"I was eight when I realized that not all men were created equal. Because despite how much one liked to preach about everyone's unlimited potential, there is just one thing that always stayed true: despite how hard we liked to try, you just couldn't compare gold with garbage."
"Alright class, quiet down." Said their homeroom teacher.
He was an unassuming person whose only noteworthy quality seemed to be his receding blond hairline which frankly told everyone how boring he was.
"Now since you are all third years, you should start thinking about what kind of High school you want to attend." He said while taking a stack of high school surveys out of his table's drawer.
"Remember this is your first big step towards your future so take this very seriously," the teacher said before realizing how bored his students looked.
"But who am I kidding? All of you are going to try to become heroes!" The man said before throwing the papers in the air.
It was followed by a complete pandemonium from the students side with all of them using some kind of weird ability that ranged from the amazing to the straight uncanny.
This was a superhuman society where at least eighty percent of the world's population possessed some kind of superpower also known as a quirk. This change in the social structure led to a new profession known as a hero which frankly was just a fancy police officer. They were allowed to use their powers to fight criminals that now were called villains and some of them even could become extremely famous in the process. In fact Japan's own star superhero All Might was seen as the world's greatest hero. So to a bunch of impressionable young people who wanted nothing more than to use their powers freely and become popular there was no better profession to have. Well except for one.
"Hey Teach, could you be kind enough to give me my high school survey as it is your responsibility or is the reason why this school is desperate to get one of their kids to become a pro is because none of the teachers here actually know how to do their job!"
Everyone's attention went towards the back of the classroom.
There sat a young man with ashen blond hair, that with a generous amount of hair gel was fashioned into a bowl as well as red eyes that were hidden behind a pair of glasses. He wore an Aldera Junior High's black school uniform while what seemed to be paper sheets with mock exams were sprayed on his table.
"Bakugou you brat! What did I tell you for speaking to me in such a manner!?" Yelled the teacher.
"Well I wouldn't be doing this if you were actually interested in doing your job instead of entertaining these assholes." Replied the angry looking teen.
He then gave his homeroom teacher an exasperated look.
"But seriously Teach do you really believe that even if some of these morons goes pro, which frankly doesn't seem plausible by the way, they'll remember about some balding loser who taught them homeroom in Junior High? Because if you do then these morons aren't the ones who desperately need a reality check." Bakugou said, trying to sound as sincere as he could. Unfortunately he wasn't exactly a people person.
The response from everyone in the classroom solidified it.
"You little shit!"
"Fuck you Bakugou!"
"At least we "morons" are better than you, asshole."
"Yeah, you're just some quirkless loser."
The ashen blond winced at that last comment.
Remember before that eighty percent of the world's population had some kind of quirk. Well there were still those twenty percent of humanity who didn't possess any type of power and thus were dubbed "quirkless". However most of them were the older generation which meant that in a few years the amount quirkless will drastically decline. Anyway the most important thing was that if you were a young man without a quirk your social life might as well have taken a swan dive off of the roof of a building.
"Well class," said the teacher with a sickeningly evil smile, "I wanted to keep it a secret but since Mr. "I Am Better Than All Of You"'feels so high and mighty I can tell you that in his high school survey Bakugou wrote that he's aiming to join UA."
There was a brief silence and then everyone laughed.
"Bakugou joining UA, that's rich!" Said a student.
"Yeah, even us "morons" have a higher chance of getting there than he does." Responded a different one.
Now everyone was mocking him in some way, making Bakugou roll his eyes.
UA high school was the top hero school in the country. It was the place where All Might first became a hero and thus was considered the place where legends were born. If you wanted to be something special you had to go to UA.
"To. Join. The. General. Studies. Group. You. Bunch. Of. Morons!" Said Bakugou loudly and slowly, making everyone to go quiet.
Quirkless or not but the teen's glare was good at making others shut up.
"You guys do know that there are other ways to make a bunch of money besides being a hero, right?" He asked.
There was silence while nobody answered.
"Like for All Might's sake, both of my folks have garbage quirks and they make a ton of more money than this "Teacher of the year!" Yelled Bakugou while pointing at the murderous looking man.
