An Explosive Arbiter

by Anonymuss45

In a wide, wide, galaxy, change can come at the drop of a hat. In Bakugo Katsuki's case, it came in the form of an explosion. With an entire galaxy to explore and dangers at each and every turn, it's a race against the clock to fix his mistakes with a small group of idiots who attached themselves to him at the hip.

2. The Earphone Jack

An Explosive Arbiter

Chapter 2: The Earphone Jack

When Bakugo awoke, it was to the sound of something heavy falling over.

Out of pure reflex, he rolled out of his chair, prepared to fight the intruder, only to hit his head on something metal. Clutching his head, he groaned as he slowly came back to his senses.

Where the hell am I? He thought to himself, looking around blindly. It took him a second or two, but the shitty walls and cramped space reminded him of his situation.

Bakugo let out a groan. It wasn't a dream, after all.

"Hey, morning, Bakugo! You sleep well?" Shitty Hair asked, still sounding infuriatingly positive.

"Fuck you, Shitty Hair." Bakugo groaned. He was currently nursing a headache and his arms still ached from...yesterday? How long had he been asleep?

Glancing at the ward drive time, he saw that he had been out for eleven whole hours. His eyes widened. He hadn't been planning on sleeping that long. No wonder his head hurt like hell.

"You got any food, or water, in this hellhole? Or, better yet, clothes?" Bakugo asked, wrinkling his nose. It physically hurt him inside to ask for charity, but he reeked. He also didn't want to show up at a spaceport wearing orange inmate clothing.

"Yeah, we got some leftover pizza and some soda. Check the fridge. I got some clothes you can borrow, too. We're probably the same size, right?" Shitty Hair interjected, looking proud of himself. Bakugo's nose wrinkled. He wasn't looking forward to cold pizza and soda in the morning, but he would take what he could get.

Shitty Hair stood up, rifled through a pile of clothes sitting on top of a chair in the corner, and came back with a pair of jeans and a black shirt. Tossing them to Bakugo, he gave the feisty man a smile.

"Those should fit. Sorry if our ship is a little messy, by the way. We've been living here." Shitty Hair said, looking apologetic.

"Right." Bakugo grunted, taking his shirt off to change.

"WHOA! You're just gonna change in here!?" Pikachu objected loudly through a mouthful of pizza, looking mildly horrified.

Bakugo blinked. "Yeah. You got a problem with it, Pikachu?" Bakugo leered at the half-Zoltan.

"Uh- no, but...wouldn't it be, like indecent?" Pikachu stuttered out, looking a bit embarrassed.

"It's nothing you haven't seen before. Look away if it bothers you that much." Bakugo grunted, pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it on the back of the chair.

"Whoa, dude, are you okay? You got a couple burns." Shitty Hair said, a concerned look on his face. Looking down, Bakugo saw what he meant.

His skin was blotched in spots, from burns both old and new. He was surprised that he hadn't noticed it earlier. Then again, he had been pretty distracted, and his pain tolerance was through the roof.

"I'll be fine." Bakugo responded shortly, pulling on the shirt that Shitty Hair threw him. Bakugo quickly finished changing without incident, and after grabbing some food, sat back down in the captain's chair.

"If you two are gonna sleep, do it. We won't be there for another few hours." Bakugo said, taking a bite of his food.

"Where is 'there', by the way?" Pikachu asked from where he sat a few feet away.

"A space station. I need to buy a new ship." Bakugo responded, watching the soft glow of hyperspace idly.

"Why?" Shitty Hair asked idly through a mouth of pizza.

"I told you fucks that I'm not staying on this ship. I'm going my own way." Bakugo responded brutally, not caring for their feelings.

"But...I thought that you would stick around, maybe join us?" Shitty Hair pleaded from behind Bakugo. He couldn't see him, but Bakugo already knew what his face would look like; a soft, hurt look, not unlike a kicked puppy.

Good. Bakugo hated puppies. Too much love and attention were needed for them to maybe become useful one day. He would much rather just have a full-grown dog. Those were far more badass than a puppy.

"I'm not gonna stick around and wait for this ship to explode, Shitty Hair." Bakugo responded tiredly.

"Hey, Bakugo, I know that you don't want to stick around, and I know our ship isn't the greatest, but you don't have to insult us every other sentence, you know." Shitty Hair said, a new, more dangerous edge to his voice.

Bakugo cracked an eye open and swiveled in his chair. "I'll do what I want, Shitty Hair, and don't you fucking forget it." He said, letting a few small explosion light in his palm to emphasize his point.

"You say that, but this is our ship, and we're proud of it. I'm not just going to sit around while you insult the best thing that we have going for us." Shitty Hair said, standing up from his chair to emphasize his point.

"Hey, Kirishima, maybe you shouldn't-" Pikachu began, only to be interrupted by Bakugo's raucous laughter.

"THIS is the best thing you have going for you? I've flown better ships as a child. Sorry that I'm not a fucking peasant who bought a ship for twelve credits." Bakugo jeered, almost daring Shitty Hair to try something.

An eyebrow was raised when Shitty Hair's skin hardened into what appeared to be small spikes and his eyes narrowed.

"Say that again." Shitty Hair said, his voice betraying the anger rolling off of him.

"And what if I fucking do?" Bakugo almost roared, rising to his feet as well, the pizza forgotten.

The tension in the room was palpable. Pikachu looked frightened, yet determined, like he wanted to jump in, but knew he shouldn't. Shitty Hair was angry- Bakugo had just insulted the only thing that he held to his name. Bakugo himself was almost twitching in anticipation. He had been looking forward to someone who could take his explosions, and someone who was a Rock would be perfect.

The console beeped behind Bakugo, and he tore his eyes away from Shitty Hair.

"Warning: Ship is approaching from hyperspace. Incoming transmission."

The room was silent for a long moment.

Someone has a stronger warp drive than us, and they're following our exact route.

"Get out of the room. I'll take this transmission." Bakugo commanded, his tone leaving no room for arguments.

"But Bakugo, this is-" Pikachu began, before being cut off quickly.

