Chapter 6
It was a struggle to convince mom about the meal plan that All Might wanted me to start. Especially since I couldn't tell her why I was doing this. Not to mention how I also needed to get a few workout gear. But I gave up talking to her when she said how all this was pointless. So that night, I decided to make a few stops by the local pawn shops. Maybe I'll be lucky; they had some weights and other stuff.
As I walked, I saw a few classmates hanging out in front of a convent store. I did notice that one of them was Kato. So, I decided to take the roundabout path to the next pawn shop. While waiting for the light to change, I hoped nobody noticed me. "Hey! Isn't that Midoriya?" Oh no. I looked over to my left and saw how they had all eyes on me.
The light needed to hurry and change because they were making their way to me. But it wasn't fast enough as Kato placed a hand on my shoulder. "Well, well. What a bastard like you doing on my turf?" I tried to cross the street when the light changed, but Kato held me in place. "Don't leave, buddy."
Kato and his friends dragged me into a back ally and took turns punching me. One of the girls was recording everything on her phone. "Smile for the camera, quirkless." At that moment, I heard the sound of a switchblade knife being flipped. "Help him smile, babe."
Watching as one of the boys came towards me with the knife out. As he got closer, I suddenly felt something by my hand and took a quick peek at what it was. It was shards of glass from the window Kato slammed me into. I took one of the pieces and lunged forward. But at the last second, I threw the glass at the guy with the knife. He then activated his quirk that turned his body to smoke. Doing so had the glass not hurt him but also made him drop the knife.
I rushed and grabbed the knife. Once I had it in my hand, I quickly stepped back to avoid Kato's finger quirk. When his fingers touched the ground, I took that chance to slash off one of his figures. As he screamed in pain, I threw the knife at the girl. She dodged it, but it gave me enough of an opening to run past all of them. I ran all the way to the main streets.
My lungs felt like they were on fire when I finally reached the pawn shop. Stepping inside, I was greeted by the shop owner. "What you want now, kid?" He was in a grumpy mood but was nice. I walked over to the counter and took out a few bills.
"Do you have any weights and other workout gear?"
The owner took the money and started to count it. "This will cover at least one dumbbell." He then started walking to the back. "But for you, kid, I'll throw in some hand grips and boxing hand wraps. By the way." He turned to me and pointed. "What happened to your hands?"
I looked at my hands and saw that they were bleeding. "Just a few scratches." The owner shook his head and went to the back room. When he returned, he gave me a gym and book bag. He went about what was in each of them. "Thanks so much, Uncle." He smiled and opened the door for me. As heavy as everything was, I was surprised I could carry everything home.
The next day as I walked to school, something seemed off. During my walk, I spotted Kacchan and tried my best to stay as far as possible. I hope he didn't notice me following him to school, especially after the week of him trying to catch me. I wish I could tell him that I started training with All Might. But I promised to not speak a one to anyone. Maybe one day I'll be able to tell Kacchan. Would it make him happy? Or angry?
As I walked into class, I saw how Kato was sitting on Kacchan's desk. I also could see that Kato's left hand was bandaged up. After yesterday I was hoping I wouldn't have to face him today. But it doesn't seem that would be possible. And telling how everyone gave me death stares, it was clear Kato told the class what went down.
When I reached my desk, I wasn't the least surprised. Written on my desk were all sorts of insults. Many weren't even that creative. As I sat down is when the teacher finally came in. That's when I noticed how Kato smirked at me before looking at the teacher. "Mr. Aoki, you don't mind if we give the quirkless an early morning lesson?"
"As long as it stays within the class." Why was I not surprised. Mr. Aoki and many other teachers encouraged the class to beat me. Something about putting me in my place. I saw how two of the students went and locked the classroom doors.
As Saito threw me to the back wall, one of the girls used her quirk. She levitated spikes from another student and had me pinned to the wall. Thankfully it only held my clothes and didn't cut me. I then watched the guy whose quirk gave him rock skin get ready to punch me. He punched my stomach, and I coughed up blood. Then came a punch to my face. "Ree, remove the spikes. Let Koji break the bastard's arms."
With the spikes gone, I fell to the floor. Taking in a deep breath, I grabbed one of the spikes. When Koji grabbed me by my hair, I quickly rammed the spike into his foot. "Damn it!" He pulled me up, but I used my foot to kick the spike down more before punching me. He then let me go, and I grabbed another two spikes. I was done being their damn punching bag.
One by one came at me. Somehow I was able to dodge each of their swings, all while I drove a spike through everyone's leg. The only three that were left were Kacchan, Kato, and Saito. But that's when I noticed that Kacchan never moved from his seat. "Come on, Bakugo. Help us out, man."
