead to their deaths at their own hands."
The Judge called out, "The prosecution may now call on their first witness."
"Thank you, your honor," The lawyer spoke before making a dramatic point towards a blonde haired teenager in the pews, "I call Katsuki Bakugou to the stand!"
As the people around him whispered amongst themselves, Bakugou stood from his seat and took his place on the stand, awaiting the lawyer's questions.
"Now Bakugou," he began, "You claim you were present at the time of All Might and Izuku Midoriya's discussion, correct."
"Yeah, that's right." Bakugou responded quickly.
"Did All Might say anything, perhaps, derogatory towards Midoriya? Anything that would beyond what the defense is claiming to be introducing the quirkless to reality?"
Bakugou ignored the way his body tensed and the anger flowed, giving a calm response, "He said that a quirkless person couldn't become a hero before outright saying that quirkless people shouldn't exist. He called my friend a freak of nature!"
"I see. Let me ask you another question," the lawyer began once more after giving a hum of acknowledgement, "Did you ever idolize All Might as a hero?"
"We all did?"
"We?"
"Every kid in Japan all looked at All Might and says I want to be a hero like All Might. Even though most of the idiots lose their dreams of being heroes by eight or nine years old, me and Midoriya kept them all the way through Junior High."
"So Midoriya idolized All Might?"
"Like an unkillable god among men. He wanted nothing more to save people like All Might always had."
"No further questions, your honor." The prosecution sat down as the defense readied their own questions.
"Let me ask you something kid. Was Midoriya quirkless?"
"Yes but I don't see how that has to do with anything right now."
"Did anyone else ever bully him for his quirklessness?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"A lot of kids didn't like that he had no quirk and wanted to be a hero. They thought he was trying to be better than them so they would beat him."
"And the teachers did nothing?"
A small vein showed on Bakugou's temple, "No, they didn't."
"So wouldn't it be reasonable to conclude that his suicide was instigated by his abusers?"
Bakugou slammed his palms on the desk in front of him and screamed, "No they didn't! Izuku was a weak and scrawny little bastard but he never let those idiots get to him. Whenever they'd start bullying someone else, he'd save them without a second thought and gladly take the beating in their place. There wasn't a single day that went by where he didn't smile for at least a second. But the second All Might told him that the quirkless are less than human, that smile was gone."
The Judge exclaimed, "Mr. Bakugou calm down! I understand he was your friend but this is an official procession. No more questions from the prosecution."
Following Bakugou, the defense called for Endeavor which ended up being another disaster for them since he pretty much just spat out how being there was a waste of time.
The prosecution stood from their seat and spoke, "I call Inko Midoriya to the stand!" A short and petite green haired woman stood from the pews and sat down on the stand, a strange sort of depressed determination practically oozing from her. As she passed Bakugou, he looked away from her, his remains of guilt telling him he didn't have the right to even see her.
"Ms. Midoriya, I understand that losing your son has had an awful effect on your mental state so please do tell me if any of these questions begin to wear you down."
"I'll do my best," Inko answered dully.
"Could you describe your son to us? Please make sure to leave nothing out of his personality."
"My Izuku was such a caring boy. Whenever someone would get hurt he would be the first one there to help. All he ever wanted to do with his life is help others. Whether that meant he would be a hero or someone else who helps others, he just wanted to help. But no one ever wanted him to. Every day he came back with horrible bruises and cuts but he would even protect his bullies, saying they were just playing. None of them could look past his quirklessness, like he was some kind of disease that should be avoided, but if any of them ever decided to look past it, they would see he was a hero who was never given a chance to shine."
Halfway through her mini-speech, Inko began to sob, the weight of her loss overtaking her and with each word, Katsuki grimaced more and more.
"How many people was he bullied by, Ms. Midoriya?" The lawyer asked giving her a handkerchief from his suit pocket.
"I never really found out, but I believe it was the whole school, teachers and other staff included."
"How did he react to this abuse?"