"I know this is your ship, but they're coming from the prison and they have a fast warp drive. That means it's probably a Federation ship, and it probably means that they're after me. I can get us away from them pretty easily, but if they think I'm alone, it'll be better for all of us." Bakugo explained quickly. The quicker he answered, the better.

"Now, go." Bakugo commanded. After a moment, Pikachu nodded, and he and Shitty Hair quickly left.

Bakugo reclined in the captain's chair, kicked his feet up, threw on the most arrogant smirk he could pull off, and pressed the Accept Call button.

A full-size view screen filled up the window to the outside, and Bakugo's smirk faltered slightly for only a moment.

The face of someone he recognized, huh?

Jirou Kyouka filled the window, and damn, did she look more stressed. She had a permanent crease in her forehead, and her eyes looked more vacant than he remembered.

"Civilian vessel, you are-" Jirou began, only to cut herself short as her eyes widened.

"Bakugo!" She hissed, surprise being the primary emotion on her face rather than anger. Good. The less angry she was right now, the more he could figure out what Deku's plans were.

"Bakugo." He responded easily.

"What the hell are you doing here! We thought that the League had taken you!" Jirou exclaimed, pointing a trembling finger at him.

Had she not been eating as much? He knew that those Federation rations were bad, but that wasn't an excuse to avoid it. She'd lost a few pounds from the last time that they talked.

"What can I say? Those extras were chumps. If they didn't pull a fast one on me, I could have taken out two or three of 'em before they even knew what was happening." Bakugo bragged, folding his hands behind his head and leaning back.

"Damn...we didn't account for this. Midoriya was sure that you would be with them. Anyways, if you fought them, then we might be able to negotiate something, lower your sentence." Jirou said, looking a bit nervous. She was going the bargaining route, trying to convince him to come peacefully instead of fighting.

"And what if I don't know anything? Hah?" Bakugo scoffed, leering at Jirou.

"Come on, Bakugo, we both know that you aren't stupid. You picked something up about their plans. We could find the security footage at the prison and learn what happened that way, or you could cooperate and everyone would come out of it happier." Jirou insisted, looking more irritated.

"Hmph. Whatever. It's not like this piece of shit would last till the station, anyhow." Bakugo scoffed, refusing to meet Jirou's eyes.

Jirou let out something like a relieved sigh. "Great. Drop out of hyperspace and we'll beam you onto our ship. We'll discuss more there, and I'll let Midoriya know that you're cooperating." Jirou said, punctuating it with a rare smile.

"Don't bother. This ship has a teleporter." Bakugo said, unimpressed.

Jirous blinked surprised, before giving him a terse nod. "Bakugo? Thank you."

"Yeah, whatever. Don't think I'll make this a fucking habit." Bakugo agreed, rolling his eyes. He pressed the End Call button, and Jirou's face disappeared, leaving only hyperspace.

I hate lying. I really do. I want to beat Jirou on my own terms, but I'm no damn fool.

Immediately, the door to the bridge opened.

"Bakugo, are you really leaving?" Shitty Hair asked, worry punctuating his voice.

"Fuck no. I'm not going back to any prison, no matter how cushy it is. Hell, I'd prefer to be in with you dipshits rather than them." Bakugo spat, standing up and making his way to the teleporter.

"Pikachu, you're with me. Shitty Hair, drop us out of hyperspace and teleport us onto the ship. We only have one shot at this." Bakugo commanded, feeling a fire being lit in his soul.

"Wait, why do you want me to stay behind?" Shitty Hair asked, sounding confused.

"I need someone competent to fly the ship. Find somewhere to hide. Just don't fly directly into a nebula, or worse, a sun." Bakugo commanded, firing off a few small explosions in anticipation.

"What's the plan? What are we doing?" Pikachu asked, sounding nervous and confused.

"We're going to steal that fucking ship, that's what."

Jirou breathed out a small sigh, feeling some of her worries lift from her shoulders.

This entire week had been a disaster. First, Koda had been attacked while he was planetside. The two weren't extremely close, but they still kept in contact. He would live, but she worried. Luckily, they had caught the bastard who did it. Some yellow-haired dolt with an electricity Quirk. And then there was Tartarus. They were still reeling from that. The League had hit all of the weaknesses of the prison's blockade, wiping it out in minutes. That fleet was comprised of both Federation and rebel ships, and it had been creating a huge political scandal that Midoriya and the rest of their former class had been dealing with (minus Bakugo, that was, but that loose end had been tied up, and hopefully peacefully).

She knew how Bakugo was. He was feisty, arrogant, brash, and, above all else, powerful. She was probably the only person on the ship who stood any chance at taking him out, and they had several people who had been trained at both flight academies and hero academies.

Bakugo was a monster physically, and if they could get his aid against the League, they could end them before they found purchase. That is, assuming that Todoroki and Momo didn't do it first.

It would all depend on the minute after Bakugo teleported, and if he teleported alone. If he fought, then Jirou would be forced to try and detain him. Hopefully, he would be weakened from fighting the League. It was a huge risk, but it was one that they were willing to take.

Looking down at the console in front of her, she opened up the camera for the teleporter room. She would have to drop the shields for Bakugo to get in, but that was a small matter. She doubted that the ship that he was flying had any offensive capabilities. No, the person flying it probably could have destroyed the entire ship in one go, shields or not.

Jirou knew that her ship was one of the best for repelling intruders. Her ship was shaped like an earphone jack, after both her Quirk and her hero name, with the teleporter room being near the tail end. There were several series of blast doors that could be dropped along the way, and she could drain the rooms of oxygen at any time, provided her crew got out of there. There were turrets mounted everywhere, anti-personnel drones out the ass, and she could flood a room with deadly gas at any moment. She doubted that Bakugo would kill anyone, but she didn't want to take any chances.

Sighing, Jirou lowered the shields. She would have to rely on fate to get her through this one.

"I still don't like this plan. If we get out of this, you're going to have a lot to explain." Pikachu grumbled, slapping his teleporter cuff on.