"And instead of hyping you up for his own gratification this brainless fucker should help you find your place in society instead of how to run towards the nearest pair of dangling keys. Because if some of you mess up and become bitter and jaded, it will partially be this mastermind's fault."
No one responded and the previously high level of enthusiasm had somehow vanished. Everyone looked unsure how to respond and some even preferred to stare at the ceiling or their own feat than at the ashen haired teen. Then the teacher intervened.
"Alright Bakugou, since you're very motivated to share your outlook with the rest of us you can go and do the same with the principal." The man said and pointed at the door.
Bakugou rolled his eyes but didn't interfere and instead started to pack his things.
"Without the bag mister!" Ordered the teacher.
The teenager looked at the older man as if had said something incredibly stupid.
"But this is the last class for today and we both know how long…"
"Without the bag!" Interrupted the teacher before gaining the same asholish expression as when he spilled the beans about Bakugou's preferred high school choice.
Both of them knew what would happen if he'd leave his stuff unguarded. Bakugou couldn't count the number of times when his things had been pilfered. Nevertheless he didn't protest and walked past the self pleased son of a bitch towards the door. Only to then "trip" and accidentally step on his teacher's foot when he was trying to regain balance. The man screamed and Bakugou left the classroom. Still, despite the petty revenge he didn't feel pleased. For the ashen haired teenager it was hard to think that anyone might have a shittier day than him.
Toshinori Yagi, also known as the world's most famous hero, All Might was not having a good day. He was currently sitting inside a family dinner while staring at a cup of "okey" tasting coffee. Of course, while in disguise. The man was currently wearing a gray hoodie with a pair of light green cargo pants and boots. He was also currently in his regular form which was a blessing in so many ways.
All Might, without a doubt, loved being a well known hero that filled the citizen's hearts with hope, however if there was one thing that being the symbol of peace didn't give you it was privacy. Thankfully now he only looked like an honest looking man with blond hair and blue eyes that also was incredibly tired due to his late shift at the factory.
It was unfortunate that any other part of his life didn't go as smoothly as when he needed to come with a secret alter ego. All Might had spent 36 hours combing the local cities whilst looking for "him" only to run into another dead end. Usually for such situations he had Nighteye who would just activate his quirk on him so that they could see if the lead would be a bust. Unfortunately the other hero had already used his quirk and in fact was starting to focus on different projects that he deemed more important.
"What could be more important than putting an end to this." All Might thought as he emptied the cup in one go.
Unfortunately instead of making the man feel better it just made him feel more done than he already was. Toshinori looked at his empty cup and for a second seriously started to think about quitting.
He was getting tired of it and being All Might was starting to get harder with every passing day. Toshinori feared for the moment when he no longer would have the strength to move on, or worse his frustration and exhaustion would make him do something that the man could never forgive himself.
Suddenly a nearby scream got his attention. He looked towards the sound and found a creature resembling green snot with a pair of yellow eyes and large teeth running on the sidewalk while clutching a cash register. A small distance from it there was a convenience store from where one of its employees had rushed out and was asking for help while pointing at the villain.
Even if All Might wouldn't have been a superstitious person he would consider it a sign. He couldn't stop being a hero because even though how bad everything got, the possibility of just standing by the sidelines while injustices like these occurred was an unimaginable thought. Toshinori got up from his seat and ran up to the register where he placed a large bill.
"You can keep the rest!" The hero shouted as he ran into the street.
With a single command One For All awakened in him and the man became two times buffer and increasingly more chiseled. With an explosion of wind his civilian clothes were thrown aside and in their stead was his hero uniform in all of their American flag inspired glory.
With a shock wave All Might jumped through the air and landed in front of the now startled villain.
"Haven't you ever heard my friend," he said whilst turning towards the criminal with his winning smile, "Crime never pays."
The store robber could only look at the hero in shock as the words escaped his mouth, "All Might."
He was having a really shitty day.
Katsuki Bakugou could admit when life made you deal with a complete tool it tended to counter it with a "pretty okay" guy. Or maybe it helped that his grades were carrying the entire school. Even so he had a talk with the principal that ended with the old man accepting Bakugou's points while meanwhile lecturing him about learning to be respectful of others.
"After all, the thing that we admire in our heroes is their humbleness above all else." Were the principal's words.