"After each day he came back with a bright smile, he never let any of the things they said get to him. But it was on the day of his suicide that he didn't smile at all. He walked in and there was only desperation, there wasn't even a smidge of his beautiful smile. He showered before saying he would go for a run before he-" Inko broke down sobbing.
"No further questions your honor."
The defense walked up Inko, a smug smile on his face, "Mrs. Midoriya-"
"It's Ms. Midoriya to you," Inko spoke hatefully.
"Sorry, Ms. Midoriya, anyway, you and your husband are divorced correct?"
"Yes, we are."
"Could it be that your divorce had any effect on your son's mental state."
"I doubt it did, we divorced when he was young, about 4 I believe."
"Was this before or after he was diagnosed as quirkless?"
Inko was hesitant to answer, "...After."
"So your husband divorced you after learning his son was quirkless and you don't think it had any underlying effects on your son's mental state?"
"No, I don't. We were both happier to have my husband out of the house if he wasn't willing to love us unconditionally."
"Are you saying that for both you and your son, or are those your own personal feelings that you placed on to your son?"
"They are both."
"No further questions your honor."
The defense called their final witness, All Might himself to the stand.
Sitting in the chair, the skeleton man took a quick glance towards the jury, seeing most of them smiling at him in support. He smirked. He would win this without worry.
The defense spends their time reaffirming their case and All Might's supposed belief in the quirkless before handing off to the prosecution.
The prosecution stood, "Now, All Might, I believe you can agree with me when I say that this trial depends on and will most likely directly affect the state of the quirkless as a whole in our society." All Might nodded in agreement, "So the question must be asked, what do you believe the quirkless are capable of?"
"The quirkless are capable of many things just as a quirked individual is. No matter the quirk, they are equal in many standings with pro-heroism being one of the exceptions to that rule." Toshinori responded calmly.
"You have gone on record to make speeches advocating for the state of the quirkless and at these speeches you state primarily what you have just stated, however, there are instances in some of these speeches that hint at different connotations."
Toshinori's head lawyer shot up in surprise before gathering himself, "Objection! This argument is based on speculation!"
The Judge mildly acknowledged him, "Overruled, you may proceed."
"Thank you, your honor," the prosecution continued, "Following your speech at Kojikawa's children's orphanage, you were recorded to have roughly pushed a scared child off your leg after he ran up for an autograph. The video was posted for only a day before being taken down." All Might started to sweat. "In the middle of your Press Conference June 24th, 22XX, you made a statement claiming that 'The quirkless have no place in many fields', and in your visitations to a children's hospital, the staff found one dead child following a successful suicide and two more children attempting similar methods to the first."
Toshinori's head lawyer shot up again, "Objection! Little relevance to the case!"
The Judge shot him down again, "Overruled, if the prosecution could make their point sooner rather than later, it would be much appreciated."
"Thank you, your honor," The lawyer thanked, "However, the most interesting one and damning one we have video evidence of is of your specific encounter with one Izuku Midoriya under the Ryamoto Underpass on October 4th, 22XX." Two men enter the room wheeling in a screen and third holding a projector. It isn't long before it's set up.
The video begins playing, showing Izuku entering the underpass before being attacked by the sludge villain. All Might of course enters frame and quickly defeats the villain, saving Izuku before they enter a conversation with one another as All Might collects the villain. It is mostly polite conversation and asking for an autograph until All Might is ready to leave when Izuku asks, "Can a quirkless person be a hero?" Toshinori is sweating bullets, he knows what he said and if his true intentions are revealed then this might turn the tide of the trial.
The All Might in the video turns to face Izuku, a glare of clear hatred clearly on display as he says, "No quirkless person can ever be a hero. They can't do anything without a quirk. They aren't even human." All Might leaves the frame to turn in the villain and Izuku is shown to be in a shock-like state before he too leaves the frame, tears cascading down his face.
Gasps are heard all throughout the courtroom before shouting breaks out.