"What do you mean 'if'? That ship's going to be ours. Be a man and fight, and we'll be fine." Bakugo responded, fingers twitching in anticipation.

"Yeah, yeah. It's just that I'm not very strong. I can only discharge electricity around me, and if I let out too much, I short-circuit." Pikachu explained, still looking uncomfortable.

"Pikachu, I don't really give a damn. You're half-Zoltan, so that means you'll be useful to me. Hell, I'll do all the fighting for you as long as you keep pulling your weight. I don't need a liability by my side. Got it?" Bakugo asked/threatened, glaring at Pikachu.

This was serious. If either of the idiots messed up part of the plan, they were all going to be captured.

Pikachu nodded, looking a bit more self-confident. "Got it."

The ship left hyperspace as gently as it probably could, which meant that it rocked worryingly for a moment or two before stabilizing itself.

"Alright, I'm beaming you two over. Get those shields down as soon as possible, yeah?" Shitty Hair said over the com channel.

"They'll be down. That ship is as good as ours." Bakugo said, a feral grin on his face. He wasn't one of the best in the galaxy for nothing.

The seconds ticked by in nervous anticipation, until Shitty Hair's voice came over the comms. "They lowered their shields. I'm teleporting you over now." Shitty Hair said, a hint of nervous excitement in his voice.

Bakugo looked at Pikachu. "It's go time. Don't fuck this up." He said, voice more level and serious. He needed Pikachu's help for this to work, loathe as he was to say it.

Pikachu nodded, and the pair was overcome by the feeling of vertigo that came with teleportation.

When Bakugo came back to his senses, the first thing that he did was glance around. He had only a few moments to move into action.

If Jirou was smart, she would keep only a few people between him at the bridge. That would make it easier to empty any room of oxygen. She would throw down blast doors, flood a room with gas, do whatever was necessary to keep him down and out of the game before he reached her.

And all because he would destroy her in a one-on-one battle.

Bakugo's prediction had been correct. Only a single person was in the teleporter room, supposedly to escort him. A human. Predictable. The upper echelons of the Federation all had Quirks that made them excel over any race that might challenge them.

Pikachu's hands slammed against the wall, and electricity crackled around him. Within a second, his eyes went dull and unfocused as his mind went somewhere else.

Pikachu was a rare breed; his father was a human who had an electricity Quirk and his mother was a Zoltan. Bakugo didn't want to know how it worked. This made Pikachu one of the better electricity users around, or so he had said. Bakugo, personally, didn't really care. He didn't need Pikachu's life story.

Either way, with Pikachu hacking the camera, Bakugo could go full throttle.

Two explosions propelled him forwards, and a third, aimed directly at the hero's face, disoriented the man. With an opening available, Bakugo grabbed the man forcefully by the face and hurled him over his shoulder onto the ground. A quick and brutal kick to the back of the head ensured that the hero wasn't getting back up for a few days.

Glancing at the door, he saw that it was still open. Good. Pikachu was being useful.

Quickly, Bakugo dragged the hero underneath the camera and pulled Pikachu along and through the next door. Upon seeing that the room was empty, serving as more of a hallway than anything else, Bakugo allowed himself to breathe easier.

Bakugo swatted the back of Pikachu's head. "Oy, Pikachu, back to reality." Bakugo whispered, watching as the man regained his focus.

Pikachu blinked for a second, before shaking his head vigorously. He nodded at Bakugo and gave him a thumbs-up before the two proceeded onwards.

Stealth and silence were absolutely crucial for the time being. Until those blast doors went down, they had to be quiet. He was surprised that Jirou hadn't heard that takedown. If she was still letting him walk around freely, then she was more off her game than he thought.

The pair crept around the corner and into the hallway, Bakugo's eyes darting in both directions. Another camera in the corner. He made a small signal to Pikachu, who nodded and placed both hands on the wall again.

As the two progressed through the ship in a similar manner, Bakugo couldn't help but feel a chill go down his spine. It was easy. Too easy. They should have been discovered by now. Either Jirou was truly more trusting than he thought, or she was leading him into a trap.

Bakugo didn't know the layout of the ship. At best, he knew that the bridge, shields, and weapons were all close to the front. Not the most viable of strategies, as any good flak or laser-equipped ship could just waltz through and destroy many of the major systems, but this was a scouting ship. Its engines were close to the back, which they had already passed (and quietly disabled). It had sensors unlike most of the fleet, which was something of a problem for Bakugo.

There was no possible way that Jirou didn't know that they were up to something. The only question was when she was going to act on it, and at this point, Jirou had to know that Bakugo knew that she knew that he was hostile.

Bakugo stood up straight in the hallway that they were in. "Pikachu. We can cut the act now." He said, ears straining to hear the exact moment when things changed.

"What? Why?" Pikachu asked, voice low.

"She knows that we're here." Bakugo responded. There.

"'She'"? Pikachu asked, confused.

Bakugo didn't respond. Instead, he grabbed Pikachu by the back of his collar and jumped backwards, letting them both avoid the blast door that slammed down just a few inches from where they were standing previously.

"Damn!" Pikachu hissed, looking distressed. Bakugo didn't blame him. If he were Pikachu, he'd be worried, too.

Running up, Pikachu placed his hands on the door. "It'll take me a minute or two, but I can get the door open. Just cover me while I do it, okay?" Pikachu commanded, and Bakugo scoffed.

"Don't bother." Bakugo said, grabbing Pikachu's shoulder and moving him away from the door.

"CAN YOU HEAR ME, JIROU! YOU KNOW THAT THESE WON'T STOP ME!" Bakugo roared as loud as he could. He needed to get his point across. He was going to be, indisputably, the commander of this ship.

His left hand's fingers formed a circle in the palm of his right, and he fired off his AP Shot.

The explosion that rocked the ship was a satisfying one.

With a low smile on his face, Bakugo roared once more. "GET READY, JIROU!"

Turning his head towards Pikachu, he yelled, "And don't forget the plan, Pikachu!"

