Chapter 12: Who Knew The UA Entrance Exam Was So Hardcore?
Summary:
(KASTUKI CHAPTER! KATSUKI CHAPTER! KATSUKI CHAPTER!)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Wow, you're so amazing Kacchan!"
"I hope that when I get my quirk it's a cool as yours…"
"You're going to be the best hero! And I'll always be there right beside you."
Katsuki woke up feeling the streams of tears on his cheeks immediately. Every morning it was like this. Ever since the nerd…he's been having the same kind of dreams that were centered around his childhood friend.
Some were just sad like tonight, reminders of how good and pure the boy was before everything. But some nights Katsuki wasn't so lucky.
For a solid month after the accident the only dream he had was of him jumping. He would see the things leading up to it and every time he closed his eyes all he saw was Izuku broken and lifeless. After a while he stopped waking up screaming and just resorted to silently sobbing most nights.
The thoughts haunted him constantly…
"Just shut up Deku! No one wants to be friends with a useless loser like you."
"You'll never be as good as me Deku, it's just not possible with how pathetic you are."
"You're nothing and always will be, why don't you just do all of us a favor and take the swan dive so that we don't have to deal with your shit anymore?"
Why? Why did I have to say that to him? Why did I have to be such a dick and destroy the one good thing in my life?
I really am pathetic…
Sitting here feeling sorry for myself when Izuku's dead. And it's my fault.
Katsuki knew that it was nowhere near time to get up yet, but if he went back to sleep then he'd just have the same dreams-or nightmares. So, he decided to go ahead and get up and take a shower so that he wasn't so gross and sweaty.
The water was cold, but not too much so, he didn't want to catch a cold. Not with the UA entrance exams being so close.
That's also something that changed after…everything. Katsuki refuses to take anything but cold showers or eat or drink anything that's hot. His quirk relies on the sweat that his body produces and so he decided that he just wouldn't sweat. It wasn't working out too well for him so far, but he just couldn't bring himself to use his quirk unless it was absolutely necessary.
It just brought back memories of him tormenting and abusing Izuku and he got enough of that in his head, he didn't need any more reminders.
Once he was finished in the shower, he started working on some of his schoolwork. He was already way ahead of everyone else because that was one of the things he turned to when he thought too much. It helped distract him, at least for a bit.
He decided that he was still going to try to be a hero, but he didn't have to be the best anymore. It was that ambition that drove him to treat everyone around him like dirt and Katsuki didn't want to be that person anymore. He wanted to be someone that Izuku could be proud of, he wanted to be the Kacchan that he always saw despite everything.
Katsuki was going to do better. It wasn't going to make up for the past and he wasn't trying to, he just couldn't be that way-he wouldn't. He refused to be someone who tore people down and drove them to kill themselves. He wanted to be better. He wanted to be like Izuku.
Someone soft, and kind, and light, and good. Katsuki wasn't good. He might never be able to be, but that didn't mean that he couldn't try.
For Izuku.
"Katsuki! You better make it in." Mitsuki called as her son tried his best to get through the living room as quietly as possible.
The boy cursed under his breath and turned to where his mother was peaking her head out of the kitchen. "Yeah mom, of course I'll make it in. I am the best after all." The words were empty. They held absolutely no conviction or truth in them. Katsuki knew he wasn't the best and he wasn't trying to be anymore. But he knew that if he admitted that to his mom then she'd have a meltdown.
For as long as he can remember it's always been about winning, about being the best, about cutting down those beneath you and working your way to the top. Right when Katsuki got his quirk was when it really got bad, he had always been scolded and compared to Izuku by his mother.
She would yell about how he was such a screw up and that he was horrible because he wasn't as nice or polite as the other boy. And then when it was announced that Izuku was quirkless, anytime the Midoriyas were brought up it was always how it was such a tragedy that their son was a failure. And how sorry she felt for Inko because she had to deal with the humiliation of giving birth and raising someone so weak.
He was just a kid.
They were both just kids who had big dreams, but completely different destinies.
"That's what I want to hear, now go and show all of those extras who's going to be number one."
"Yes ma'am."
Katsuki was thankful for the short conversation. When his dad wasn't around, their interaction tended to be a bit more intense without him as a buffer for her. Katsuki didn't know if he knew about everything, about what mom would always say, but he had never been one to speak up anyway, so it didn't really matter.
He had to take the bus to get to UA. It was a quiet ride and Katsuki found himself people watching. Looking at each face and trying to figure out what their quirks might be and if they had ever been hurt because of them.
It was a habit he had picked up from Izuku. When they were younger, he would always analyze everyone around him and as much as Katsuki didn't want it to, it rubbed off on him. He was thankful for it now though, because it helped him see just how much of a dick he and the people he hung out with were.
The place was humungous. Yeah, UA was supposed to be the best and most prestigious hero school in the country, but wow.
