Imagine my surprise while researching this fic when I discovered that Kacchan's Aldera cronies actually don't have Canon names?! I feel like Canon is just encouraging Kacchan at a certain point... X'D Anyway... Thus, Teeth and Fingers. Named after their Quirks. What can I do? [Shrug]
Followers
"Oi, Katsuki!"
He'd known it was coming but still, Kacchan cringed.
The villain attack hadn't even been twenty-four hours ago.
Kacchan had avoided his friends after that, pretended not to see them waving to him from the first aid area...
He'd just sat there on the street, glaring daggers at Deku while he waited for everyone else to stop talking.
What had that idiot been thinking...?
What if All Might hadn't shown up?
This wasn't All Might's territory...
What were the odds he'd even be in the area?
All Might.
Of all the heroes...
Kacchan had wanted to thank All Might, wanted to talk to him, ask him questions. Tell him how much he was going to do in the future.
But he couldn't.
The shame held him back, trapped him like that villain had.
Because this wasn't how he had ever imagined meeting All Might. As a victim, just another weak and helpless extra to be saved and forgotten.
All Might looked at him and didn't see what he planned to become.
How could he?
All Might saved people every day. Kacchan was just another anonymous face in the endless stream of needy extras.
Kacchan had barely said two words to his hero before All Might was swarmed by the media.
It was all wrong.
As All Might walked away, Kacchan could only watch and wish desperately that he could take this whole day back...
He couldn't, of course. It was all over.
So he had slunk away, making his escape from the useless heroes as soon as they had finished praising him and offering him names of villain attack councillors.
When he looked around, Deku was already gone.
That was fine, he knew where the nerd lived.
Kacchan took a shortcut, intercepted Deku, made sure he understood.
That he hadn't needed help.
That what Deku had done was stupid and useless.
He shouted it out, trying to convince Deku that nothing had changed, that he was still strong, still undefeated. That nothing had been lost and everything was the same as it had been a few hours ago.
But of course Kacchan, of all people, knew that wasn't really true...
He'd seen his own death in that moment before Deku had distracted the villain.
The endless void had gaped in front of him as his vision grayed out and he had known without a shadow of a doubt that, for the first time in his life... He had lost.
And then suddenly he'd been able to breathe again and there was Deku, of all people…
And all he could think was… Why?
No matter the reason, Deku had absolutely saved his life.
And that was not ok.
Deku had to know to never do that again, had to hear that Kacchan owed him nothing.
Otherwise, what did that make him? Either of them?
If Kacchan didn't make this very clear… Who knew what that dumb little nerd would think? What might all those crazy thoughts spinning frantically inside the green-haired head build that moment into?
What would he write in those notebooks of his?
So Kacchan set the record straight.
Deku accepted it quietly.
It didn't make Kacchan feel better.
He'd sort of hoped that convincing Deku would make him believe the retcon himself.
Sadly, that hadn't worked at all. He couldn't rewrite the story, couldn't forget.
He, Bakugo Katsuki, future Pro Hero... Owed his life to a simple distraction. A lucky throw from a Quirkless reject.
He'd have to carry that humiliation forever.
All he could hope at this point was that no one else would ever know the truth.
Turned out, there wasn't the remotest chance of that.
Kacchan's mother started yelling before he'd even slammed the door. The news was on and Kacchan scowled briefly at his own school picture on the screen.
How had they gotten that so fast?
Vultures.
"You're an embarrassment, how do you think this looks to the neighbors?" she screamed over the insistant sound of the telephone. "Everyone's been calling me, asking if you're alright! How do you expect to get into UA with this on your record?"
"They won't refuse me admittance for being attacked," Kacchan muttered, mouth dry.
Oh, he hoped that was true…
She started talking about scheduling interviews to manage his image as his heart picked up its pace and everything began to blur around the edges.
Oh no, not now...
"I'm going to bed," Kacchan informed her, holding off the panic attack by sheer force of will.
He knew from experience that that tactic wouldn't work for long.
"Now?" she shouted, unanswered phone still ringing in her hand. "It's not even seven!"