Kacchan just looked at Saito. "This is your fight, not mine. Besides, I don't help extras." The look of horror on Saito's face as he looked back at me was very pleasing. I couldn't help but smile as I waved for Kato and Saito to come at me. At that moment, all I cared about and felt was the burning rage to punish the idiots who took Kacchan away from me.
Kato and Saito looked at me and didn't seem to move. When I stepped forward, they backed up. But just then, the first bell rang. For the rest of the day, everyone left me alone. Even during lunch, nobody looked my way. It felt nice to eat lunch without dealing with people pouring drinks on me. At that, it just felt nice to eat after whatever came over me.
…
When Kato texted me this morning, something didn't seem right. He went about how he crossed paths with Deku and how the nerd cut him. That didn't sound like Deku. The nerd didn't have a mean bone in his whole body. He was too nice sometimes. It was sometimes what made it easy to bully him.
But as I pondered what Kato told me, it got me wondering. I had known Deku for so long, and that's when it hit me. As much as the nerd smiled or put up with everything, he was smart. Heck. When I read through his notebooks, he takes amazing notes. Sometimes a little too detailed. Especially the notes on the quirks of everyone in the class and their weakness. I didn't see anything about me, but that doesn't mean he hasn't written about me. Oh, I have a bad feeling about today.
As I sat in class, Kato told everyone they needed to finally put Deku in his place. While he spoke, I saw how his left hand was bandaged up. So his story about Deku cutting must be true. But what did Kato do to get Deku in that position?
"As long as it stays within the class." When Mr. Aoki said those words, I watched as everyone started to move. I stood in my seat. Whatever was about to happen, I did not want any part of it. Compared to everyone in the class, I was the only one who knew that Deku was fast. When that nerd really wants to, he finds a way. And I was right when I saw the fear in Saito and Kato's eyes.
"Come on, Bakugo. Help us out, man."
"This is your fight, not mine. Besides, I don't help extras." The horror that crossed their face was a sight to see. Whatever was happening behind me must have been amazing. Watching how Kato and Saito shook in fear and stepped back was perfect. But sadly, my entertainment was cut short when the bell rang. Even Mr. Aoki looked horrified.
Once the school day was over, I watched as the injured extras stumbled out of the classroom. I waited till everyone, besides Deku, was gone. That's when I turned to the nerd. "Where have you been running off to?"
"Can't tell you." As he packed his bag, I noticed how exhausted he looked. Which means he hasn't been sleeping again.
"You're going to tell me." Deku flinched as I walked over to him. I grabbed him by the collar. "Spill it."
Deku just looked right at me. There was no avoiding eye contact or crying. "I just can't." With that, I pushed him back in his seat. "Kacchan!"
"Don't Kacchan me." I stepped on his lap, pinning him to the chair. "Your mom called the old hag. She never does that. So, spill it."
That's when Deku started to cry as he looked away from me. "I want to tell you, but I just can't."
"Look at me!" I grabbed his chin and made him face me. While looking into those green eyes of his, it was clear he was serious. "If your mom calls the hag one more time, I will beat your ass. And I will make you tell me what's going on." I let his face go. "Got that, nerd?" I removed my foot from Deku.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." Deku got up and grabbed his book bag. I then watched him go into his bag and take out a small box. He handed it to me. "Happy birthday, Kacchan." With that, I took the box, and he ran out. That damn nerd. I placed the box in my bag and started leaving class.
When I got home, I remembered Deku had given me something. Before going to my room, I looked around the kitchen and saw the note on the fridge. Another birthday of them working late again. I grabbed a few ingratiated from the fridge and made myself my own birthday dinner. "Happy birthday, me."
Once I finished eating, I went to my room and brought my All Might doll next to me. As I pulled the box from my book bag, I could feel my heart racing. Even when I was a complete jerk to Deku, he still gave me something for my birthday. My face started to burn as I looked at the small box.
As always, the box was nicely wrapped. That nerd is obsessed over the smaller details. It always felt like a crime to unwrap these. But taking a deep breath, I finally slowly peeled away the wrapping. And was in complete disbelief. It was the latest hero fighting game. That damn nerd.
Come the next few weeks, I noticed how everyone kept their distance from Deku. At that, not even extras from the other classes bullied him during lunch. Something about this felt nice. Especially when I sat alone, I had a clear view of that nerd. What made the sight questionably confusing was how I enjoyed seeing him smile.
I should be annoyed, maybe angry, at his very existence. But during these small moments, I simply enjoyed my little secret. Since there's no way he'll get into the same high school as me, maybe I could use that time to fix our friendship. But same time, there's no way that would be possible. Maybe it'll be better to finally accept that I must completely leave him behind. And just focus on being the number one hero.