It was actually very intimidating. Past Katsuki would've just scoffed and taken it as a challenge to be better and live up to the school, but things were different now. It was an honor for him to be here, after all…not everyone could be.
The written exam was a breeze, guess all those early mornings studying instead of sleeping really paid off. And after Present Mic was finished with introducing them and explaining how the physical exam was going to work the room was split into two groups that went to their respective exam sites.
Katsuki was surprised by how easily he recognized some of the pro heroes that were around, another thing he picked up from Izuku he supposed.
Alright, so the objective of the physical exam was to destroy as many robots as possible and rack up the most points. It seemed easy enough, but Katsuki cringed at the thought of using his quirk so much and around so many people who could get caught in the middle of it.
Oh wow…
That's definitely different. If only mom could hear his thoughts, she'd probably explode with anger.
A loud buzzer sounded, and Present Mic's voice announced the start of the exam.
It was chaos. People were destroying bots left and right and Katsuki was beginning to get overwhelmed.
No, focus! You have to pass, do it for Izuku.
For Izuku…right.
It was almost child's play taking down the robots. The biggest obstacle was actually controlling the blasts and trying his best to protect everyone around him. Shrapnel had left multiple cuts and bruises on Katsuki's arms that were exposed by his tank top, but at least it was him and not the other kids. They didn't need to be hurt by his quirk even if it wasn't directly. He couldn't do that anymore.
He lost count of how many times an oblivious participant thanked him once they figured out what had happened, but that really didn't matter. He wasn't looking for praise, he just didn't want to hurt anyone. Ever again.
The exam was almost over when a loud siren was blowing out Katsuki's eardrums and making it hard for him to stay on his feet. No one knew what was going on, but he suspected that it had something to do with those zero pointers that Present Mic warned them about. He said to avoid them…alright, easy enough-
Oh.
Nevermind…
Robots that were taller than the buildings in the fake city rounded the corner and began to make the ground shake as they moved towards them.
I feel like that's a lot more than just an insignificant robot that we should avoid!
What, are they trying to kill us??
The examines around Katsuki began to run away in terror, some screaming and some managing to keep their cool while looking at the five story tall death robots that were coming right at them. Running seemed like a good idea, actually probably the only idea that didn't end up with him steamrolled on the ground.
Katsuki started running while still looking back at the zero pointers, actually looking to see if anyone was still near them, when he heard someone scream for help. He searched around for who could've called out and quickly found where a girl looked to be trapped under some rubble that fell when one of the robots ran into a building. And the robots were about to run her over.
UA wouldn't let that happen right? They wouldn't let an innocent girl get injured over something like an exam…
But this was a hero school, and they were supposed to be training to deal with real villains who would be trying to kill them. There's no telling what the school might do to prepare them for a life as dangerous as being a hero.
Aw hell-
Without a second thought, Katsuki was off towards the trapped girl as people around him yelled at him to stop and to run back. Did they not see that she needed help? Maybe they did, it didn't look like any of them were going to try to help her. Guess it was up to him then.
"Hey, hey, you're good. You're good, you're going to be fine. Can you move?"
The girl tried to wiggle out from under the rubble but stopped when she knew that she wouldn't be able to, "No, and my quirk is at its limit."
"What's your quirk?"
"Zero Gravity. I can take away the gravity of anything that I touch with all five fingers."
Katsuki tried to lift the one of the larger pieces of building off of her but was unsuccessful. Okay, now what? What would Izuku do?
He looked at the approaching robots and guessed that it'd be maybe ten seconds until they were right on top of them. "Okay, okay, okay, okay." He looked around for something that he could maybe use as a lever to help lift the rubble.
Nothing, just a bunch of rocks and…pipes!
Katsuki found a pipe that looked sturdy enough and ran back to where the girl was. "Okay, I need you to try and help me. I know that you're at your limit, but please just try to help lift this." She nodded, determination filling her expression as she took a deep breath in and the two nodded at each other.
The girl touched the piece of rubble with both of her hands and Katsuki got the pipe under it and began to push down on the other side. Slowly the chunk began to lift and the boy found himself smiling while the girl looked like she was about to throw up, but kept on pushing.
Come on…comE ON!
Just a little bit more-YES!
"Now! Move now!" The girl quickly (or as quickly as she could) pulled herself out from under the chunk of building and rolled on her back as Katsuki finally dropped it and let out a breath.
I can't believe that actually worked…
"Oh no…" The girl looked above Katsuki and gasped sharply.
"What-?" Oh right, the robots…kinda forgot about those.
Katsuki got to his feet and groaned as he wrung out his hands. This was going to hurt…
Notes:
You guys have no idea how long I've waiting for us to get here! I'm so excited to dive into more canon events but from a different perspective than Izuku's and I hope you guys are too.
Let me know what your thoughts are on Bakugou because I'm genuinely curious. And don't worry, next chapter we'll be back to our regularly scheduled program.
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, please leave a comment to let me know your thoughts so far!
Thanks for reading