"I know, you stupid hag!" he screamed back as he slammed his door.
"Katsuki!"
He ignored her, covering his ears and trying to slow his frantic breathing. He felt like he was suffocating all over again.
He kept seeing all the ways it could have gone, every one beyond horrifying...
It was a bad night.
He only knew he'd slept because the nightmares became clearer, more detailed.
When his alarm went off the next morning, Kacchan nearly set the nitroglycerin-soaked sheets aflame as he startled awake.
He carefully disposed of the fire hazard he'd created and got ready for school, leaving the house as he'd entered it: to the sounds of his mother's endless harpy screams.
He was barely there before the bell, dragging his feet and taking back alleys through the familiar neighborhood so he wouldn't run into anyone who knew him.
He'd managed to avoid talking to anyone the whole day, gritted his teeth as the teacher had called out his act of "heroism" in front of the class, scowled silently through the applause.
Fingers and Teeth kept trying to catch his eye, along with all the other extras. Hungry for a piece of his recent fame, for a brush with excitement.
Like they envied him.
As if what had happened was some sort of accomplishment.
Kacchan wanted to scream and he felt like he was choking.
He stayed quiet and tried not to gag at the taste he couldn't get out of his mouth, no matter how many times he brushed his teeth.
He'd watched Deku out of the corner of his eye during class, waiting for him to make a move, to say I told you so, or whatever it was the nerd had gotten out of his stupid, reckless move.
Deku was clingy, always had been.
He loved nothing more than rushing in to be the big hero, though he was clearly both unqualified and unwanted.
He always ended up getting hurt and he never learned.
Despite the one-sided confrontation yesterday evening, Kacchan still half-expected Deku to approach at some point, all concern and quivering fear.
"Are you alright, Kacchan?"
He'd shout and threaten and Deku would back off, just like he always did.
He was pretty easy to get rid of, actually… As long as you didn't expect him to stay away.
So Kacchan waited. Tense, angry.
But today Deku was quiet, too… As intensely focused as if he was on the trail of a limited-edition All Might figurine.
Despite the occasional furtive glance, he didn't bother Kacchan the entire day. When class was over, Deku grabbed his books and shoes and headed out as if the school was about to self-destruct behind him.
Whatever, Kacchan thought, no one needed him anyway...
Although... The direction Deku ran wasn't towards home.
Kacchan watched the red shoes flashing down the path, eyes narrowed.
That's when they caught up with him.
"Katsuki!"
Right.
Now that school was out... There was no avoiding it any longer.
He knew what needed to be done.
Kacchan squared his shoulders and half-turned, so they'd knew he'd heard them.
Heroes are strong, he reminded himself.
"Hey, Katsuki," Fingers called out, "where did you go yesterday?"
Kacchan ducked easily away from the arms they tried to wrap around him, their friendly punches.
They were usually smarter, knew to keep their distance.
They knew Kacchan didn't like to be touched.
Why would they think anything about… The incident yesterday would have changed that?
"Home," Kacchan replied curtly, clenching his fists inside of his pockets and forcing them to relax open again.
The other two boys took the hint and backed off a couple of steps.
"You were amazing, man," Teeth enthused. "I think you blew up half the shopping district."
They nudged each other and laughed, like it was all some big joke.
Kacchan took a moment to look at them properly. He'd been afraid to earlier.
But it was time for all of them to face reality.
No bandages, some singeing on their faces and hands...
And here they were just... Giggling, like a couple of idiots.
Did they really not understand?
Even if the villain hadn't killed them, the fires easily could have.
It could have been so much worse. And not just for them...
Thankfully, there hadn't been any casualties, no hospitalizations.
Kacchan knew because he had checked, fingers hovering over his phone, heart rate fast enough to floor most of the population.
But no, no one had been seriously injured. He'd sighed in relief, knowing he'd dodged a bullet.
He'd been incredibly lucky.
The property damage had been extensive but since it had been self-defense, no one would hold that against him.
But fire was dangerous and unpredictable... Someone could have died.
And Kacchan's life would have been over, just like that.
Was that how it worked? he'd wondered through the ebb and flow of the panic.