Explosions ignited in his palms, and Bakugo began to literally fly forwards, Pikachu scrambling to keep up.

The next part would be the hardest. Jirou knew that they were there- now, they were no longer fighting a single person.

They were fighting a ship.

Jirou winced as she removed her earphone jack from the wall.

She heard him alright. Loud and clear. What she didn't know was that he could bust through a blast door like that. Their sole purpose was to stop blasts. It seemed that logic was thrown out the window when dealing with Bakugo, as always.

Her enhanced hearing was pointless now. Even from over halfway across the ship, the explosion had been loud. Everyone knew that he was coming, and everyone knew that he was mad.

The faces of those around her were pale.

Swiping her hands across the console, she brought up a top-down image of the ship in all its glory, as well as a view of all of the cameras. Pressing a few buttons on the display, she placed a few marks on the image.

As she did this, another explosion rocked the ship, and the icon for another of the blast doors disappeared.

Bringing up a blinking red mark, she placed it on the blast door.

"Bakugo Katsuki is here. If we want to walk away from this situation with our pride and our ship intact, we'll need to fight. This ship contains crucial data; data that can and will be sold for a very high price. The future of the Federation hangs in the balance. I can't do this alone. Are you with me?" Jirou asked, the speech a bit more hollow than her previous ones. Even as she spoke, she could see the despair in the faces of some, and yet, they forced bravery onto their faces and into their cheer.

"We need to stop him- and his cohort- before they reach the shields. We don't know if there are more lying in wait. I need your help for this. Funnel them towards the weapons room. Our victory is assured if we manage that." Jirou commanded, extending an arm out towards the only entrance and exit.

"Time is of the essence. I need to let the High Commander know the situation, and I'll be in this room managing the ship's systems. Do not let up a full-force assault at any moment. Now, go!" Jirou commanded, watching as her crew saluted her and began to march out of the room, frightened looks on some of their faces.

If they got Bakugo into the weapons room, they could lock it down, or in the worst case scenario, blow it up. She hoped that it wouldn't come to that, but knowing Bakugo, he would force her hand.

She sighed. All of them had received combat training, but it wouldn't be enough. People would get hurt, and there was nothing that she could do about it.

Damn you, Bakugo…

Never before had she been so angry at a single person, yet hollow at the same time.

What kind of captain was she if she couldn't even protect her crew from one man?

She let out another sigh, feeling the pounding in her head worsen. Touching her ears, she winced when she felt something warm pulsing out of them.

No time to feel sorry for myself.

Pressing a button on her console, she began a transmission to Midoriya. After a few long, excruciating moments, he answered.

Midoriya must not have been in the One For All, because she wasn't greeted by the sight of his face. He was probably answering from his personal communicator.

"Jirou? Is there a problem?" Midoriya asked, confused.

"Bakugo was on the civilian ship, along with another person. His cohort is unidentified. He's beamed on-board the ship and is currently exploding his way through my blast doors." Jirou wasted no time in letting Midoriya know the situation. As if to punctuate her point, another explosion rocked the ship and the icon for another blast door disappeared from the top-down view.

Midoriya was quiet for a moment, before letting out a quiet, contemplative sigh. "How long can you hold out?" He asked, worry and concern in his voice.

Jirou was quiet as she did some quick math. "...At best? Maybe ten, fifteen minutes if my plan doesn't work, which is likely. I know it's been a while since you've fought Bakugo, but he looks a lot stronger." Jirou said, biting her lower lip.

Midoriya sighed again. "Yeah, I know. I'm sending as many ships your way as possible. Jirou...please be careful. Help is on the way. I'll inform Todoroki and Yaoyorozu of the situation."

"And Jirou? Please, try to get Kacchan back alive." Midoriya pleaded.

There was no way that she could promise that. If she didn't come at him with the intent to kill, she wouldn't get out of this situation.

"...I'll try. Jirou, out." Jirou said, shutting down the com channel.

She sighed once more. I suppose it had to be this way in the end.

Another explosion rocked the ship, signalling to Jirou that he was getting closer.

Going back to the console, Jirou began to fire up the drones.

Now...let's see how long these last. Can you destroy these robots and suffer oxygen deprivation at the same time, Bakugo?

Bakugo's arms were starting to ache again.

It wasn't a problem for him, but at this rate, he would be worn out before he fought with Jirou. He really must have overdone himself against those League assholes. So many high-power explosions can't have been good for him.

Pikachu was still trudging along after Bakugo, his breath coming out in pants. It didn't surprise Bakugo; Pikachu didn't look like the fittest runner on the block, but that wasn't a good thing. He needed Pikachu moving if he wanted to survive.

"We're getting close! Hurry your ass up!" Bakugo growled behind him, not waiting to see Pikachu's response.

Bakugo heard a small squeaking noise, coming from around the next corner and paused abruptly, nearly making Pikachu run into his back. Pikachu seemed grateful for the break, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily.

"Something's coming. Stay back here." Bakugo ordered, stalking forwards. He would meet whatever it was halfway.

"Whatever you say, boss-man." Pikachu groaned out.

Just as Bakugo was getting close, something large and overbearing rolled its way around the corner. Looking up, Bakugo was met with the sight of an Anti-Personnel drone. Normally, it would be impossible for most people to defeat one in a one-on-one fight, even if they were well-equipped. These drones were built specifically to defeat even the strongest of the Mantis in a fight- tough armor, strong weapons, tougher fists.

Bakugo wasn't most people.

He thrust both of his palms in front of him, and before the drone could even raise its fists, it was met with a thunderous explosion that had Bakugo's arms ringing.

When the smoke cleared, Bakugo was met with the sight of a pile of scrap and a caved-in wall.

Bakugo sneered. "JIROU! YOU KNOW THAT THIS SHIT WON'T WORK! DON'T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Kicking the useless drone to the side, Bakugo pressed onwards, ignoring Pikachu's stunned expression behind him.

Before this moment in time, Kaminari Denki had only truly feared for his life about three times, which was, in all fairness, a rarity in this galaxy.

This would mark the fourth.

