Chapter 17: The Green-Haired Child
Ochako and Shinso walked out of Recovery Girl's office, both somewhat sore. The two of them really did a number on each other, and they were starting to feel tired.
However, Ochako knew she had to keep going.
Walking back towards their spots, they noticed two things right away: One was that Bakugou was nowhere to be found, and the second, that Akatani was sitting with them.
"Hey there! Glad to see you're both still good!" Akatani waved at them.
"Oh, Akatani," Ochako said. "You're here? What about Endeavor –"
"Oh, yeah! The two of us came to a bit of an… understanding."
The brown-haired girl decided not to comment on that.
"Hey," Shinso greeted him. "Here to deactivate our Quirks again?"
"Nah, I already did that," the black-haired boy chuckled. "I'm actually here analyzing our Quirks. I already did Class 1-B's and I gotta say, yours are way more super cool!"
"Analysis, huh? That's pretty neat," Ochako said. "Have you done everyone?"
"Well, everyone except for the two of you, and Ka– er, I mean, Bakugou!" Akatani quickly said. "He already left for his next round by the time I came here for everyone else."
"Guess you'll just have to wait for him," Ochako said, sitting down.
Akatani scratched his hair. "Yeah, I guess you're right…"
"AND ON ONE SIDE, WE HAVE THE EXPLOSIVE POMERANIAN, KATSUKI BAKUGOU! AND ON THE OTHER, THE CHAOTIC TRICKSTER, NEITO MONOMA!"
Ochako smiled, as she sat down. "This should be interesting…"
Katsuki tuned out Present Mic's ramblings, as he focused on his opponent.
It was the smug-looking blond bastard from Class 1-B, Monoma. Katsuki never actually got to see what his Quirk was, since he was too busy trying to recover the points they lost to him during the second round. Plus, he was too busy hauling that pitch-black kid to Recovery Girl to see his match between Shoji, but given that he was here, meant that he won.
Which meant that he must have some really strong Quirk.
This was bad. Not only did Katsuki know what this guy's Quirk was, but the smug-looking bitch probably knew what Katsuki's was. He needed to end this quickly.
Tuning back in to what Present Mic was saying, he heard –
"BEGIN!"
BOOM!
Katsuki immediately launched himself towards the smug bitch with his explosions, before turning his arm towards Monoma's face and blowing him with a point-blank attack.
BOOOM!
"Man, are you really that mad over me stealing your points?"
Huh? The smoke cleared, and Katsuki could see that the prick had erected some sort of wall of solid air in time. So, his Quirk allowed him to use solid air. He could beat that.
"I mean, I know that you vowed to win the whole game, but this might be a bit overkill," Monoma continued. "Or are you just so hell-bent on getting revenge for your teammates?"
Katsuki simply said, "You talk too much."
"I suppose, that's true," he replied. "I mean, I know I can be wrong. The big guy I beat earlier showed me not everyone in Class A is an ass… but still… at least I'm right about you."
The explosive teen growed. "Huh? Whaddya talking about?"
"You have something to prove, don't you?"
Katsuki clicked his tongue at that. He didn't have time to be psychoanalyzed by some asshat, he had a Sports Festival to win. Launching himself with his explosions, he flew through the air again and tried to circumvent Monoma's air walls, and –
WHAM!
Katsuki grabbed his chin in pain. What the hell? Was he punched?! How –
"Or, right. You were too busy sending Kurorio to Recovery Girl to see my match, which means you don't know what my actual Quirk is, do you?" Monoma smiled, with his metal arm…
Wait… metal?
Katsuki stared in horror at what he saw in front of him. Green hair –
BOOOM!
Katsuki jolted in pain. That explosion, that was his…
"Wow, your Quirk is amazing," Monoma said, as he inspected his own hand, in which sparkes were crackling. "It's loud and flashy. Perfect for Hero work, wouldn't you agree?"
Katsuki could half-hear what the bastard was saying. He couldn't see Monoma in front of him. All he could see in front of him was a small kid with green curly hair and freckles.
"You're so lucky!"
He could hear his voice, the praise. Just like that of his teachers'.
"Impressive. I bet that's going to grow into an amazing Quirk."
"Definitely. A flashy Quirk for a future Hero! It's perfect!"
No. No, no, no, don't do that. You'll just give him an ego –
"Wow! You're so awesome!"
"Whatever! This is nothing!"
Playing ball? Skipping stones? He was great at everything.
