Chapter 9: Summer Break pt 2 - Katsuki
Disclaimer: I own nothing
(((First Day of Summer Break, Bakugo Home)))
Katsuki, still in his school uniform, opened the door to his family's house and called out "I'm home."
"Oh, welcome back, son." Masaru called back as he got up from the couch to greet his son.
"Well, don't leave us in suspense, brat. Did military school do something about that damn attitude of yours? If not, I'm gonna go over there and give 'em hell." Mitsuki asked loudly as she approached her son.
"Mom, could you please not use any swear words? I'd really appreciate it." Katsuki asked, not wanting to be reminded of anything even remotely related to Irohama Saturday detention.
"Seriously? Was one damn semester all it took to turn you into a shitty wimp?" Mitsuki shouted in surprise.
"Please, Mom, I really don't want to hear any swear words. Swear words landed me in Saturday detention and I don't want any reminders." Katsuki pleaded.
"Yeah, yeah, fine." Mitsuki shrugged, not realizing exactly what Katsuki had gone through.
"Mom, Dad, since you're both here, there's something I need to say to both of you." Katsuki said.
Katsuki did the very last thing his parents ever expected him to do. He bowed forward and said "I want to apologize for being such a poor mannered son. I hope you can forgive me."
Masaru and Mitsuki were awestruck at seeing Katsuki actually apologize, and with a bow too.
"I want you to know that from now on, I'm going to make an effort to be better." Katsuki said as he stopped bowing.
Katsuki sat down on the step in front of the door. He untied the laces on his combat boots and left them behind, switching to his house slippers (which were almost too small for him now).
"Mom, Dad, if you don't mind, I had a long trip back from school. I'd like to rest in my room for a while." Katsuki requested.
The explosion user left without waiting for a reply and went up the stairs to his room.
"He called us Mom and Dad instead of Old Hag and Loser, he doesn't like swears anymore, and he apologized, with a bow no less." Mitsuki listed. "To top it all off, he now knows how to use an inside voice."
"Sending him to military school was a good decision." Masaru noted.
(((Minutes Later, Katsuki's Bedroom)))
Katsuki had just entered his room and closed the door.
"Okay, this is weird." Katsuki said to himself. He wasn't used to having his own room anymore.
Katsuki took a moment to look at himself in the mirror. He still wore his school uniform, he hadn't even removed his student cap.
'What happened to me?' Katsuki thought as he looked at his reflection. 'I've only been going to Irohama for one semester. And I've still got two years and two semesters to go until high school. I already barely recognize myself. The person in this mirror now is totally different from the person who was in it a few months ago.
The words of Principal Koyu began to echo in his head. 'You'll be a polite young gentleman who's always eager to help others, and who doesn't question his authority figures. You may not believe me, you may deny my claim, but I've seen it more than enough times to know that I'm right.'
"Was he right? Am I really becoming the way he predicted I'd be?" Katsuki asked himself.
Katsuki smiled, a genuine smile rather than a malicious smile, and said "Well, ya know what; I'm glad he was right. I'm a military school student, and one day, I'll be a better Hero because of it."
(((Week 1)))
Katsuki was looking at himself in the mirror, giving himself a pep talk.
"Okay Katsuki, you're back home and you're a different person than you were before."
"Remember Katsuki, you're a nice, friendly, and compassionate good guy. You don't care about being strong; you only want to help others."
Katsuki walked downstairs, walked to the front door, put on his shoes, and walked out, ready to introduce the new him to the world.
(((Week 2)))
Katsuki was walking down the street and began walking past the park where he, Izuku, and all their former classmates used to play.
It was then that Katsuki saw something that made him stop in his tracks.
Different people, same scenario. The little boys ganging up on another little boy who was trembling. The boys all looked to be about five years old.
The boy leading the group of bullies had slick-back lavender hair and wore a light blue hoody.
The second of the bullies looked like a hybrid of human and wasp. He had wild goldenrod hair and wore a dark green golf shirt.
The third bully had shoulder length dark orange hair and wore a backwards crimson baseball cap and matching t-shirt.
The trembling boy had white hair that shot upward and wore a dark purple sweater-vest over a pale blue button-up shirt.
"As if a Quirkless nobody like you could ever be a Hero." The leader of the bullies accused. "The only one in our class to become a Pro Hero will be me, the great Fujishi Ishikono."
The now named Fujishi activated his Quirk, 'Hammerhead', causing him to transform into a human-hammerhead shark hybrid.
"Come on Fuji, Tanzo and I can become Heroes too." The second bully reputed.
"Shut up, Oritani." Fujishi demanded. "Now help me teach this Quirkless loser a lesson."
The other two bullies readied themselves.