Who the actual hell was Bakugo Katsuki?

Kirishima had insisted on staying behind to help him, saying "He'll be helpful! Plus, he looks strong, and we could use the help!" Ever since that moment, literally everything had been going downhill.

First there was the almost-fight that they had (which Kaminari was now certain that they would have lost), then there was this giant Federation monstrosity that they were trying to steal, of all things. In fact, Kaminari was fairly certain that he had heard the name Jirou before, and it worried him because he didn't bother learning people's names.

If they were getting involved with something important, like High Federation level important, then Kaminari wasn't certain they Kirishima and him should be getting involved. Bakugo clearly had a grudge against, or, at the very least, knew this Jirou personally.

What had Kaminari concerned was the sheer strength of Bakugo Katsuki.

The man had been blessed with his Quirk, that much was certain. It was incredibly powerful; taking down blast doors like they were nothing, destroying entire robots like they were also nothing, and all of it without a noticeable downside.

Kaminari got the feeling that he was on the winning side of this battle, so why did it give him a pit in the bottom of his stomach?

"Hey, Pikachu, hurry up! We don't have all day." The man in question called out to Kaminari, anger lining his tone.

Kaminari sighed, increasing his pace to match the explosive boy's. Bakugo was always angry for some reason, and bossy, too. His personality was basically crap steeped in sewage. But, for now, this was something that they had to do.

"PIKACHU! THE VENTS!" Bakugo suddenly shouted, and looking ahead, Kaminari could see why.

The external vents to space had started opening, draining the rooms of oxygen. Kaminari wouldn't be surprised if it had started all around the ship, especially now that the drones had started going after them. It was a good strategy, he guessed. It was kind of simple, though. Drones didn't need oxygen to fight, and humans did.

"RIght! On it!" Kaminari said, throwing his hands against the wall.

He wasn't very strong, but in this way, he could be useful.

As electricity crackled around him, he almost instantly zoned out, getting tangled in the mess of electricity. His ability to hack things didn't quite work as easily as someone might think; he could access the power if he was directly touching it, and he could manipulate what power went where. The problem was that he didn't know perfectly which wire did what. He was essentially defusing a bomb each time he tried it. Did this wire give something power or just count down a number?

There hadn't really been much purpose for him to learn how to do it before, so he hadn't bothered, but he really, really wish that he had started earlier.

One wire in particular seemed to be heavy on the electricity. If he pulled this one…

Cutting the power to the wire, he moved on in case that didn't do it. Bakugo would wake him up if he had done it.

This wire looks important, he thought as he cut power to it.

A sharp pain hit the back of his head, and Kaminari blinked, returning to reality.

"Come on, Pikachu. Let's get out of here." Bakugo said, panting slightly.

Looking forwards, Kaminari saw the shredded scraps of several more drones, although they seemed to be handled with slightly more care. As in, there wasn't a giant hole through the rest of this ship in a huge display of force.

Kaminari took a step, feeling his head swim a bit. He shook his head and tried to play it off, but Bakugo must have noticed.

"Oi, Pikachu, we're almost there. Don't hit that limit of yours." Bakugo growled, turning forwards and setting off at a good pace with a grimace on his face.

Kaminari was dumb, but he wasn't stupid. He knew how to observe his surroundings.

There was no way that he could have missed Bakugo's hands shaking slightly, or the fact that he stopped using his explosions to move.

Jirou sighed as she watched the vent to space close.

He had found himself an electricity user. That's just perfect.

This situation couldn't be going any worse. Had it been Bakugo alone, she would have detained him by now. However, his cohort was making everything far more difficult than it needed to be. With the ability to directly override her systems, she wouldn't be able to easily trap the two of them. In fact, they could easily trap her if things took a turn for the worse.

A minute ticked by without another large explosion. Then two.

All she needed to do was hold out until they either got tired or reinforcements arrive. Deku hadn't given her a direct time of arrival, but if she could hold out for just a little longer, she could make it. What she needed to do to make that happen was take out the dolt with Bakugo.

Jirou pressed a finger to her wrist, where she had her com. Normally, it would be in her ear, but with her Quirk, it didn't quite work out well.

"This is Captain Jirou. There are two intruders on the ship, as I told you before. I understand that you wish to take down Bakugo Katsuki, but right now, our priority is his cohort. If there is a chance to disable him, take it. Jirou out."

An explosion came over the comms, and Jirou's face paled.

"JIROU! Keep the fucking extras out of my face! Come fight me, you bastard!" Bakugo's voice roared over the comms. As if morale wasn't already low enough…

"God damn it, Bakugo…" Jirou muttered to herself.

There was nothing more that she could do. He had reached her crew, and had likely taken out their advance guard. Really, they were meat shields, as tasteless at the term was. She didn't like to objectify or belittle the importance of her crew, but it was a small group meant to take as many hits as possible, for how much it meant.

All she could do now was wait. She couldn't endanger her crew by draining oxygen, and she couldn't even think about bringing gas into the mix. The turrets were also a no-go. She had held off on doing it earlier, as Midoriya had requested, but now, she didn't have the chance to do it.

She could only prepare herself to fight.

Bakugo roared as he tossed one of Jirou's useless crew at another one of the peons.

Now his blood was pumping! Adrenaline was rushing through his veins, and anger was in his soul. This was the first time in seven goddamn months that he could go wild. It wasn't because these guys were strong; no, it was because there were enough of them. Not a lot, but enough.

One strong hit would take down one. He was even being nice to them and barely bothering to use his Quirk.

Bakugo brought his leg around in a fierce kick, landing solidly against the head of one who had stupidly charged him. Continuing with the motion, but folding his leg back, his knee impacted the head of someone who was trying to attack him from behind.

Even Pikachu was managing to hold his own, although it looked like they were...targeting him, somewhat.

Did...did Jirou think that Pikachu was more dangerous than him?