The Judge slams down his wooden hammer, "Order! Order!" The shouting continues until the police present are able to calm down the people in the pews.
The prosecution steps close to Toshinori, "Are these your true ideas regarding the quirkless?"
Toshinori, now considerably flustered, "O-of course not! The video must be altered in some way!"
The prosecution turns to the Judge, "No further questions your honor."
As the prosecution walked to his seat, Toshinori shoots from his seat and angrily reaches towards the lawyer, gripping his collar tightly and yanking him back, "I WILL NOT HAVE MY NAME TARNISHED BY YOUR SLANDER!" The police present rush to restrain Toshinori, "I DEMAND YOU SHOW THEM THE TRUTH-"
Anything else Toshinori has to say is cut off by a furious yet controlled explosion which produces smoke encasing the two. As the smoke fades, Katsuki Bakugou stands between the two, ready to fight the former pro all while tears fall readily from his face. Toshinori is seen nursing his now mildly burnt arms.
"YOU ARE A HORRIBLE PERSON! HE IDOLIZED YOU AND YOU KILLED HIS UNKILLABLE SPIRIT! AND WHILE WE TRY TO ACHIEVE HIS JUSTICE, YOU ATTACK MORE IN YOUR NEVER ENDING CYCLE OF SELFISH ACTIONS!" Bakugou takes a deep breath, "All Might," he pauses, "I won't allow you to hurt anyone else."
Bakugou is escorted back to his seat next to Inko. Toshinori is taken back to his seat, now sporting handcuffs to ensure he doesn't make any further horrible decisions.
The Jury leaves the room to make their decision, as they leave, Toshinori evaluates them once more to find his supporters. Each of their faces is hesitant and unsure as they leave the room.
After three grueling hours of waiting for their verdict, the jury enters once more.
A short woman with red hair and cat ears stands and begins to talk, "Your honor, the jury has reached their decision."
The Judge urges them on, "You may proceed with your verdict."
The woman nods before speaking once more, "On the 42 individual counts of quirk discrimination, we find the defendant, Yagi Toshinori, guilty. On the 42 individual counts of abuse of minors, we find the defendant, Yagi Toshinori, guilty. On the 42 individual counts of suicide baiting, we find the defendant, Yagi Toshinori, guilty. On the 42 individual counts of third degree murder, we find the defendant, Yagi Toshinori, guilty."
With each verdict, the crowd breaks out into greater panic and surprise while Toshinori's face only continues to pale further.
"And on the murder of Izuku Midoriya, whom this case was dependant upon, we find the defendant, Yagi Toshinori, guilty."
The Judge stands, "Yagi Toshinori, you have been proven guilty of all your charges, which include the indirect murders of numerous human beings. You are being sentenced to life in prison with no chance at parole. This court is now out of session."
Inko bursts into tears while Katsuki cries to himself silently.
They won.
Bakugou didn't know how he got here, standing in front of their door. His door. His hand was ready to knock. That's all it would take, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Bakugou found himself frozen. He ran his hands through his hair and on his face in exasperation. He really hated his friends right now.
They were all just sitting in the common room, vibing, when Shinso spoke up.
"You should go and talk to his mom, we saw her in the trial and she looked like she could really use someone to talk to 'bout it." Other members of the class nodded, quick to agree.
Bakugou looked down, "I get that it's not all my fault and everything but that's the thing. It's not all my fault. I bullied him for a decade, there's no way she'll want to see me after that."
Denki shook his head, "Maybe, but you'll never know if you don't try!"
Jiro deadpanned at him, "That advice doesn't work in this situation."
Ignoring their usual arguments, Shoji spoke up, "While I am still not on the best of terms with you, I am glad to see you've changed greatly for the better. So you should attempt to reconcile with her as you did us."
Bakugou seemed to consider it before hesitantly agreeing to this idiotic plan, "Fine! But if this goes horribly, you all are going to get some serious payback!"
"Sounds good to me!" Kaminari smiled.
"Shut up Kaminari!" Jiro shouted.