"Geez, Izuku! You really can't do anything right, can you?"
No, NO! You had no right to make fun of him!
"Look, you can read the last part of Izuku's name as Deku!"
"Whoa, so you can read that?"
"Well, obviously. Deku… that must be what you call a helpless loser who's completely useless."
"Why are you being so mean, Kacchan?"
Katsuki couldn't focus. His mind wasn't on the match with Monoma, it was back in the past. Multiple Quirks? That could only mean one thing…
"Hey, did you hear? Deku doesn't have a Quirk! Like, none!"
"What? Really?"
"Yeah, it's called being Qurikless!"
You're a total failure, Deku…
SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH! If he could go back in time and scream that to his younger self, he would, but he couldn't. All he could do was watch his failures in front of him.
"Why are you being so mean? You're making him cry, Kacchan!"
He wasn't a Hero. He was a goddamn bully.
"If you keep on hurting him… I'll stop you myself!"
"You wanna pretend to be a Hero? You don't stand a chance without a Quirk… Deku."
His mind went back to the river he fell in, that fateful day. The others weren't really worried for him. He was Bakugou! He was invincible! And yet…
"Are you all right? Are you hurt? I was worried you might have hit your head, or something."
He offered his hand to him, and Katsuki took that as an act of aggression. He pounced, his arms grabbing him, and then… his Quirk was gone. Sparks crackled in his hands.
"What…?"
"Deku… GIVE ME BACK MY QUIRK!"
A late bloomer. One that could –
"RUN! HE'LL STEAL YOUR QUIRKS!"
"VILLAIN!"
NO, NO, NO! THEY WERE WRONG! HE WOULD NEVER! Never…
And then the news came in. Villain attack at the mall. Aunty was in a coma. And Deku… he was nowhere to be found. Gone for the next ten years. And deep down, Katsuki knew…
It was all his fault.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Ochako knew something was wrong the moment Bakugou stopped firing off his explosions.
He wasn't fighting Monoma anymore. He was just standing there, taking the hits, his expression blank. No one knew what was going on. Even Present Mic was confused.
And then, he fell to the floor, and screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
"Something's wrong," Ochako whispered, as she activated One For All.
"Wait, what are you –?!"
Too late. Before Shinso could even finish his sentence, the brown-haired girl leaped off the bleachers and fell into the arena, rushing towards her downed classmate.
She could hear Cementoss shouting to stop the match, and Monoma standing with a mix of confusion and worry in his face. Ochako ran into the arena, and kneeled down towards Bakugou. He was convulsing, like he was having some sort of panic attack.
And he was… repeating the word "Deku" over and over again.
"Stand clear!" Midnight commanded, as she ripped a small bit of her fabric, and let the gas spread on Bakugou's face, causing him to close his eyes. "Good, he's out cold."
"What happened?" Ochako asked.
"I don't know, maybe seeing Monoma triggered something. Please take him to Recovery Girl,'' Midnight said, standing up. "Ahem… MONOMA ADVANCES TO THE NEXT ROUND!"
Ochako nodded. They needed to make the crowd think that everything was fine. Using her Quirk, she lifted Bakugou and carried him towards the temporary infirmary.
Hopefully, he'll wake up soon.
"Ugh…" Katsuki goraned, as he woke up, only to see… Round Cheeks.
"Hey there," she said, in a quiet voice. "Don't worry, you're safe. You're in Recovery Girl's office. Could you please slowly breathe in and out for me through your nose?"
"I'm calm," he said. "I just… the prick triggered some old memories."
"I see… if you want to talk about it, I'm here. But if you don't want to, that's fine, too."
"Grrr… is the old hag anywhere within earshot?" the ash-blond asked.
"She's gone out for a bathroom break," Round Cheeks said. "It's just us."
Katsuki thought it over. His therapist said that talking about it could help. And well… "I guess it's fair. You had your secret spilled unwillingly, I guess I could at least tell you mine."
"You don't have to if you don't want to! That's perfectly fine –"
"Round Cheeks," he hissed. "Just… please, listen."
She was quiet for a few seconds, before nodding. "Okay."
"I'm…" Katsuki began. "I'm not a good person."
"What? What are you talking about? You're in the Hero Course –"
"Just let me finish. Please," he said. "Look… when I was younger… I had a childhood friend. Our moms were friends growing up, so it made sense that they'd have the two of us meet up, and… we were kinda inseparable. But then… my Quirk came in… and his didn't."