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU LOOKING!" Bakugo screeched, firing off two explosions behind him and propelling himself forward, flying over the meat bags on the floor. Reaching Pikachu, he lashed out with a quick and devastating kick, slamming another of the peons against the wall. Firing another explosion below him, he dodged a laser that came flying towards him which impacted in the chest of the poor peon below him.

Bakugo let off a feral grin. This was truly fun.

Firing himself forward, he dodged another laser with quick, precise explosions and kicked the offending gun out of the peons' hand. From there, it only took a single punch, fired quickly, to disable the peon.

Looking over to Pikachu, Bakugo watched as he grabbed a knife that was thrust at him, barely avoiding getting cut, before electrocuting the peon, who collapsed to the floor.

Bakugo let out a breath, centering himself a bit. That was it for the peons here. They seemed adamant about defending this area, so they had to be close to the shields.

The entire fight, Bakugo had also gotten the feeling that he was supposed to be nudged in a certain direction. The very first thing that he had noticed upon entering the room was that the peons were arranged in a certain way; defending one door, but leaving another wide open.

Bakugo was a smart man. He knew when someone was trying to get him to do something, and Jirou was being pretty transparent about it this time.

Right now, he and Pikachu were on the left side of the ship. For this type of ship, assuming that Jirou knew what she was doing with the corkscrew nature of the ship, the weapons systems were in the middle, the most defended area. The door that was undefended was on the right of where they were now.

"Come on, Pikachu. Let's take down these shields." Bakugo ordered, ignoring the slight seizing in his arms. They were almost done with their mission. That was all there was to it.

"Yeah." Pikachu said plainly, like his mind was barely there.

Looking back to him, Bakugo noticed that Pikachu's eyes were unfocused and weary, like he was about to fall asleep. Dumbass is probably only a few steps away from his limit.

"Hey, Pikachu, snap out of it. I'll only need your help one more time, got it? Stick with me." Bakugo urged. After snapping his fingers in front of Pikachu's face once or twice, he seemed to zone back into reality. He gave a quick thumbs-up, and the pair continued to move.

Entering the next room, Bakugo was met with an enormous shield generator, humming very quietly. Exactly as a shield generator should.

Pikachu let out a low whistle. "So we just gotta blow this reactor up and then we can do the thing, right?" He asked, tilting his head at Bakugo.

Bakugo snorted. "If we want to die from the explosion, then sure. This room is built to sustain this type of reactor specifically. Even if the whole ship exploded, this room isn't going down. These ships are the pride of the Federation- they have twelve-layered shields, and the reactor needs to be strong enough to handle that." Bakugo explained, stalking forwards to the console while keeping an eye out for anyone around the area. It wasn't likely that he was getting attacked any time soon, as his instincts were quiet, but it never, ever hurt to be careful.

Bakugo's hands glided over the console hesitantly. He hadn't really dealt with shields before; he knew the science behind them, and he could fix a leak if necessary. Didn't mean that he was an expert. He knew how to fix the shields on the King Explosion Murder well enough, but those were simple, two-layered shields. His ship's main focus was on its cloaking and its teleporter. It was special in that it went straight through shields. Or, it was special in that way before Deku took it.

"Hey, Pikachu, you know how to work this thing?" Bakugo asked, exasperated.

"How am I supposed to know? I've never even seen something like this. I barely even know how to manage our own shields." Pikachu complained, keeping an eye out around them.

Bakugo snarled. Grabbing the com that he had stolen from one of Jirou's peons, he exploded it audibly in his hands. At this point, she could probably hear him, but he didn't want her to know exactly what was going on.

Bringing out the com that was in his ear, he began to broadcast video.

"I don't really know, man. I know how to do our own shields, but this stuff looks foreign. You're on your own." Shitty Hair's voice came through the com, just barely loud enough to hear. Bakugo couldn't really be too pissed at him; he honestly didn't expect him to know. He was glad that Shitty Hair wasn't totally incompetent and could read the room, keeping quiet when Bakugo didn't directly say anything.

Still, though, that didn't keep this entire situation from pissing him the fuck off.

"DIEEEEEEE!" Bakugo roared at the top of his lungs as he exploded the entire console. The power to the shields flickered for a moment, before whirling down to a stop.

The room was silent for a long moment.

"Why is your solution to everything to just blow it up, man…" Pikachu lamented, throwing his hands behind his head.

"It fucking worked, didn't it?" Bakugo snorted.

Pikachu was quiet for a moment. "I mean...I guess…" He said, trailing off.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's just get the fuck out of here before Jirou gets backup." Bakugo growled.

They were a single room away, which meant that Bakugo would have to fight Jirou, one-on-one. Pikachu might be in the background as an extra, too.

Bakugo knew that he would win, indisputably. But that didn't mean that he underestimated his old classmate. They had both grown since then; the major difference being that she did it in a regulated environment where he did it in battles for his life.

That was the difference between him and his old classmates. It would be a cold day in hell when he said that any of them were strong, but each of them were dangerous to fight in their own way. Jirou could overwhelm you and pin you down from a distance, using sound as her own mode of offense and defense. This would mark the first time that they met since then, not counting the holding cell of the One For All.

Bakugo gave himself maybe another five minutes before reinforcements showed up. He needed to be gone from this place before then.

Bakugo walked up the stairs that connected the shields to the next room. Opening the door to the next room, Bakugo noticed that he was in another hallway of sorts, with a heavy-duty blast door at one end and two other entrances leading to the hallway, likely the weapons room and the oxygen.

"Pikachu, this is the home stretch. We take out Jirou, and we get the ship. Stick with me." Bakugo urged. He only needed Pikachu's help for one more moment.

Pikachu stumbled while standing slightly, but after a small moment, determination entered his eyes once more and he nodded. "I...I can keep going. Let's just get done with this." He said, letting off a small spark of electricity around him.

Bakugo nodded, raising his fists.

Just a little bit more. He would end this in one fell swoop.

"AP Shot!" Bakugo roared, making a ring with his fingers and firing off an explosion.

The blast door in front of him crumpled inwards, a horribly large dent in it, but still standing firm. Bakugo's mouth curled into a sneer.

Pikachu's hands touched the wall.