Smiling slightly to himself, remember their antics, Bakugou steadied himself to knock on the door, but just as his fist is about to reach the door, it opens and he bonks Inko on the head.
After some awkward apologies, Inko invites him into the all too empty apartment and sets some tea on the stove for them.
He sits in silence as the tea is prepared. Inko sits down across from him, handing him his steaming tea before beginning to talk about how 'happy she is to see him' and 'how long its been since they last talked'.
Bakugou responds as best he can but he can't bring himself to really talk. This continues for about ten minutes before Inko says something that truly surprises him.
Just as she finished talking about her chat with his mother the other day, she looks at him. There were bags under her irritated eyes, her hair was a mess, and her clothes were disheveled. She looks at him and she sees a strapping young man, working himself every day to protect others just as he did Izuku.
"Thank you for trying to protect Izuku."
This catches Katsuki's attention easily.
"If you weren't there, Izuku would've done something much sooner, so I must thank you for everything you did for him."
Katsuki was beginning to shake.
"Izuku would always talk about how amazing and kind Kacchan was and how you would be the best hero."
Katsuki was trying to hold back his tears.
"Thank you for being his friend."
"BUT I WASN'T!" Katsuki shouts. Inko isn't shocked and she doesn't flinch, almost like she expected it. "I wasn't his friend! I never protected him from his bullies, I never did anything to encourage him, I never did anything to help him! All I did was beat him! How can I call myself his friend after that?!"
Katsuki's outburst leaves him drained as he stands to leave, "I'm sorry for shouting, I'll leave no-" A hug is all it takes to stop him in his tracks. "Why don't you hate me?" He asks.
"Because you're a good person Katsuki," Inko turns him around and wipes away some of his tears. "We both figured out a long time ago that everything you did, you did to protect him."
His eyes widened, "You mean… he knew?"
"Of course he did, there's no other reason why his best friend would turn on him so suddenly." Inko gave him a trademark soft Midoriya smile, melting away his shock even with the horrid state she seemed to be in.
"So why didn't he give it up? Being a hero? It's too dangerous for someone as kind as him," Katsuki asks.
"You should know as much as I do that Izuku was born to be a hero."
Katsuki smiled, "Yeah, he was. Thank you Inko."
Inko smiled back, "I missed having you around, you know. Izuku's a lot to handle by himself but this place really needed your angry energy here."
Katsuki chuckled at the jab, "Yeah, sorry about that, but I can definitely see what you mean. You yourself aren't looking too great. Are you taking care of yourself?"
Inko looked away from him, "I do what I can when I feel up to it."
Katsuki deadpanned, "So that's a no." He sighed, "Alright, here's the deal, and no refusing. Every week I'll come over on Friday to make sure you're taking care of yourself, got it?"
"I don't need someone to care for me!" Inko rebutted.
"No, you don't, but I'm gonna do it anyway." Katsuki looked Inko in the eyes, a determined look evident in his eyes as Inko stared back. Then they both started to laugh.
"Fine, I'll be seeing you on Friday, but before you go, let's actually drink our tea? I don't want it to go to waste."
Katsuki laughed, agreeing to her proposal.
While they drank their tea, they talked about how crazy Izuku was when he was younger and their favorite memories of the green haired ball of energy. And while they talked, a certain red-haired hardening teen watched them, pride in his eyes.
Tartarus was a place reserved for the worst criminals. People who had killed hundreds or engaged in the worst acts of humanity. Monsters like Muscular, Moonfish, The Hero Killer, and even All for One resided in the hellish prison, and yet, so did All Might. It was the only place secure enough to protect him from his many, many enemies he made during his career as a pro-hero. So in the worst prison in the world, he resided, wasting away as the days passed him by. A shell of his former self. So he sat silently in his cell, fuming over what happened to him.
At the very least, I passed on our legacy, Sensei. No matter what I am slandered with, One for All will continue to live on in my successor, Toshinori thought in a sort of homage to his Sensei.