He could see her face shift in realization. "You bullied him."
Katsuki simply looked down in shame. "Yeah, I did. I thought that he was weak, and pathetic. For nearly a year, I laughed at his misfortune, called him a useless Deku, and beat him up. Just for not having something most of us take for granted. And then…"
"And then?"
"And then one day, I fell into a river. The others with me were laughing about it, but he… he went in and reached out his hand. Even after all the terrible shit I did to him, he still… wanted to help me. And my stupid self thought that he was looking down on me. So… I jumped him."
Round Cheeks didn't say anything.
"I grabbed him and… next thing I know, his Quirk activated. Turns out, he was a late bloomer. But… it just became worse. Everyone went from mocking him to being scared of him and his Quirk, that he was a Villain in the making. All because of me."
"One day, he and his mom went out shopping at the mall. A giant Villain ended up rampage there with some Trigger, the ceilings collapsed, and… Auntie was hit in the head with concrete. She was in a coma up until last year. Doctors don't even know how she woke up."
"And… What about your friend?" Round Cheeks asked. "Deku?"
"Dissappaeared off the face of the fucking earth," Katsuki said. "No one knows what happened to him. I've spent the last decade looking around for him on the streets, training to get into UA, to become a Hero, just to find him and tell him how sorry I am for everything, and –"
Before Katsuki could keep rambling, he felt Round Cheeks wrap around him.
She was giving him a hug.
"Wha… what are you doing…?" he asked, confused.
"You're not a bad person," she whispered.
"What?"
"I said you're not a bad person," she said, letting go. "Would a bad person feel bad for what they did? Would they keep searching for their old friend? Work their way into UA, to become a Hero, all to find their childhood friend and apologize to them?! No, they wouldn't!"
"But I… hurt him…"
"There's no denying that. Yes, you fucked up, and you hurt him, but you were a stupid kid, and clearly, you learned from it. So, in my book, you're not a bad person."
"Heh." Katsuki couldn't help but chuckle. "All Might really picked a good successor…"
"This isn't about me," she said. "This is about you. Do you… do you feel better?"
"A bit," Katsuki admitted. "Kinda sucks that I'm out of the game now, but… thanks for hearing me. Do me a favor and beat that blond prick for me, all right, Round Cheeks?"
"Ochako," she said. "Call me Ochako. Or if you prefer, Occhan."
"I… I'll consider it." Katsuki said, with a soft smile.
The brown-haired girl gave him a smile, as she walked out the door.
Hosu was in chaos. At least, the Heroes that were patrolling there.
Everyone had heard of what was happening on the other side of Tokyo, over at the main HPSC headquarters. Several Nomus, and possible sightings from the League of Villains.
Several of the faster Heroes went there as soon as they could.
Tensei Iida, better known as Ingenium, certainly tried.
"Squad A, head north! Squad B, huh –?!"
Running as fast as he could, he dashed through the streets, ordering his squads to make their ways towards the Commission building, before he noticed something in an alleyway.
A dark figure with a hunch, but the shape… he recognized him immediately.
Rushing back to where he saw him, Tensei grimaced underneath his mask. Several dozen other Heroes were heading to the Commission building, but he was the only one who saw him. Jumping over the buildings, Tensei made his decision. He had to stop him!
As he jumped down into the alleyway, Tensei did a quick one-over. Black and gray combat suit, red scarf and mask, lots of swords and knives. "No doubt about it. It's him!"
Landing in front of the Villain, Tensei Iida shouted, "I FOUND YOU, HERO KILLER!"
Akatani smiled, as he hid behind the corner of the hallway next to the clinic.
He made sure that Uraraka was gone before he headed back to the stadium himself. The matches were continuing without them, so she'd only show up when she was needed.
Still, their conversation was… something to hear, alright.
Earphone Jack was such an amazing Quirk! Even without the ability to blast soundwaves, the enhanced hearing alone was well worth stockpiling it! He was sure that it would come useful, and it had already proven itself now with the conversation between Uraraka and Kacchan!
And what a conversation he heard…
Kacchan… Akatani had to admit, it was nice to see that he matured, even if it was at a great cost. Still, the blond had the resolve to become a Hero and find his Deku.
And find his Deku, Katsuki Bakugou will. Just not in the way he expects.
All For One will make sure of that.
As Ochako was with Bakugou, the matches continued without them.
The next two rounds of the quarter-finals ended quickly.