"AP Shot: Missile Drive!" Bakugo roared once more, pouring as much strength as he could into the explosion.

The door exploded inwards, leaving a large cloud of smoke and dust that blocked Bakugo's view of the bridge.

Bakugo was silent, eyes narrowing as he waited. If she did as predicted…

A dart came flying out at high speeds, flying close to Bakugo. A small explosion sent it flying into the wall, only a few inches from Pikachu's face, which happened to be the original target.

Not quite what I was looking for, but at this point, I'll fucking take it.

Within seconds, the dart found friends. As more and more objects emerged from the smoke generated from his palms, Bakugo found himself somewhat hard-pressed to keep up. She was fast, and good at what she was doing.

As it stood, Bakugo was on the defense, his hands moving at a flurry to keep both himself and Pikachu from harm. Now, they were playing the waiting game. How long could Jirou keep them on the ropes until Pikachu hacked his way inside the ship? How quickly could Pikachu hack? Faster than the reinforcements?

Amidst the sound of his explosions, Bakugo heard something. It was faint, but unnatural. Not quite the sound of something else thrown his way, but not a sound that Jirou herself would put out.

So what could…?

Bakugo's eyes widened, and in a split second decision, he threw himself to the left.

The energy bolt hit him directly in the stomach.

Bakugo let out a roar; of what, he wasn't quite sure. Pain, adrenaline, anger? Some combination of the three? Either way, it wasn't quite human. It sounded, to his ears, more animalistic than anything else.

The sudden whirring of objects stopped, and Bakugo doubled over somewhat before snapping straight back up. Now wasn't the time to show weakness, damn it!

The smoke quickly cleared, and Jirou's surprised and frightened eyes met Bakugo's enraged and pained ones. No more than twenty feet of distance separated them, and yet, it seemed trivial to Bakugo.

All he could see was the finish line, and he was just a few explosions away from it.

"I'm...going to kick your goddamn ass." Bakugo said, breathing somewhat ragged. Jirou levelled the gun at him again, not taking the shot.

Bakugo stalked forward, keeping his eyes locked with Jirou. Her hand never faltered, but she didn't fire a shot.

Sixteen feet of distance now separated them, and Bakugo was in the doorway to the bridge.

"I'm not...going to kill you. You're the only one of those fuckers who didn't...show me pity." Bakugo spat, breathing coming in somewhat raggedly.

"Bakugo…" Jirou said, letting out a long sigh and lowering the gun slightly. Her eyes snapped open, renewed determination in them, and the gun was once again levelled with his head.

Twelve feet of distance now separated them.

Just enough. Enough for his plan to work. He would like a few more feet, but he needed to keep up this act.

Electricity crackled behind him, and Jirou's eyes left his to look at Pikachu for a moment. It was enough.

Amidst her small cry of "You!", Bakugo made his move.

Explosions lit in the palm of his hands and he pushed off of the ground, firing off a series of explosions above and below him, creating a tornado of smoke and dust as his body blindly barrelled towards Jirou.

"HOWITZER IMPACT!" Bakugo roared, continuing his explosions even as he heard an overwhelming noise reach his ears, even as he felt his power be repelled somewhat.

"SHITTY HAIR! NOW!" Bakugo roared, praying that his cry was heard.

If one were to look outside the window of where this hectic scene was happening, they might see a small, civilian ship, barely large enough to be considered a Tug class, swerve out from behind a particularly large asteroid and fly towards the mammoth of a ship that was many times larger than itself. If they continued watching for a few seconds longer, they would see a large burst of electricity explode out from that small ship, almost as large as said ship, and pass through the large ship with ease without shields to stop its travel.

It was at this precise moment that Bakugo Katsuki was in the air, untouched by the electricity passing through the air, and Kaminari Denki was defending himself from it with a small shield of his own electricity, crackling against the foreign force.

Unfortunately for one Jirou Kyouka, she was not as protected from this attack.

As Bakugo felt the noise attacking him disperse, he grinned a feral grin and continued his explosions.

Flying towards Jirou, Bakugo let loose a shout filled with pride and anger, and kicked her directly in the stomach.

Jirou, who was already shaking from the electricity, doubled over, body almost spasming as it tried to deal with the overwhelming pain. Without letting up his assault, Bakugo brought a large explosion across her face, sending her flying backwards onto the ground.

Stalking forward, Bakugo ignored the pain spiking throughout his body that would have brought a normal man to his knees.

Jirou tried to pick herself up from the ground, but as she did so, her arm spasmed and she was brought back down.

Grabbing her by the hair, Bakugo picked her up, bringing her to eye level. He leered directly at her, and she gave a leer in response. Jirou's hand went forwards, throwing a clumsy jab into Bakugo's stomach wound as her earphones clumsily tried to stab him.

Letting out a small grunt of pain and a ragged breath, Bakugo threw his entire body into kneeing Jirou directly in the stomach, watching with an almost grim sort of satisfaction as her face contorted in pain.

Tossing her down on the ground once more, Bakugo winced slightly as she groaned. He genuinely didn't enjoy doing this. It was fighting someone who was already down, someone who couldn't even pose a challenge anymore. But damn, he needed to vent his anger towards Deku somewhere. Jirou just happened to be the first unfortunate soul to cross his path.

"Stay down." Bakugo ordered, feeling himself stumble a bit where he stood as his footing faltered.

Jirou rolled onto her side, still obviously feeling the effects of the electricity and the small but brutal beating that he had given her. Sitting up, she gave him a hateful and defiant glare.

And yet, surprisingly, she began to laugh.

Bakugo's eyes widened, and he clenched his fist. He was the one winning. In fact, he was the winner of this fight, so what goddamn reason did she have to be laughing like that? Was she fucking laughing at him?

"You're not getting out of here. Not on this ship. I've already locked down all of the controls." Jirou bit out, still laughing. Bakugo's eyes widened.

He turned to Pikachu, who was walking into the doorway, fully ready to demand him to open up the locks on the controls-when he saw exactly what shape he was in.