Despite hating being lectured, Bakugou had to admit that there was some truth in what the man was saying. After all he loved All Might and the guy was the humblest person on this green earth. So after being given a slap on the wrist plus the principal's word that his parents will be spared the information of what had transpired he went to the classroom only to discover that it was empty and surprise, surprise, his stuff was gone.
"Some of your classmates volunteered to bring you your things. That was really nice of them so I allowed it."
With a sigh Bakugou turned towards the teacher's desk where "All Star Scholar" was currently sitting and looked at him like an eight year old that had just emptied a box of sugar in someone's fuel tank.
"Is that so?" The teenager asked without giving that bastard the benefit of seeing a reaction.
"Did they tell you where they are waiting for me?"
"They mentioned something about the coy pond. I'm pretty sure you're already well acquainted with it." The smug bastard said.
"I see! Well then thank you." Responded Bakugou as he turned around. "Goodbye!"
"Goodbye to you too young man and remember, stay out of trouble." The piece of adult trash wished him.
"I will." Replied Bakugou.
He was about to turn around only to stop and look at his homeroom teacher.
"Oh, and teach," he said, gaining the teacher's attention, "even though the fact that you ignored all the times I've been bullied in the past could just be seen as you not noticing the problem, especially since I'm disabled or sorry I meant quirkless. However you actually being part of the bullying might actually be considered a crime. I just want you to know because the principal will probably also know it tomorrow."
The man immediately put his hands on the table and stood up despite the pain in his foot.
"Don't you dare or I'll…." He threatened.
"Or what responded." Bakugou interrupted him.
"You really think that you're scary or intimidating? Teach I've been picking fights with kids that could easily kill me since kindergarten. And I'm going to give you the same lesson that I gave them: I don't care who you are or what your quirk is, but if you'll try to fuck me I'll fuck you back, harder."
With those words said Bakugou rushed towards the coy pond before his shitty homeroom teacher decided to waste his time even further. When he got down there Bakugou was met with the usual itinerary of assholes. There were only three of them because most of his classmates apparently had better things to do after school. Well good for them!
Anyway the offenders were the three stooges. Two of whom the ashen haired teen had been acquintenced ever since kindergarten. First there was "Snot Fingers", a dude whose quirk allowed him to stretch his fingers very long. Then "Wings" who had a quirk that gave him a pair draconian like wings, something that could've been a kickass quirk if the dude wouldn't have been so overweight that he could barely get himself off the ground. And last and definitely least "Fire Womit" a generic ass loser who had no noteworthy traits despite the fact that he could spit actual fire!
"Where's my stuff?" Asked Katsuki, who didn't have the patience to entertain these wastes of time.
Fire Vomit grinned and stepped back to reveal that all of Bakugou's things were floating in the koy pond. He also noticed that all of them were slightly charred.
"Sorry man, I accidentally used my quirk on your things so I had to throw it in the water. You understand it right?" Said the asshole while the two morons behind him shared a chuckle.
Bakugou only rolled his eyes and started to walk towards the guy.
"What nothing to say?" Asked the guy. "Or is the great quirkless reject is too good to even speak to the rest of us?"
The ashen haired teen continued to march on until he was about to pass his classmate at which point a hand was pressed against his shoulder stopping him.
The quirkless teen looked at his classmate who was giving him a glare.
"You don't have to do this," said Bakugou while peering into the other kid's eyes, "just let me grab my things and then we can go our separate ways. No one has to get hurt."
"But Kachan buddy, no one was going to be hurt in the first place." Replied the teen in a false cheerful voice.
"Well no one besides you."
Bakugou reacted quickly the moment he saw the other kid's nostrils widen. Before the guy could get even a single flame out, the ashen haired clamped the fire breather's jaw shut with his hand. The flames had nowhere to go so they went haywire trying to escape from any possible hole. The fire breather made a painfilled noise as two wisps of smoke escaped his nose. It lasted for only about a second before it was replaced by black smoke.
However the quirkless teen didn't stop and so before the other guy could manage to much less think he sank his fist into the other teen's gut. Flames escaped the guy's mouth catching Bakugou's shoulder, but Aldera's black sheep paid them little attention. He knew that this jackass was not able to make a potent flame unless he put effort. Now however the fire quirk user shot it out as a vomit reflex. Bakugou knew that he'll be useless now.