The sound of boots walking down the hallway filled his ears, alongside the usual jeers of horrible criminals that he had grown accustomed to. A pair of yellow boots entered his field of vision, a pair of boots he had grown painfully accustomed to in his youth.
Toshinori looked up to see Gran Torino glaring at him from behind his domino mask. He could probably guess what his old mentor was going to say. Even from the beginning, Torino had never believed Toshinori to be fit to be the next chain in the line of One for All users, making his displeasure with his Sensei's decision apparent at every opportunity up until he had finally been given the massively powerful quirk. Even after he had been given the quirk and his Sensei sacrificed herself for him, Torino did everything in his power to beat as much sense and painful lessons into Toshinori so that he was as best prepared as possible. Surely now, seeing his fate, Gran Torino would rag on him as usual, saying how he was unfit to be the successor.
So he was surprised when Gran Torino spoke and said, "I've brought along a visitor, he'll talk to you when I'm done." Toshinori prepared for another one of his long lasting lectures, proclaiming his unworthiness and all that jazz,
"Nana would despise you for what you've become."
Toshinori froze, nothing Gran Torino could've said could ever make him hate himself. He had long ago built up a sort of shield against such weak insults. But that. That made him feel as though he was nothing.
Gran Torino said nothing else. He left after a few more seconds of staring at the pitiful hero before him. And where a pair of old yellow boots left, a pair of new white boots entered.
The dazed hero said nothing as he met the eyes of Mirio Togata, his successor and current holder of One for All. He was crying. Toshinori let his head fall back down.
"You were everything to me, All Might. You were everything to Sir and now he doesn't know what is truth and what is lies." Toshinori said nothing at the mention of his former sidekick. "He's locked himself away in his office for five days researching everything possible about every one of your actions." Toshinori still said nothing. "He's working himself to death because of what you've done!" Mirio punches the bars, yet Toshinori still does not react, "A man like Sir does not deserve what you've done to him! None of them did!"
Mirio permeates through the bars separating them and grabs Toshinori by the collar, pulling him up from his seated position, forcing their eyes to meet one another. "Tell me!" He shouted, "Why do you hate the quirkless if you were once quirkless yourself?!"
Toshinori does not respond, but he seems to have registered Mirio's words.
"Answer me!"
"I hate the quirkless because they remind me of a time where I was once weak, too weak to save anyone. Too weak to save Na-no, I no longer have the right to call her that-my Sensei from that man." Toshinori stood on his own. "They remind me of when my own naivety about the world prevented me from seeing the danger I was walking towards." He pulls Mirio's hands off his collar. "I hate them because they remind me that I am responsible for my Sensei's death." He sits back down, "Even now, I hate them as I hate myself."
Mirio blinks, regains his composure, and sits against the cell wall opposite to his former idol, thinking over what All Might had just said. No one is ever truly immune to their own negative thoughts, not even the Symbol of Peace. Even so, it is the duty of heroes to keep that hatred of oneself away from those it can hurt. All Might had saved thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people in his career, yet the sins he committed against those he killed will undoubtedly shake the very foundations they stand on.
"Your actions very well may destroy the hero industry," Mirio states, "Without the protection of heroes, many will die because of your self-hatred."
Mirio stands from his seated position and permeates through the bars.
All Might calls to him, "Tell Nighteye that I've never been the god he believes me to be. He shouldn't have to work himself to death over my mistakes."
Mirio nods before he turns to face All Might once more, for a final time.
"I will take what you've soiled and use it to save millions, I will not become as tainted as you."
Determination and assuredness become prevalent on Lemillion's face.
"I will become a better hero than you, All Might. Good-bye."
Mirio leaves the cell. Not once looking back.
It was a rather boring day when it finally happened, nothing too exciting had happened since the raid on the Yakuza and tests were in the far off future, so near everyone sat in the common room, doing their usual things to pass time, whether it's playing Mario Kart on the TV (5 dollars if you can guess who), reading a book (another crazy hard guess), messing around on their phone (an actual bit of a hard guess), or taking a nap (final guess).