The wasp-like bully, Oritani Awazaku, his Quirk, 'Wasp', flew off the ground with his insect wings and lifted his legs so as to brandish the stinger coming from his tailbone.
The other bully, Tanzo Shoshogi, activated his Quirk, 'Vapor', allowing him to manipulate the surrounding water vapor. He collected the water vapor into small drops; he couldn't make them too big, though, otherwise he would lose control of the water.
Katsuki, seeing where this was going, rushed over and got in between the bullies and their would be victim.
"That's enough." Katsuki stated.
Katsuki turned towards the Quirkless youth, bent down on one knee, and asked the white haired boy "Are you alright?"
The boy nodded.
"Good!" Katsuki stated.
Katsuki looked back toward the three bullies and said "You three, what do you think you were doing?"
The three little boys took a few steps back. No matter how proud they were of their Quirks, they definitely did not want to test their luck in a fight with someone who was about three times their age.
"I heard you say that you wanted to be Heroes, right? Well, attacking a defenseless person who did nothing wrong doesn't seem very heroic, wouldn't you agree?"
"But…" Fujishi began, but Katsuki wasn't having it.
"Do you think All Might would approve of what you were doing?" Katsuki asked.
That got the three boys to shut up real quick.
"If he knew he was fighting to protect people like you three, he would probably regret being a Hero." Katsuki stated.
'Harsh, I know; but I intend to make sure that these three don't become like I was.' Katsuki thought.
"If you three want to become Pro Heroes one day, you have to be worthy of being a Hero. Let me give you some words of wisdom that a very wise man once gave to me. Being a Hero isn't about proving your strength, there are plenty of other, less dangerous ways to do that. Being a Hero is about helping and protecting others." Katsuki explained as the three boys shut down their Quirks.
"If you want to be Heroes, you have to be compassionate. You can start by apologizing to this kid." Katsuki stated and pointed over his shoulder to the Quirkless boy.
Fujishi begrudgingly walked over to the Quirkless boy and said "We're sorry, Ginyu." while giving a small bow.
Oritani and Tanzo following suit.
Katsuki, satisfied that the crisis was averted and that he had prevented three youths from becoming like he once was, continued on his way.
Before he got very far, though, he felt something tug on his pants. Katsuki looked down and saw that the one tugging on his pants leg was the white haired Quirkless boy, Ginyu.
The boy looked up at Katsuki and quietly said "Thank you!" before heading back to the park.
Katsuki could only smile, happy that he could be someone's Hero.
(((Week 3)))
Katsuki returned to his house. "Mom, Dad, I'm back from lunch with the Midoriya's."
"Well finally, what the hell took so long?" Mitsuki questioned.
"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting; I offered to stay and help with the dishes. I didn't mean to worry you." Katsuki apologized.
"Well if you wanna help with dishes so bad, then get your ass in here and help me." Mitsuki shouted from the kitchen.
"I'll be right there, Mom." Katsuki replied as he took off his shoes and left them at the door.
Katsuki entered the kitchen and walked over to the sink where his mother looked ready to blow a gasket.
"What the hell took you so long ya shitty brat?" Mitsuki growled while smacking Katsuki upside the head.
"Ow! Mom, could you please stop smacking me?" Katsuki requested.
"Shut up, now you rinse the dishes, I'll put them in the dishwasher." Mitsuki ordered.
'I can't help but notice that she gave herself the easy job.' Katsuki thought.
Nonetheless, Katsuki got to work rinsing the dishes as his anger-prone mother requested.
(((One Hour Later)))
After helping his mom with the dishes, Katsuki walked past the laundry room to see that his father was about to do the laundry.
"Hey Dad, if you want, I can help you with the laundry if you want." Katsuki offered.
"Oh, uh, I wouldn't want to bother you, son." Masaru replied.
Katsuki smiled and said "It's no bother at all, Dad. I'm trying to be a more helpful person."
"Well, I guess if you don't mind too much." Masaru conceded.
Katsuki nodded and got to work helping his father. Katsuki separated the lights, darks, reds, and delicates. Masaru gathered up the lights and put them in the washing machine.
(((30 Minutes Later)))
After helping his dad with laundry, Katsuki headed back to his room.
"Huh, before Irohama, I never thought I'd be helping out with the chores." Katsuki said to himself after closing his bedroom door behind him.
(((Week 4)))
Katsuki had just left the mall after getting the new All Might poster he wanted. That's when he ran into three of his old friends/lackeys.
Shikoshi Tsubasa. His Quirk, 'Dragon Wings'. He can grow a pair of dragon-like wings from his back.
Onisato Jukusashi. His Quirk, 'Fingers'. He can make his fingers grow much longer.