He looked up and saw that his other two classmates were looking at what had happened with shock in their eyes. Those two losers hadn't been expecting a fight. After all, it always surprised people when a quirkless guy could swing hard.
"You two assholes also want some!" He yelled towards the two mooks.
They both shook their heads and a very pissed Bakugou went to get his stuff. He grabbed the floating bag and then went to collect the rest of his things from the fish that seemed weirdly interested in them. Some of his notes might be ruined which didn't bum him that much since he kept copies at home for such occasions. What pissed him off was that due to this shit he won't be able to attend cram school. Which in turn meant that he'll need to come up with a believable excuse for the hag when he gets home.
Finally when everything was collected he turned around and was met with the two stooges helping their leader get up who looked like the personification of malignance.
"YOU THINK YOU ARE BETTER THAN US YOU QUIRKLESS PIECE OF SHIT? THAT WE DON'T DESERVE TO BECOME HEROES BECAUSE THE GREAT KATSUKI BAKUGOU SAYS SO? WELL YOU AIN'T SHIT BAKUGOU! YOU ARE JUST A QUIRKLESS…"
"I don't think that I'm better than anyone." Calmly replied Bakugou.
"In fact you are right. In a society governed by powers I'm below gravel. However you guys are also idiots."
That gained a surprised look from the three.
"All of you think that all it takes to be a hero is to have a flashy quirk so you could beat up villains and look cool on Tv and frankly it pisses me off. To be an actual hero you need to have a good heart above all else. It means doing things that are disadvantageous to you only because it is the right thing and not using your quirk for petty bulshit like what you tried to pull on me. Like seriously do you really think that All Might would be the world's greatest hero if he had the same mindset as you guys? He'd be a villain and all of us would be shitting bricks fearing if we'd even live to see tomorrow."
He looked at their angry and confused faces and then softened up a little.
"If you lot really want to become heroes then I'd advise you to stick seriously to your goals. Actually train your quirks and how you use them so it wouldn't take one quirkles nobody with fighting experience to take you down. And do some soul searching of what it is to be a hero because one day you might need it if you actually manage to go pro. You can be a hero without a quirk, but you can't be a hero if a quirk is all you have."
With those words said, Bakugou walked past them.
"Do you think that it makes you better than us?" Said a voice stopping the teen in his tracks.
Bakugou turned around and looked at the glaring Fire Vomit.
"What?" Confused, he asked back.
"You obviously believe that you have what it takes to be a hero despite being quirkless. It's why you are aiming towards UA. To prove to us that despite not having a quirk you can still become a hero, right?"
Suddenly Bakugou started to laugh. He flicked back some of his spiky hair that had escaped the gel prison and gave the fire breather a self-deprecating smile.
"I'm the last person on this earth who deserves to become a hero." He said.
Leaving his confused classmates alone Bakugou walked away.
"When I was a kid it felt like there wasn't a single thing in the world that I couldn't do. I was smart compared to the other kids and due to my outspoken personality and lack of fear all the other brats my age wanted to hang out with me. In games I was always picked first and often enough people wanted me to lead them. Back then I truly felt special. Like the world existed only for my entertainment.
I also had a childhood friend that I called Deku. I realized that I could twist their name so that it meant useless. I was really proud about it. Unfortunately for them the name stuck and before I knew it everyone was calling them like that. God I really was a tool.
Deku's real name was Izumi Midoriya and her mom and my mom were pretty close and that's why we often hung out. I even think that she was the very first person that I had a sleepover with. Both of us loved All Might though for different reasons. She adored All Might because he made everyone feel safe while I was a fan of the guy because he was the strongest. Yeah even back then I had the first signs of growing up into a real piece of work.
Just like any other kid we wanted to become heroes when we grew up. Izumi wanted to become a hero that possessed a fearless smile while I wanted to be the world's number one hero. I remember how she asked if both of us could become number ones. My initial response was to laugh at her. I later offered her to become my sidekick to which she agreed immediately. Now that I think about it, maybe Izumi said yes to it because she was afraid that we wouldn't be friends otherwise.