It was a boring day, so no one was expecting Kirishima suddenly leaped through the kitchen doors, making them crash against the walls violently, leaving quite a sizable dent. After enduring a rather harsh scolding from Iida, he said he has to "talk to someone" and went on his merry-way.
Shinsou, annoyed from being awoken from one of his rare-to-come-by naps, said, "Guess he finally hyped himself up enough to talk to Bakugou," before settling back down on the couch and trying to go back to sleep. Plugging in his earplugs as the shouts of surprise began and chaos reigned over the class's peaceful afternoon.
Bakugou was walking back from another of his weekly visits with Inko. She had begun to look healthier, the bags under her eyes all but disappeared by now. Now he just needed to work on… everything else like getting her to eat a regular amount of food and actually do more in the shower other than just silently cry to herself. He wouldn't stop until she was better than before dammit! And even then, he would continue his visits because it felt nice to talk about mundane stuff with someone who wasn't his classmates every once in a while.
As he continued to walk he passed by a small American-style ice cream place where he saw none other than the sunshine child himself sitting at his table alone. An aura of gloom practically drowning the entire table he sat at.
Even though they still weren't on good terms, Bakugou approached the cashier and ordered two ice cream cones. Cherry with Jalapeños sprinkled on it (yes it's cursed, deal with it) for him and Vanilla for Kirishima.
He hesitantly approached Kirishima's table before practically dropping the ice cream in front of him. Kirishima, surprised at the sudden appearance of his favorite ice cream in front of him, looked towards the kind soul that thought to cheer him up with…
"Bakugou?!" Kirishima tripped backwards. Bakugou gave a non-committal head nod in his direction. It was obvious he wasn't comfortable being in this situation. "Man, I thought I'd never find you bro!"
Bakugou eyes flew wide open as he went into shock.
Lightly poking his cheek and taking his ice cream, Kirishima casually said, "Huh, guess he went into shock, alright then, here goes nothing!"
He hardened his fist and slammed it down on top of Bakugou's head, all while smiling brightly.
Bakugou rubbed his now bruised head, "OW! What the hell was that for?!"
Kirishima just smiled wider, "That's not important."
"You bastard! How can that not be important?!" Bakugou shouted and Kirishima just laughed in response. He scoffed, "Whatever, I guess if you won't tell me then it isn't. Anyway, you said you were actually looking for me?"
"Oh! Yeah, I was! Come on!" Kirishima nodded his head to his side before walking off, presumably to a more private location so any more shouting wouldn't bother anyone else.
They walked past stores, other people, and street corners. Past signs, animals, and houses. Past the past and the future until they arrived at a newly cleaned beach.
"A little birdy told me that you cleaned up this whole beach by yourself," Kirishima said smugly.
Confused at the sudden change in their stagnant conversation, Bakugou fumbled for an answer, "Uh… yeah, I did. Why?"
"Because I think it's time we got to being bro's again, Bakubro!"
Bakugou's hands exploded, splattering his devilish spawn of an ice cream onto the beach, "How do those two things correlate at all?!"
"Because it's physical proof that you've changed." Kirishima spoke seriously. Bakugou was stunned. He didn't know what the hell was going on anymore. Kirishima looked off into the horizon, thinking hard about something, or rather perhaps remembering back to something in the past. "Back in the Yakuza Raid, you were the one who saved Eri while Mirio fought off Chisaki. The old you would've charged in alongside him and tried to fight him off too. But instead you grabbed Eri and got her as safe as possible." Kirishima tapered off.
"How do you know all this? You were knocked out fighting off one of the precepts with Fatgum, right?" Bakugou remembered the raid vividly, the maze-like building constantly shifted, segmenting them off from one another before it just collapsed entirely. Thankfully everyone escaped with minor or no injuries, but it was still a harrowing experience.