Fight for your life, risk taking another's?
No.
He knew better.
That was unacceptable, obviously: heroes didn't hurt the extras in order to win.
All Might saved everyone.
And he did it without a team.
He'd only ever had a couple of sidekicks in his entire career. Both of them had been set loose within a few short years to follow their own projects.
Kacchan knew All Might fought alone, everyone knew that. But until today, he'd never fully understood why…
It wasn't just because All Might didn't need anyone to help him.
It was because other people were a liability.
Even for All Might, who was so strong, so fast, who never panicked.
So… That left one obvious answer, and it was really the one Kacchan had known all along.
Yesterday, when it really mattered, when faced with his first real fight…
Measured against his hero, Kacchan had failed on every single count.
So he'd learn, he decided. He'd improve.
It would take time and a lot of work.
That was the plan, long-term.
But in the meantime…
What had happened yesterday could never happen again.
He knew he couldn't count on luck, couldn't just hope for the best and assume everything would just work out, somehow.
He wasn't Deku.
He had to be certain.
He had a plan to avoid more potential disasters like the one he had just been a part of.
This, right here? This conversation?
This was step one.
"What do you want to do today?" Teeth was asking.
"Yeah," Fingers agreed, "we should celebrate the first win of future Pro Hero, Bakugo Katsuki."
"No," Kacchan said.
They exchanged puzzled looks.
"I didn't win and we won't be celebrating," he clarified, forcing his voice to come out evenly. "We won't be doing anything."
He was seething with rage and a cocktail of other, unnamed and highly unpleasant emotions... But he had to control it.
He'd hold it all back, tame it like he had his Quirk.
Kacchan took a deep breath.
"We're done," he said clearly.
There was silence for several long moments. Kacchan's heart pounded so loudly in his chest he felt like it would burst free, like the tears trying to escape from his eyes.
What was he so nervous about?
This was the smart thing to do. The only thing to do.
He just had to wait for them to catch up.
It seemed to take a long time... But that might have been because everything had seemed to be occurring in slow motion since the attack yesterday.
Kacchan knew it was the adrenaline.
But that didn't make it less annoying.
Like everyone else wasn't already slow enough...
"What?" Fingers asked eventually.
Finally.
Kacchan turned to face them, feeling calmer now because this was the easy part. "I said, we're done."
"Katsuki..." Teeth laughed nervously. "What are you talking about?"
They just didn't get it, how much the attack had changed everything. And for a moment Kacchan truly envied their innocence.
"I'm going to UA next year," he explained flatly. "You won't be."
"Hey, Katsuki, come on," Fingers said.
"Yeah, what's the big idea?" Teeth added.
Kacchan shrugged. "I just finally realized: I don't have time for extras like you."
Teeth looked offended. "What, you fought a villain and now you're too good for us?"
"Give it a rest, Katsuki," Fingers chimed in.
"Don't follow me," Kacchan said simply as he turned to walk away.
For a moment, he thought he'd made a clean escape. Then there was the sound of running footsteps and a hand on his shoulder. He spun with a snarl and twisted just enough to pull a yelp out of its owner.
Fingers.
Of course.
"What?" Kacchan demanded, releasing him.
Fingers stumbled back, holding his wrist, fear and confusion in his eyes.
For a moment, he looked so much like Deku.
Maybe I should have tried this tactic on the nerd, Kacchan mused. For all his constant observation, Deku had somehow never gotten the message to stay away, no matter how many neon signals Kacchan sent out.
How someone so smart could be so dumb at the same time was something Kacchan would never understand.
Although some of that was certainly just Deku being contrary: the kid was deceptively stubborn and had elevated passive-aggression to the level of an art form.
An intensely aggravating combination.
But hopefully these two would be a little easier to cut loose.
"You can't be serious," Fingers spluttered after a few moments. "We've been friends since forever, Katsuki."
"So?" Kacchan grunted.
"So, you're just dumping us, just like that?" Fingers asked.
"Yeah, that's not fair," Teeth said.
"Nothing is," Kacchan shrugged.