Unlike me Izumi was quiet and quite meek so she had a hard time making friends. Nowhere was it better seen than during kindergarten. As mentioned I was the center of attention while Izumi was somewhere at the sides. It wasn't because she didn't want to have friends. In fact I think Izumi was desperate for attention. However due to her shyness, the ability to make word salad, and the crying people liked to make fun of her more than to hang out.
She always tried to join our games despite the derogatory roles that we gave her. In fact, no matter how badly I treated her, Izumi still thought of me as her best friend. She must've been very lonely back then to want to hang out with such an asshole. Only years later I was able to understand how such loneliness made you feel.
Everything changed once everyone started to unlock their quirks. Before that there were a few who already had their mutant parts visible. Like Wings for example, but most of us were on an even playing field. Quirks threw that completely out of the window. Now everyone had some kind of power that made them special and new social circles were starting to form with those who had the flashiest quirks at the center of it.
However there were still two people who didn't have quirks. Me and Izumi. I remember how scared I was back then. Everyone told me that my quirk will appear any day and though I ate that, a part of me feared that it would never happen. During that time I hung mostly with Izumi. There weren't a lot of people who wanted to play hero with someone who lacked a personality.
I still remember the last day before my naive world was shattered. Me and her were sitting by the wall and watched as the people working in our daycare tried to get everyone in control. I was angry because I felt left out while Izumi seemed to be worried about something else.
"Kachan," I remembered her saying as she grabbed my arm and looked at me with those large green eyes, "don't worry we'll get our quirks and then become the greatest heroes in the world, you'll see."
I don't remember what I said. But knowing me it was probably something self aggrandizing so that my wounded ego would feel better.
The next day my parents took me to a doctor and guess what I was designated to be quirkless. Which meant that I was so lame that evolution took a whole rewind just for me. Both of my parents had quirks you see. So I wasn't just quirklees you see. I was defective. My mother argued with the doctor about something that I couldn't understand and before I knew it we were kicked out.
That night I couldn't fall asleep and was just staring at the ceiling. I wasn't crying and the only thing that I did feel was complete utter numbness. My mom came in and asked how I felt. Something broke in me and I started to scream at her. You know we've had our arguments/shouting matches over the years, but back then she didn't do anything. She only waited for me to tire out and then hugged me. Mom said something that I don't remember and sometime later my old man found us both passed out.
The next day in kindergarten was even worse. I stood in front of the whole group while the caretakers explained to everyone that I was quirkless and what it meant. They told the other kids that it didn't make me lesser than everyone else which frankly even at the time I considered to be hot garbage. I felt like some endangered animal that was being shown as something that couldn't be even considered human by modern standards.
I also noticed that someone was missing from that group. More precisely Izumi. The caretakers told me that her mother called and told them that they needed to see the doctor for an emergency meeting. I figured that it meant that she was probably also quirkless. In my mind if I didn't have powers then there was no way that someone like Deku could score a quirk. Well destiny liked to reward the deserving.
After that embarrassment Izumi and her mom rushed in, both looking to be pretty out of breath. I wanted to go and ask if she was quirkless as well, however before that something else happened. She tripped and was about to fall but didn't. Izumi was levitating above the ground while a green outline of energy covered her. She was obviously confused and tried flailing around to get herself to land. Instead every small object in her vicinity started to levitate as well. Even my small brain back then was able to understand that what she did was amazing.
Everyone including the caretakers rushed past me as if I didn't exist and instead gave their full attention to Izumi. The other kids thought that she was the best for having such a quirk, the caretakers congratulated her, her mother looked proud while I came to the stinging realization that the one who was useless wasn't Deku it was me.
After that the years passed in a blur. I had become an outcast while Izumi Midoriya was the sweet girl with the strong quirk who'll one day become a pro hero and do great things. I on the other hand had gone from a small kid with a big ego to a rotten brat that lacked any motivation, was rude, wasted his parents money, acted like a delinquent and with whom nobody wanted to be associated. Well nobody besides Izumi.
She still wanted to hang out with me despite the fact that I still called her Deku, "borrowed" money from her, forced to cut classes with me and was trying to sink her to my level. Only because she still considered me her best friend. In a happier story that would've motivated me to start acting better and maybe apply to become the world's first quirkless hero or something. Well unfortunately I have a knack of ruining good things.
