A/N: Hey, everyone! If you've followed me long enough, then you'd know by now that TodoDeku is my favorite pairing when it comes to My Hero Academia. However, BakuMina is my second-favorite pairing, but up until now, the only fic I'd done for them was Caring In Pink. This is my first multi-chapter BakuMina fic, and I hope you enjoy it!
TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains a rather graphic use of the word "rape". There is no actual or implied rape in this story, but if the mere mention of the word makes you uncomfortable, then feel free to turn away from this fic.
Another summer sun cast its golden rays over Chicago, and Katsuki Bakugo slammed his fist on the "Snooze" button of his MP3 alarm clock as it blasted him with the sound of "Torch of War" by Vader. If there was anything that he dreaded most in this world, it was knowing that he had to get up out of his nice warm bed and go to work. In general, he didn't mind his job as a pro hero, but there were certain aspects of that job that he felt could – in polite terms – go procreate with themselves. Nevertheless, he found the strength to fall out of bed and clamber to his feet before heading to the kitchen/dining room in his apartment.
Breakfast was a very simple affair for Kacchan: two protein bars followed by a can of Monster. After getting some food in his stomach, he went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth and flossed. He wished he didn't have to, but he'd already gotten one cavity and was not about to get any more. That aside, Kacchan followed his freshening up with a daily exercise routine, starting with 200 inverted pushups. He then grabbed a pair of dumbbells with 100 pounds worth of plates on each one and proceeded to do some bicep curls, followed by shoulder presses, forearm curls and some bent-over rows. Having jacked some serious iron, he flexed his muscles, more as a way of showing the world not to mess with him than anything else.
With his workout routine out of the way, Kacchan dressed up in his hero costume before heading out the door of his Greektown apartment. It didn't take long for him to find his car in the parking lot: a red 1979 Pontiac Trans Am with a black "Screaming Eagle" on the hood. After hopping in and buckling up, he drove off to work, blasting "Time Waits For No Slave" by Napalm Death over his car's stereo. It didn't take him long to find his workplace: a grand office building on North Upper Wacker Drive. After parking in a nearby lot, Kacchan hopped out and headed on into the building.
"Good morning, Ground Zero," said Mary the receptionist, a somewhat-plump redhead with her hair in a bun.
"Hmph," was Kacchan's only response.
Mary shook her head, wondering when Kacchan was ever going to lighten up. Meanwhile, he took the elevator up to an office on the 37th floor. This was the location of the Genius Agency, headed by the pro hero Best Jeanist. It was a colorful, thoroughly modern office with trendy furniture and postmodern art decorating it.
"Hey Bakugo! What's up, brother?"
Waving at Kacchan was none other than Eijiro Kirishima, better known as "Red Riot", and also the only person that Kacchan considered a friend in this world. Without question, Kacchan seated himself at the same table as Kirishima.
"Not much," said Kacchan. "Same shit, different day."
"That's what ya said yesterday, too, and the day before that!" said Kirishima. "Seriously, don't ya ever do anything fun with your spare time?"
"I go mountain climbing. Oh, and I listen to very angry metal and watch violent movies."
Kirishima shrugged. "Well…it's a start. I mean, though, haven't ya ever thought about…you know…gettin' out there more?"
"What do ya mean!? I get out with ya plenty of times!"
"Don't get me wrong, I enjoy hangin' with ya, but I feel like you could benefit from havin' other friends too, ya know?"
Kacchan slammed the palms of his hands on the table. "And WHY would I need other friends!? Most people suck!"
Kirishima smiled. "Hey, I realize there are a bunch of douchebags out there, but there are lots of good people out there, too! I mean, wasn't that why we became heroes: to protect good people?"
Kacchan shrugged. "Ah, I guess not all people are bad. Still, findin' good people is like tryin' to pick fly shit outta pepper while wearin' boxing gloves."
Kirishima laughed. "Aw man, you're such a riot, and I'm the one with 'riot' in my hero name!"
"I WASN'T TRYING TO BE FUNNY!"