Pikachu's eyes were completely unfocused, and the stupidest smile was stretched across his face. He was giving a thumbs-up with both hands, and he was making an incredibly inane sound.

All in all, he was useless.

Bakugo turned back to Jirou, rage filling his vision. This wasn't how this was supposed to play out. This wasn't how any of this was supposed to play out. This ship was his to steal, damn it! He couldn't have it taken from him in his moment of triumph!

He had tasked Pikachu with re-enabling the engines when Pikachu maybe had a little bit of juice in him. Why hadn't he predicted that Jirou would lock down the controls! It was something so small that had ruined his plan!

Almost as if on cue, a Federation ship warped in from space, and then another. One of them was another of his old classmates'. Jirou gave him a smug smile; she had lost the battle, but won the war.

Bakugo did the one thing that he could think to do to erase that smile from her face. He raised both of his hands and fired the strongest explosion that he could make in that second.

When the smoke from his explosion cleared, Jirou was fully slumped, eyes closed and not moving. Still breathing, but not moving.

Bakugo was beyond pissed.

"Fucking die!" Bakugo roared, firing as many smaller explosions at her as he could. In his rage, he almost missed someone's voice in his ear.

"Hey, Bakugo, you gotta calm down! I'm warping you guys back!" Shitty Hair's voice came over the com in his ear.

"Don't you fucking dare!" Bakugo raged.

And yet, in a moment, he was overcome with the intense feeling of vertigo that came with teleportation.

The second Bakugo teleported back to the ship, he stormed out of the teleporter room, fully intent on continuing the fight with someone.

Throwing open the door to the bridge, Bakugo searched out Shitty Hair, who had just finished typing in a command. The ship was soon bathed in the light of hyperspace, but Bakugo noticed none of it.

No, his rage was overwhelming his logic in that moment.

Shitty Hair stood up to meet Bakugo, and just in time. Bakugo threw a punch his way.

It was blocked, and so was the next one.

"Bring me back, you fucker! I wasn't done!" Bakugo seethed, the anger in him only growing as Shitty Hair continued to deflect his blows with what seemed to be staggering ease.

"Yo, Bakugo, calm down, man! You're hurt! Let me help you!" Shitty Hair pleaded, inflaming Bakugo's rage even further.

"Shut the FUCK up, you asshole! Let me hit you!" Bakugo said, even as his arms slowed down even further.

"Bakugo, stop!" Shitty Hair said, forcefully this time. He still didn't stop blocking Bakugo's punches.

Finally, Bakugo let his hand fall after one final punch. His head was swimming with emotion, thoughts, pain.

Shitty Hair was quiet for a long moment.

"B-Bakugo?" He asked, almost hesitantly.

"RAAAAAHH!" Bakugo screamed, trying to convey all of the emotion he felt in that moment, trying desperately to vent that rage.

Bakugo was clutching his own hair desperately when his vision finally filled with black and his feet betrayed him.

Izuku Midoriya sighed as he stepped back onto the bridge of the One For All. He had been sighing a lot more lately, he noticed.

The trip to Tartarus was uneventful. What he learned could have been done through a report, although it was nice to stretch his legs and talk with Uraraka in a place that wasn't the One For All.

The trip wasn't his reason for sighing.

He had recently gotten the report back from Iida, who had left hurriedly after Jirou after Izuku had told him about the situation. Kacchan had wreaked havoc on the ship; every blast door on the left wing collapsed, seventeen anti-personnel drones destroyed, every single crew member wounded. None were dead, thankfully, but the situation was still dicey with Jirou.

She had several broken ribs, many more broken bones beyond that, a bruised neck, minor whiplash and many burns. She was recovering slowly, even with the aid of the Quirks of the doctors on the One For All, where her ship was brought back to. She was still unconscious, and, according to the doctors, her slow recovery was due to previous over-exertion, exhaustion, and a lack of solid sustenance.

On top of all of this, Kacchan had gotten away again. As much as Izuku wanted to pursue him and get him back safely under his control, Izuku knew that that would be impossible right now.

He had more pressing matters.

Todoroki and Yaoyorozu had reported that they were prepared to attack and board the Infiltrator class ship just a little while ago, and he had been forced to decline for a very specific reason.

Kacchan wasn't their biggest problem right now, or even the League of Villains.

The biggest enemy to the galaxy was out of prison.

And he couldn't, under any circumstances, endanger his friends. He couldn't even bring Kacchan or Todoroki into it, assuming that the former would even be willing to help.

This was his problem, and his alone.

The Infiltrator class ship had fled to a Mantis controlled sector. That was their next destination.

The crew of the One For All didn't know their mission, but they would willingly do anything, even die, for their captain and High Commander.

And Izuku would most likely go to his grave carrying that guilt if he failed here. So, he hardened his heart, gave a warm, empty smile to his friends, and set course for the Mantis sector, hiding his fear behind a smile.

It's something of a coward's tactic, wouldn't you say, Kacchan?

And that's an end for chapter 2! We're already getting into the thick of things. It should slow down for a little bit, but rest assured, you'll get no shortage of action from me.

This chapter was a little intense, I know. I want to say this now: I have nothing against Jirou. I actually like her as a character, and didn't really want to write the scene to be as, well, mean as it ended up being. I wanted to showcase Bakugo's personality at this point; he's pent up, in pain, and volatile. He's going to explode when things don't go his way, literally and figuratively. He hasn't had a major positive influence on him in a long time. He's been out of a prison that he was stuck in for a long time (for him) for a single day, and he's willing to do almost anything to keep it that way.

I would also like to address one final thing: Bakugo calling Jirou by her name. This was done on purpose. Bakugo was held on the One For All before he was in Tartarus, and when given the chance, all of his old classmates came and visited. I'm going to create a scene for the people who made the biggest impression on him, with Jirou being the only one of the group who didn't look down on or pity him. It will be expanded, I promise.

Next chapter, a much-needed discussion is had and the group reach the space station that is supposed to mark Bakugo's departure from the group.

Until next time,

Anonymuss45, signing off.