We both were eight when I finally took it too far. I had insisted on cutting class again as well as gotten my way to make Izumi join me. She caved in and we were walking around while I acted like the high and mighty asshole that I dreamed of becoming. My only friend looked uncomfortable, however it didn't matter to me because like some sort of sociopath I was ignorant to the feelings of others.
Finally she couldn't take it.
"Erm, Kachan I want to talk about something." She said to me looking quite uncomfortable.
"About what?" I asked. "Come on Deku no one is going to worry about a few missed classes."
"It's not that." She interrupted me before I could start spewing another heap of bullshit.
"Listen Kachan, I know you're hurting. Being told by others of what you can't become could never be easy. However I don't think you should downplay yourself as well. Even before everyone got their quirks you could do everything as long as you put your mind to it. And you were amazing doing it. So it pains me seeing you treating yourself like this."
I remember how gentle her smile was as she said these next words.
"I believe you can be a hero, Kachan. And I promise that I'll do my best to help you to become a hero, quirk or no quirk. After all, I'm your sidekick, remember." She said with a chuckle while offering me her hand.
I wish that I would've taken that. Even now when I can't fall asleep during some nights I remember this moment with the biggest regrets in my heart. Maybe if I had taken it things would've turned different. I could still be talking to Izumi, joined some hero school that accepted quirkless individuals and once I graduated, if she'd accepted me, I'd become the Sir Nghteye to her All Might. But that's not how things ended.
At that moment all I saw was red. I started to yell at her and tell a bunch of shitty things. Like how much I hated her for lording over me with that quirk, that it was easy for her to spout all this garbage because she was special and lastly that nothing had changed and she was still an useless, pathetic Deku.
After it she looked at me with teary eyes and told me that it wasn't true that I didn't mean any of it. That was when I attacked her. I pulled Izumi by her hair and even….punched her. Eventually she grew tired of my bullshit and she force pushed me with her quirk. It didn't seem that she put that much effort in it and yet all the wind was knocked out of me and I flew hitting the nearby garbage cans.
When I got my head together I looked up and was met with her tear filled red eyes and hurt expression. Her clothes were ruffled and hair was a mess and I could even see a few red spots on her face. I'll never be able to forget that look. Afterwards she stormed off leaving me with the rest of the garbage.
We stopped hanging out afterwards. Everyone at school made sure that there was always a five meter distance between us. I managed to corner her one time because I genuinely wanted to apologize however she was having none of it. She looked at me with cold eyes and called me a villain whose only good trait is that he is too weak to actually hurt anyone. A part of me broke hearing that.
Shortly after everything started to go seriously downhill. The local bullies discovered that Izumi was no longer protecting me. Apparently she had been doing it behind my back ever since we entered elementary. Without her my things started to vanish in unprecedented speeds and I was often used for quirk practice by whoever thought seeing the quirkless brat squirm was funny. I tried fighting back, but in those days my ass was handed to me more often than I'd liked to admit.
It persisted for a while until Izumi caught sight of it. Apparently not liking me was not a good enough reason for her to throw away her morals. I didn't know what she did, but no one tried to bully me in the open anymore. Of course what happened behind closed doors was a different story, but I was often smart enough to not be caught too much in such situations. I also discovered the older we got the less impressive most of my bullies quirks got because they weren't doing anything with them. I on the other hand was getting better in fighting those who had quirks and with time the amount of asholes that could seriously harm me started to decrease.
I never managed to mend the bridge with Izumi. All my attempts to do so ended with nothing and her continuing to pretend that I didn't exist. I also started to garner a reputation as a complete scumbag which frankly was accurate. It felt everyone had a reason to hate me and with time I did as well.
By the time I entered Aldera Junior High, Izumi had moved to a different school. As much as I understood from the hag she was able to get into a pretty fancy private school called Soumei by her grades alone. Another thing she was able to accomplish without a quirk. Anyway she lived in the dorms there so I never saw her again.
Despite us not being friends, the fact that she had moved on hurt. Maybe deep in my heart I had hoped that we'd be able to make up or something. However it wasn't meant to be. She was a hero and I wasn't. I doubted that it was because of our quirks. Though important, I realized that it never was the real reason. Izumi Midoriya was a hero by heart, destined to do great things and go down in history. I wasn't. Because despite how much one liked to preach about everyone's unlimited potential, there is just one thing that always stayed true: despite how hard we liked to try, you just couldn't compare gold with garbage."