"Why now?" Fingers wondered. "Because we were useless against that villain? Even the pros couldn't handle him!"
Kacchan thought about All Might, thought about teary green eyes and growled.
"Useless?" he said, temper overflowing despite his efforts to keep it in check. "You were worse than useless. All you did was get in the way!"
"Hey, that wasn't our fault!" Fingers protested.
"Yeah," Teeth agreed, "what were we supposed to do against that guy? After you set everything on fire, we couldn't even move until that tree hero rescued us."
Fingers nodded.
Kacchan wanted to punch something. They looked so stupid, standing there.
How could they say that and still not understand?
"Exactly," Kacchan confirmed with a glare. "Heroes fight villains like that every day. That's their job. It's your job to stay quiet and stand back."
"Fine," Teeth said, giving up. "Come on, we don't need this."
One down...
Halfway there.
"No," Fingers shook his head. "I don't get it."
Fingers was always going to be the bigger challenge.
"Why do you think heroes only hang out with other heroes, huh?" Kacchan spelled it out slowly.
Teeth and Fingers exchanged uncomprehending glances.
Kacchan took a deep breath. He was going to do it right this time. He'd leave no room for interpretation.
No more fragile, helpless, unqualified people getting in his way, placing themselves in danger by being too close.
Never, ever again.
"It's because people like you just get in the way," Kacchan said, voice rising despite himself.
"Yeah?" Fingers countered, talking back in the way Deku never did. "Well, you're not a hero yet, Katsuki. Stop being so full of yourself."
"Tsubasa," Kacchan countered.
It was his trump card and it was as effective as he'd known it would be.
Silence wrapped around the three of them like a tentacled, killer thing. Strangling the conversation in an instant.
Kacchan waited.
Fingers stood frozen, eyes locked on Kacchan's, staring like he'd seen a ghost.
And Kacchan refused to look away, because he was going to finish this, no matter what it took.
Predictably, it was Teeth who spoke first.
"Who's Tsubasa?" Teeth asked obliviously.
"Well?" Kacchan said to Fingers. "Tell him."
"Shut up, Kacchan," Fingers whispered. He was shaking.
Kacchan saw and knew it was almost over.
"Neighborhood kid," Kacchan explained with careful distance. "He disappeared. They never found out what happened."
"Oh, yeah..." Teeth said. "I've heard about this. I thought it was made up. You guys really knew him?" His eyes lit up with that sick thirst everyone displayed when they talked about Tsubasa. As if it was some campfire tale instead of someone's life.
"He just moved away suddenly," Fingers gulped. "We were kids, we made up a story and scared ourselves into thinking it was real."
Kacchan scoffed. The denial was relatable but all he could feel was pity. "You know that's not true. The news reports are all online, you can look." He changed his mind as Fingers' eyes grew twice as wide. This wasn't going to accomplish anything, wasn't necessary. Fingers had already given up, there was clearly no fight left in him. "Whatever, tell yourself what you want."
"Why would you bring that up now?" Fingers asked. His tone was quiet but he was angry. Kacchan knew he wouldn't be forgiven for this.
That was good. Kind of the point.
He closed his eyes for just a second.
No turning back now.
Finish the job.
"Is that what you want to be?" he asked. "A nameless story the neighborhood kids tell each other to scare themselves into staying close to town? Do you want to just disappear?"
"What are you saying?" Fingers blinked, uncertain, like it had been a threat.
It hadn't... Just a warning.
No one ever understood the difference.
But that look on Fingers' face… Fear.
Good.
He should be afraid.
This world, the world of heroes and villains... It wasn't safe.
It wasn't even close to safe.
Putting even one toe over the line could get you killed.
Or worse.
Kacchan didn't have any idea what worse was but his instincts told him that it was very, very real...
He'd never been able to shake that feeling completely, not since Tsubasa.
He'd gotten a glimpse of it again, yesterday, as he'd stared into the void.
These two, Deku, everyone else... They didn't understand. They weren't prepared and kuso, Kacchan was not going to be saddled with a bunch of useless extras to protect.
"Find someone else to follow," he said, turning away to leave them behind.