Just then, a bunch of the other heroes in the office looked over at Kacchan. As for Kirishima, he smiled nervously and began sweating.
"Uh…buddy…you're makin' a scene again…heh heh…"
Kacchan didn't care, however. All his life, he was never one to give a crap about what people thought of him, though it was his admiration of the legendary All Might that led him to become a hero instead of villain. He never really wanted to get a job at a hero agency, mainly because of his antisocial personality, but the pay was good, so who was he to argue with that?
"I've made a scene before," said Kacchan. "Why should this time be any fuckin' different?"
Before Kirishima could answer that one, in walked Tsunagu Hakamada, better known as the #3 pro hero Best Jeanist, the leader of the Genius Agency. After taking roll call, he set his smartphone down on one table, activated its hologram projector and began the daily briefing:
"Ladies, gentlemen and those outside the gender binary, citywide crime was down 1% yesterday compared to the day before, and the CFD had 2,251 calls yesterday, which was up 2% from the day before. There's always room for improvement, but if we do our best, then we can iron out our imperfections. Having said that, I'd like to congratulate Street Heat for taking down that gang of bank robbers who had been tearing through Lincoln Park and the Near North Side. Those ruffians had been soiling the very fabric of society, and it was thanks to you that they were taken to the laundry."
Various heroes cheered for Walter "Street Heat" Hayes, a muscular Black man with a goatee.
"Other than this, I don't really have anything else to report. All of you will find your patrol assignments in this hologram projection. Get out there, and have a fabulous day!"
For today's patrol assignment, Kacchan was paired up with Felicia Hsu, better known under her hero name "Star Blazer". She was a short woman of average build with mid-length curly blonde hair and blue eyes. Her hero costume was a light pink bodysuit with matching knee-high leather boots and a pink helmet with a purple "wing" on each side.
FELICIA "STAR BLAZER" HSU:
QUIRK: Star Power. Allows her to summon a cluster of little stars for use as projectiles, a shield or even a form of transportation, but will suffer temporary blindness if she overuses them.
Kacchan and Hsu were assigned to patrol the West Side section, which included the community areas of Austin, Humboldt Park, West and East Garfield Park, North and South Lawndale, the Lower West Side, Near West Side and West Town. Kacchan always lamented having to be paired up with another hero while doing patrols because he felt that he worked much better on his own. Nevertheless, he was willing to go along with it only insofar as it would enable him to keep his job and earn him money. That aside, at the current moment, Kacchan and Hsu were walking down West Division Street.
"Ground Zero, you haven't said a word to me since we started this patrol," said Star Blazer. "Is everything OK?"
Kacchan snorted at Hsu. "You mean other than the fact that I don't like you or any of the other assholes I have to work with except Red Riot? No, nothin's wrong. Why the fuck would anything be wrong?"
Hsu put her fists on her hips. "Ugh! Three years working for this agency and you STILL haven't lightened up! Seriously, you're a hero! Act like one!"
"I'LL ACT LIKE A HERO WHEN PEOPLE SHOW THAT THEY FUCKIN' DESERVE IT!"
"And knock it off with the yelling! I'm surprised that Best Jeanist hasn't fired you yet!"
"AND I'M SURPRISED THAT NEITHER YOU NOR ANY OF THOSE OTHER SHITHEADS HAS…"
"Hey heroes, help!"
Kacchan and Hsu turned to see a rather portly Hispanic man running towards them.
"What's wrong?" said Star Blazer.
"A bunch of guys are robbin' Central Park Produce!" said the man.
"I'll get 'em!" said Kacchan.
Using his explosive Quirk, Kacchan blasted forwards, with Hsu doing her best to keep up. They reached the grocery store just in time to see a Brilliant Silver 2009 Mazda6 peeling away.
"I'll get those bastards!" said Kacchan.
Still using his explosive power, Kacchan valiantly propelled himself forwards and upwards before using one mighty blast to slam himself down onto the getaway car. The force of the impact shocked the robbers so much that the driver ended up crashing into a parked GMC Yukon. Having jumped out of the way in time, Kacchan pointed one of his grenade gauntlet hands at the wrecked Mazda.