Asui forfeited in her match against Todoroki due to his ability to generate ice, while Iida was easily able to beat Yanagi, due to her lacking anything for her Quirk to use.
With the quarterfinals out of the way, that now left only four people left for the semi-finals: Ochako Uraraka, Neito Monoma, Shoto Todoroki, and Tenya Iida.
When her fight was announced, Ochako headed out into the arena. It was her turn now.
"ON ONE SIDE, WE HAVE THE QUEEN OF GRAVITY, OCHAKO URARAKA! AND ON THE OTHER SIDE, WE HAVE THE LORD OF SMUG, NEITO MONOMA!"
"Hey, no hard feelings, right?" Monoma asked.
"Well, you did trigger some of my friend's bad memories, so I can't exactly do that," Ochako said, her face stone cold. "I'm going to beat the shit out of you and avenge him."
"Oh, well, I wish you luck with that!" Monoma smiled.
"BEGIN!"
Ochako's pink lightning flashed up as she ran towards Monoma, with the blond boy pulling up green scales from his arms and firing them, forcing the brown-haired girl to dodge.
He has the ability to copy other people's Quirks, Ochako thought to herself. But is there a time limit? I could try to keep him busy until his time runs up, but I'll need to be quick!
Ochako shook her head as she dodged even more scales. She had no idea if Monoma had a time limit, she needed to take him down right away! Rushing towards him, she dodged even more scales, before powering up her legs and jumping over the attacks.
"WHOA! URARAKA IS JUMPING OVER TO MONOMA!"
"GRAVITY… HAMMER!"
Ochako slammed her powered-up fist towards where Monoma was, but the blond boy dodged it beforehand, causing Ochako to only crack the arena beneath her. Using her legs, she kicked up towards Monoma, trying to use One For All to knock him out of the arena –
CRACK!
…only to hit glass floating in the middle of the air.
Monoma smiled. "Heh, I'll have to thank Tsuburaba and Rin after this!"
"LOOK AT THAT POWER AND SPEED!"
Before Ochako could react, Monoma had charged her, and touched her bare arm, her eyes widening in realization. He's copied my Quirk! No, no, no, this is bad!
"HAHA! NOW I HAVE YOUR OH-SO POWERFUL QUIRK! HOW DOES IT FEEL TO KNOW WHAT – Wait, what? Padded fingers?" Monoma stopped gloating as he examined his hands. "Hey, where's the super strength?! WHERE THE HELL IS THE SUPER STRENGTH?!"
Ochako's eyes widened as she realized what just happened. He copied Zero Gravity, but he couldn't copy One For All! I have to use this opening now!
"I don't get it… HUH?!"
Monoma felt himself get grabbed by the collar, as Ochako revved up her arm, used her Quirk, and flung the blond out of the arena, all while he screamed all the way to the earth.
"MONOMA IS OUT OF BOUNDS! URARAKA MOVES ON TO THE FINALS!"
In an alleyway in Hosu, Ingenium laid still, bleeding on the floor.
"Fame… money… That's what all of you that call yourselves "Heroes" are really after… but you bastards are no Heroes! Except him… the only one with permission to kill me…"
The Hero Killer, Stain, smiled, as he licked the blood of his blade.
"All Might is worthy."
"IIDA HAS BEEN IMMOBILIZED! TODOROKI ADVANCES TO THE FINALS!"
As Todoroki moved to melt the ice of Tenya, the glasses-wearing boy couldn't help but apologize to his older brother in his head. He wanted to do better than… this!
Tenya's plan was a solid one. Dodge the ice that Todoroki would make, and then rush him when there was an opening. Once that happened, stun him with a kick, and then drag the red-and-white boy out of bounds before the engines on Tenya's legs stalled.
Unfortunately, Tenya made the mistake of forgetting about Todoroki's own close-range attacks. His classmate had been doing so many ranged attacks during the Sports Festival, that it slipped Tenya's mind that Todoroki could cover things in ice simply by touching them.
Which happened to include the engine's on Tenya's legs, followed by his whole body.
Shaking off the last bit of ice from his body, Tenya gave Todoroki a respectful bow. He may have lost, but sportsmanship was still sportsmanship.
"OUR FINAL FIGHT WILL BE BETWEEN URARAKA AND TODOROKI!"
On his way back to his seat, he wondered what he'd do now. Maybe give Uraraka some encouragement before fighting Todoroki? Then again, she had One For All, if anyone in their class would be able to win against Todoroki, it would be her.