He heard one last desperate shout from behind him. "You're a jerk, Katsuki!"
"Yeah," Kacchan agreed. He paused, and he just had to say it. It was his last chance, after all. "By the way... I never asked you to call me that."
"What?" Fingers asked, baffled.
Kacchan shook his head. He didn't expect them to understand how much he hated his given name, and it's not as if he'd ever bothered to contradict Fingers when he'd switched from Kacchan to Katsuki as they both got older.
Whatever.
It didn't even matter now.
"Nothing," he said. "Just stay the hell away from me."
He walked away alone.
And they didn't follow.
Kacchan took a deep breath, feeling freed, feeling a small measure of relief.
He wouldn't have to worry now.
It would all be fine.
He could check this one thing off the list.
It was a good start.
Now, he could focus on getting stronger, with no fragile rejects to hold him back, to limit his potential.
He'd only have to worry about himself.
It was exactly the way it should be.
True, Deku had never quite gotten the message but... Maybe he'd finally seen yesterday just how hopeless his stupid dreams of being a hero were.
It was impossible to miss, right? Even for Deku.
Kid would have been dead in another sixty seconds if All Might hadn't shown up.
So would Kacchan, of course... On top of all the other reasons Deku drove him crazy, he now had to deal with that green-haired nerd being a constant, walking reminder of his own mortality.
Anyway, Kacchan reminded himself, he wouldn't have to worry about Deku for very much longer.
Deku had always been around, somehow never more than a few steps behind.
But less than a year from now, Kacchan would be at UA and there's no way any amount of fantasizing or denial would get Deku in there without a Quirk.
Deku couldn't follow him there.
Kacchan walked to his favorite practice area, an old quarry.
No one came here. It was a dangerous place.
Much more so when Kacchan was there.
In the old days, Deku would come here and watch from a safe distance. Silent. Pen scribbling.
Meaning... Kacchan had always had to hold back.
Not today.
He was done with all of that.
Kacchan changed into his training clothes and let it all out, a human firestorm of rage and indiscriminate destruction. He screamed at the rocks as he pulverized them to dust with repeated explosions, imagining that sludge villain, imagining his mother. Clearing the way to his own future with blasts that took him far past his comfort zone.
He was weak.
He'd thought he was so strong, good enough to get complacent.
He'd been so, so wrong...
He had to be the best.
He wasn't even close.
Kacchan gritted his teeth through the pain, ignoring it, focusing on his goal.
Ten months.
It was ten months until the UA entrance exam. When that time came, he'd be ready. He'd have the highest score of anyone since All Might.
They wouldn't even know what had hit them.
"I have so far to go!" Kacchan shouted. His words were drowned out beneath the thunderous noise of his own explosions and thankfully no one was there to see the tears. "You'll see!"
Fiery blasts and cursing lit up the night long after the sun had gone down. Kacchan kept going, refusing to let up his assault though his arms burned as if his veins had been filled with acid.
He only stopped when he couldn't even lift his arms anymore. He stared at the sky through the salt and ash caked onto his face.
"I'm going to be a hero..." It came out as a breathless sob.
No.
That's not how heroes talked.
"Watch me!" Kacchan growled.
He summoned the last of his strength for one final explosion. Feeble, but enough to illuminate the thirty-foot radius of charred ruin he'd created around the spot where he stood.
Kacchan raised his head to scream defiantly at the world as the light faded.
"All of you… Just watch me!"
The End
For those of you who aren't aware, Tsubasa is the name of the winged kid who was part of Kacchan's crew through First Grade or so. He isn't seen later and, according to a very strong hint on a manga info page, was perhaps the Winged Nomu who attacked Deku in Hosu...
... YEAH.
We have no more information than JUST THAT, but I went ahead an ran with it as far as I could without directly impacting potential future Canon.
(Thanks to my sister, IncomingAlbatross, for bringing this to my attention. It gave this confrontation a real emotional punch which was missing up until I had that piece!)
Hope you enjoyed it - or whatever the Trauma Equivalent of that is! (Next one will be nicer, I swear!)
Thank you for reading!