"I know a lot about what you've done over the last year, Bakugou." Kirishima wasn't someone who was regularly cryptic about things like this, so it was fairly obvious what he was trying to do.
"You're not gonna creep me out like that, sunshine child," Bakugou deadpanned.
"Aww maaan, and I was trying so hard too-wait, Sunshine Child?"
"Yup, that's the nickname you've been given by the class," Bakugou smirked, "Deal with it."
Kirishima blinked away his surprise, "Ok, whatever, I'm moving on! Like I was saying Bakubro, I know about almost everything you did over the past year." He smiled. "I know you go to that orphanage to help the kids there. I know you've changed because our classmates helped you through your problems. I know you defended Shoji from some seriously bad people. I know you've made up with Kaminari and you're friends again. And I know you stand for Justice. Just like I know you cleaned this beach, you cleaned up so many things and made them so much better. Made people so much happier." Kirishima gave a soft smile all the way through his speech, not once looking way from Bakugou.
"How do you know all this?" Bakugou asked.
"Because I've seen you do it myself," Kirishima responded. "Well… not everything because I wasn't there for your talk with Kaminari or the fight to help Shoji, but I've seen pretty much everything else."
"Wait," the realization came in, "Have you been stalking me?"
"I prefer the term closely monitoring," Kirishima joked.
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to make sure you became a better person, Bakubro," Kirishima said, the setting sun giving the scene an ethereal glow to it, all the while Kirishima's soft smile making damn well sure there was no remaining tension.
"When you saved Shoji, you not only defended him, you helped give him confidence in himself. When you go to that orphanage, I see you talk to every kid in there and I see you tell them that no matter what that they can be heroes. I see you encourage our friends and I see you be encouraged by them. I saw you go on trial against freaking All Might of all people just to bring people the justice they deserve. I see you visit Midoriya's mom every week just because you want to help take care of her." Kirishima was crying now. "I saw you become a better person every step of the way and I can say without a doubt in my mind that you are a hero, through and through.."
Something wet fell onto his hand, Bakugou looked down to see a drop of water soon joined by another. He reached up to his face and felt tears rushing down his face.
"You did good, Bakubro."
He held out his fist for a fistbump, Bakugou eagerly reciprocating it after drying his face.
Kirishima laughed as they walked back to UA, "I thought you weren't someone who cried easily, Bakubro."
"Oh shut it, Shitty Hair," Bakugou smirked.
"I thought we went over this already!" Kirishima exclaimed, "My hair is just like yours!"
"No idea what you're talking about."
Saying goodbye to Sakira and the rest of the kids, Bakugou closed the door behind him and left the orphanage grounds. Since he had begun volunteering there, the state of the orphanage had increased at a rapid rate with him able to do whatever they needed really. The single caretaker no longer had to watch over 20+ kids as well as the house by herself anymore since Bakugou and even Inko sometimes showed up to help.
On the fourth visit with Inko, Bakugou had revealed that he had begun volunteering at the small orphanage close to UA and how awful it was that those kids were abandoned just for their quirks. Inko whole-heartedly agreed and Bakugou could do nothing to stop her from following him there the very same day.
The kids loved her and loved it when she came over to play, cook, and read with them, almost more so than Bakugou (no, he was not jealous). And just like him, she had fallen victim to Sakira's charm and shy demeanor. Bakugou guessed it was because she saw so much of Izuku in her just like he had. But, if it helped get her to take better care of herself, then he was all for it.
Bringing himself out of his daydreaming, Bakugou continued on his walk back to UA. He had thirty minutes before he was scheduled to hold another of the study sessions from hell with one of the idiots and he wanted to take a shower before it started. So on he walked, past stores, shops, and crossroads until he reached the bridge reaching over the local river. Well, river was putting it mildly, the bridge stood at least a hundred feet above the stream which was shallow and full of jagged rocks that was home to a strange breed of fish.
Bakugou walked along the bridge when he heard some sort of noise that sounded suspiciously close to him. He looked around, but saw nothing. He made to walk away before he heard it again.