"ALL RIGHT, ALL OF YOU BASTARDS GET OUTTA THE CAR WITH YOUR HANDS UP BEFORE I BLAST YA!"
The robbers slowly opened the doors, tossed their guns onto the ground and gently exited the vehicle with their hands up. Hsu caught up by this time.
"Star Girl, cuff 'em!"
"But my name's not 'Star Girl'."
"I SAID CUFF 'EM!"
"OK! Sheesh…"
After the Chicago Police took care of the robbers, Kacchan and Hsu were back out on patrol. For a stretch, nothing terribly notable happened, leaving Kacchan to lament the state of today's society. It wasn't that he hated hero work. Rather, as he said before, he felt like there were people who weren't grateful enough for the work that heroes like him put in for this world. Then, while Kacchan was still bemoaning his situation, Hsu spoke to him…
"Hey Bakugo…"
Kacchan ignored Hsu.
"Hey, Earth to Bakugo!"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT!?"
"First of all, knock it off with the yelling. Second of all, where do ya wanna grab lunch?"
Kacchan shrugged. "Hell if I give a fuck."
"Well, since you're obviously not helping, I'm gonna pick for us!"
Star Blazer ended up taking Kacchan to Green Street Smoked Meats, which actually wasn't too far from his place. It was perhaps one of the best places to get Texas-style barbecue in the Windy City, its rustic decor adding to the charm. Rock music provided the soundtrack here, with the current selection being "Shoot Shoot" by UFO. The joint wasn't exceedingly packed, but it was clear that at least a couple of people considered this to be their favorite spot for lunch. Kacchan and Hsu got a table near the middle of the restaurant.
"Hi, welcome to Green Street Smoked Meats!" said the waitress, a tall brunette. "My name is Victoria. Can I start you two off with drinks?"
"I'll have a Miller Lite," said Kacchan.
"Ground Zero, you know we can't drink while we're on duty!" said Hsu.
"Hmph, sorry. I'll have a Pepsi, then."
Victoria returned to get their drinks.
"You know, all this time I've known you and you still surprise me that you're not a villain," said Star Blazer.
Kacchan glared at Star Blazer. "Villains go to prison and get ass-raped."
Hsu let out a loud, drawn-out gasp. "Ground Zero, you can't talk about stuff like THAT in public!"
"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK!"
Various people stopped eating and drinking to stare at Kacchan, who paid no nevermind at all. Meanwhile, Hsu blushed and shrank back in her chair. While this wasn't his first time being so mean to her, she never got used to his foul attitude.
Nothing else notable happened that day except for a couple of small-time crooks they caught. After Kacchan got back home, he made himself a Hungry Man boneless fried chicken meal for supper and washed it down with a Miller Lite. After supper, he fired up his hi-fi system and played "God of Emptiness" by Morbid Angel, upon which he proceeded to headbang. To him, there was nothing like a bit of extreme metal after work. Then, after headbanging to some more death metal, black metal, hardcore punk and grindcore songs, he fired up his TV and proceeded to watch SS Women With Big Boobs on Netflix. After the movie, he took care of his hygiene before going to bed.
While Kacchan was asleep, he had a dream that he woke up in a dark, dingy alley. He saw a light coming towards him, and somehow, he found himself drawn towards it. A faint demonic chanting also beckoned him on. Suddenly, when he got close enough, he saw what the light was: an old schoolmate of his named Izuku Midoriya. What grabbed him was that Midoriya's clothes were all tattered, and he was drenched in blood and carrying a large Bowie knife.
"Hey Kacchan, still lonely?" Midoriya cackled evilly.
"Deku, what the hell…!?"
"GOOD NIGHT!
While letting off an evil laugh, Deku raised his knife and plunged it into Kacchan's skull.
Kacchan awoke just before the knife sunk into his brain, and he bolted upright, panting and sweating. Once he'd calmed himself sufficiently, he lied back down and attempted to go back to sleep.
(Man, what's with these fuckin' weird dreams?)
Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.