Still, it was somewhat hard to believe that such a Quirk existed. A power that can be passed down from person to person? It was fascinating that anyone could have been given such power. Still though, it was probably best that it was given to Uraraka, she certainly was worthy –
Tenya's thoughts stopped as he felt the phone in his pocket vibrate.
Mother?
Shaking his head, he pressed the call button.
"Hello, Mom? I hate to tell you this, but I lost."
"No, son. I'm not calling about that," his mother said. "I mean, I'm sorry, but Tenya… please listen carefully. It's your brother. A Villain got Tensei. Tenya? Are you still there?"
Tenya Iida said nothing, as his phone fell from his hands.
"WELCOME TO THE FINAL BATTLE OF THE UA HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS FESTIVAL! IN JUST A MOMENT HERE, WE'LL SEE WHICH STUDENT COMES OUT ON TOP!"
Ochako gulped, as she walked up to the arena, while Present Mic continued.
"YES, IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS, FOLKS! FROM THE HERO COURSE OF CLASS 1-A, THE WOMAN OF STEEL, THE QUEEN OF GRAVITY, OCHAKO URARAKA! VERSUS, HER FELLOW CLASSMATE, THE FROZEN EMPEROR, SHOTO TODOROKI!"
As the crowds kept cheering, Ochako looked over to Todoroki.
"You know, I've been thinking about what you've said," the half-and-half haired boy said. "And I think that you were right. About me being my own person and whatnot."
"I'm glad to hear it." Ochako gave Todoroki a soft smile. "You don't have to use your fire just yet, if you don't want to. Endeavor tried to tell me to force them out of you, but I won't."
"He really went looking for you?" Todoroki sighed. "Talk about a waste of time."
Ochako lifted an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?"
"He still wants me to use my flames, not knowing that I've already done it twice already," the peppermint-haired boy said. "But still, you have All Might's Quirk inside of you. If there was ever a time to use my full power, now would be pretty appropriate, I guess."
"AND… BEGIN!"
"Wait… are you serious –?!"
FWOOM!
Before Ochako could even finish her sentence, Shoto's right side erupted in flames. They were bright, they were colorful, and even with distance, Ochako could feel their heat.
"Yes, Uraraka," Todoroki said, smiling. "Yes, I am."
The city of Tokyo was quiet during the early mornings.
BOOOM!
Now? Not so much.
Several of the local Heroes right now were running around like headless chickens, trying to figure out what to do. Everyone was expecting some sort of attack, sure, but not here. They were expecting one at UA, hence why all of the security upgrades.
No one thought an attack would occur anywhere near the Hero Public Safety Commission.
"SKREEE–"
SHUNK!
Hawks grunted as he stabbed another feather inside of the Nomus. These bastards were tough. They could take down the average Pro, easily, but for someone like him? All he needed to do was figure out where their weakness was, and then take care of them.
Still, he couldn't help but feel that something was off.
As if… this was some sort of distraction.
Suddenly, Hawks realized something. Turning around, the No. 3 Hero looked around to see where they were. This was Tokyo. There were several things that could be targeted by the League of Villains. Might Tower, the Skytree, the National Diet Building, and the –
BOOOOOM!
The Hero Public Safety Commission.
Using his wings, Hawks flew as fast as he could to where the loudest of the explosions went off, ignoring the fires and Nomus raging around him. The other Heroes were professionals, they could take care of those things while he was gone. He kept flying, and flying, until…
…he arrived at the HPSC building.
The one that now had ice bursting out of it from the inside.
Author's Note: Yep. So, now you all know about Bakugou's backstory, and how Midoriya has gone missing. Meanwhile, all around them, massive things are happening!
In some real life news, I've created a Twitter for myself (my first one, actually). I'm gonna be posting some art of mine every now and then, so if you feel like following me, please head on over to ErnaloreProf. And now, for the comments!
Knightmare Lord: If you're referring to overall plans, then the last scene is what Tomura is working on. If you're referring to personal stuff, then I'm not sure how to answer that.
EmilMobile: Glad to see that I can still write random quotes that send people dying of laughter. I hope this new chapter has been as action-packed as you hoped. And I stand by you as another Eraserhead x Thirteen supporter!
Anyways, for the last bit of shilling! If you want more content, visit my Discord, the link is /3PFYSt8Dqz. You can chat with others, post memes, fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, fan art, and we even have a writer's corner now! I'll also drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! Also, if you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! Just please make sure to follow the rules!
Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!
- Ernalore