He looked around once more.
And again.
He looked behind him and in front of him.
And again.
He even looked above him.
And again.
He froze when he saw it.
A pair of shoes, sitting idly against the railing of the bridge, a yellow notes slapped on the inside.
He ran over in a hurry, seeing a brown haired middle schooler who was sporting some serious bruises on his face. He was crying and more worryingly, he was sitting on the other side of the railing, ready to jump.
"Wait!" Bakugou screamed.
The kid jumped in surprise, obviously not expecting someone to approach him. He turned around before his eyes opened wide in recognition. "You're that kid from the All Might trial!" A brief sliver of hope shows in his eyes before it dies just as quickly.
Bakugou didn't like anything about this situation, but he didn't want to rush it and scare the kid off the side, "Yeah, that's me," he spoke softly, "Now tell me what the hell you think you're doing on that side of the bridge?"
The kid looked down, "Isn't it obvious? I'm killing myself."
"Why the fuck would you do that?" Bakugou said, inching closer.
"Because I'm quirkless."
Three words. That's all it took to stop Bakugou in his tracks.
"I've never had any use, everyone always made sure I knew it. My mom, my dad, my friends, my brothers, everyone really." He shrugged, tears pricking at his eyes. "I thought I could prove them wrong by becoming something successful, anything at all, but now I know that's not even possible anymore."
"How can it not be possible?! A quirkless person can do just as much as a quirked can!"
"That's easy for you to say!" The kid screams, "You have a powerful quirk that got you into UA! You don't know what it feels like to take the abuse from everyone!" He's trembling, his hands are shaking. "Ever since the trial, everyone I've known has blamed me for All Might's verdict. They said that since I was quirkless, he was falsely charged guilty and if I didn't exist none of this would've happened. Today they cornered me in an alley and beat me. I couldn't do anything to stop them. And if even the number one hero despises me, then I have to be something truly disgusting."
The kid lets go of the railing and leaps back but doesn't make it very far when Bakugou grab his wrist, loops an arm around his waist and blasts his way back on the bridge. Bakugou is left panting, the sudden exertion straining his wrists and his adrenaline fading. The kid is left in his arms, sobbing on to his shirt. Bakugou leans against the railing and begins to pat the back of this random kid he found at death's door.
"I've learned a lot while I was at UA." He starts. The kid looks up from his shirt, "Not just the whole how to be a hero thing, but how to be a good person." He looks at his hands, what he was once ashamed to have used to belittle, he is now proud to have used to save, "No person is perfect, I know I sure as hell aren't, but that doesn't mean we don't have any good qualities. I had a friend like you once. He was quirkless and all he wanted to do was make something of himself in the world. So he started analyzing and drawing whatever he saw and pretty soon his notebooks were filled with pro-level crap that any hero would die for." Bakugou looked this random quirkless, hopeless kid in the eyes and said, "A quirk doesn't make a person and a lack of one won't either. A person is defined by what they believe in. By what they do." He stood from his seat, walked over to his backpack, and took out a freshly bought notebook, still wrapped in its covering.
"So take this. Use it as a start to your story and make sure its the best damn story anyone could ever read."
The kid clutched the notebook to his chest, fearing that should he let go, he would let go of his second chance at life. After the kid finished bawling his eyes out, Bakugou sent him on his way to the orphanage. There was no way in hell he was sending that kid back to his parents for them to break him again.
Bakugou got to UA thirty minutes late and decided to postpone the study session to tomorrow, leaving his idiots blissfully unaware of the danger they were in.
"Hey Bakubro! Where were you? You said you'd be back forty minutes ago." Kirishima asked.
Katsuki smiled, "I was passing on a notebook's legacy."
Notes:
HOLY CRAP THIS TOOK SO LONG TO WRITE!
While I'm much happier with some parts more than others, overall I'm pretty damn proud of this monster of a story.
PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK I WANT TO IMPROVE MY WRITING!
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it.
- RandomA99