Gyuko Fuintama. His Quirk, 'Fangs'. He can make his teeth large and pointy.
"Hey, it's been a while, Kaachan." Onisato greeted.
"Oh, hey guys. I wasn't expecting to run into you." Katsuki replied back.
"Now that just hurts, Kaachan. It's one thing if you're trapped at military school, but it's summer break now. Yet not once have you called us to hang out." Shikoshi argued.
"Yeah, about that." Katsuki said while rubbing the back of his head. "I don't think I should hang out with you guys anymore."
"Huh, what's that supposed to mean?" Gyuko asked.
"Going to Irohama has really put things into perspective for me. I've realized that the person I used to be isn't exactly what one would consider 'a good guy'." Katsuki explained.
"That doesn't explain why you don't wanna hangout with us anymore." Onisato pointed out.
"I've started trying to turn my life around. Honestly, I think that you guys might be bad influences." Katsuki admitted.
"Kaachan, you can't be serious." Shikoshi shouted with shock.
"I should go." Katsuki stated as he turned to leave.
After taking a few steps, though, he paused and turned back. "While I have the three of you here, there's something I want you to do. I want you three to apologize to Cadet Midoriya for all the trouble you've caused him over the years."
"Whaaa! You want us to apologize to that worthless loser Deku?" Onisato questioned.
"Don't insult him like that. He's not worthless and he's not a loser." Katsuki defended. "Izuku Midoriya is my best friend. The three of you WILL apologize to him. Goodbye!"
Katsuki continued on his way, leaving his three old friends behind.
(((Week 5)))
Katsuki had just finished combing his hair. It took a very long time too, since his hair kept spreading back outward.
Finally, after spending the past week working to keep his hair under control, his hair had finally gotten used to the new style and stayed as he had combed it.
Katsuki's hair was now well groomed and parted on the side. A style that he got the inspiration for from the most charismatic of the top five Pro Heroes, the current No. 3 Hero, Best Jeanist.
"That's better." Katsuki stated with satisfaction. "Much more becoming of a future Hero."
Katsuki looked in the mirror and noticed that while his hair style had improved, there was still just one small problem.
"Okay, now how am I supposed to inspire hope like All Might when my super narrow eyes make me look intimidating?"
The Explosion user thought for a moment. Then an idea came to him.
"It would be super embarrassing… but it's like All Might said; if I want to be a Hero, I can't just think of myself. Helping others is what matters." Katsuki decided.
Katsuki sat at his computer, accessed the internet, and typed in 'Makeup tutorial make eyes less narrow'.
A number of instructional online videos came up as a result of his search.
(((Week 6)))
The summer break had come to an end and a bus was waiting to take the Irohama students of Mustafu back to military school.
Katsuki was once again wearing his school uniform, the dark blue Gakuran uniform, matching student cap, and black combat boots. In addition to his uniform, Katsuki now had his new hairstyle and, thanks to his recently purchased supply of makeup, his eyes appeared more round; almost as round as Izuku's eyes, but not quite.
"Are you sure you've got everything?" Masaru asked.
"I'm sure." Katsuki responded.
"Hurry up, brat. If you miss the bus, I ain't the one driving you all the way back to school." Mitsuki stated.
"Isn't your driver's license still suspended from the traffic cop incident?" Katsuki asked.
"Argh, you beat up one glorified crossing guard within an inch of his life one time." Mitsuki complained. "He knew what he did."
"Uh, dear… You were going fifteen miles over the speed limit." Masaru pointed out. "It was kind of his job to give you that ticket."
"The only reason you weren't arrested is because all the Police and Pro Heroes were too scared to challenge you after seeing what you did to the traffic cop." Katsuki reminded.
"Shut up, brat. Don't you have a bus to catch?" Mitsuki shouted.
Katsuki, with his now non-malicious smile, stood at attention, and gave his parents a salute. "Mother, Father, Cadet Katsuki Bakugo, middle school first year of Irohama military academy for boys, shipping out for the second semester. I will see you again come the winter break."
Katsuki then turned away and ran toward the bus. When he reached the buss door, he noticed Izuku was still talking to his mom.
"You should really hurry up, Cadet Midoriya." Katsuki called out, knowing the bus was leaving soon.
"I'll be right there." Izuku called back.
Katsuki entered the bus and found a couple of seats for himself and Izuku. Katsuki sat down, waiting for his friend and ready to begin the second semester of his first year of military school.
If you are wondering about Best Jeanist's hero rank, don't forget, this takes place about three years before the start of Canon.
Hawks may hold the record for the soonest anyone got into the top ten, but I doubt that he made it all the way into the number 3 spot within such a short amount of time.