Bakugou looked at his reflection as he fixed the last of his hair back into shape. Fortunately the container that housed his gel had been secure and thus was not ruined. The stuff that the hag had forced him to buy wasn't exactly cheap. Apparently no son of hers was allowed to prance around with cheap cosmetic shit.
After that was done he walked out of the public lavatory where he had been fixing his hair. Due to all of his things being soggy and charred, Bakugou wasn't able to go to cram school. Instead the quirkless teen will have to go home. He had already come up with a lie to tell hag so at least that part should be safe.
Bakugou never disclosed his private issues with anyone. In fact, ever since starting junior high Katsuki made sure that his parents stayed oblivious to the conflicts that he had with his classmates. To them their son was just a regular nobody who tried his best to make something out of himself. He didn't want to burden them with his rotten life.
Unfortunately for him the train lines were delayed due to some villain that had caused havoc this morning. If he saw in the news correctly it was some dude with a gigantification quirk. Just another sign that having a great quirk doesn't automatically make you hero material. One could only ask what is the criteria by which they pick out heroes.
Bakugou was soon taking an underbridge passage. This was actually considered a place where you could get mugged. In fact it once almost happened to Bakugou himself. However he knew that the guys who prowled here were chumps. It usually took him to punch the offender in the stomach and then to run away calling for a hero to get it sorted out. Musfatu did have the largest percentage of heroes after all.
The underpass was damp and smelled like piss just like it always did; however, the ashen haired teen enjoyed these moments because here he was free from the prying eyes of those around him. Bakugou made a long, tired yawn thinking that he'll catch some sleep back home when a sound caught his attention. It came from behind and sounded weird. The most accurate way to describe it would be gross.
Despite his instincts telling the teen not to, he turned around to see what it was, only to come face to face with something that looked like dark green sludge with a giant mouth and yellow eyeballs. Call Bakugou bigoted, but he knew a villain when he saw one. And "Sewer Jizz" here definitely was the textbook definition as a villain.
Realizing that maybe was time to stop staring like a retard, he started running away from the entity only to feel something incredibly gross surrounding him. Bakugou realized that the sentient sewage dump was surrounding him.
"Get the hell off me!" He yelled trying to get out of the bastard's grip.
Unfortunately it was as easy as trying to free himself from quick drying cement.
"Oh, come on don't be like that," said the villain who even sounded gross.
"I just need to borrow your body a bit so I can make my escape. You look like a diligent kid so you should always help a stranger in need. So be a pall and don't fight back."
Then the most disgusting thing happened. The sludge reached his lips.
Having a vague understanding of what could happen Bakugou clenched his mouth shut. It worked at first, however the gack then started to pour in his nose. The quick lack of oxygen forced the teen to open his mouth, allowing the disgusting entity an opportunity to body snatch him. Despite that he still tried to fight back however Bakugou grew weaker by the second.
"That's it!" Said the villainous goo. "Just stop struggling. It will be all over soon."
However the quirkless teen barely listened to what it had said.
Bakugou's vision grew dark as his consciousness started to vanish.
"So this is it. Ha, I wish I had truly apologized to her."
With those thoughts his mind started to slip in the void. Then something amazing happened. A figure jumped out of the sewers. It looked familiar and yet Bakugou's oxygen deprived brain couldn't remember who it was.
"Unhand that child at once villain!" Ordered the mysterious new arrival.
"All Might!?" Exclaimed the criminal.
The word sounded so familiar to Bakugou and yet he had no idea who that was.
"Don't come closer or I'll snap his neck!" Said the villain.
"So be it." Replied All Might.
Before the villain realized what even happened All Might charged around 20 percent of his quirk in his right fist.
"TEXAS SMAAAASH!" With that signature phrase the hero swung a punch against the criminal releasing all of that stored up energy.
Before the villain realized what was happening he went from covering his hostage to being splattered against the opposite wall. The brat meanwhile was free from his hold and falling towards the ground.
Bakugou Katsuki at the same time realized that he had seen that signature move.
"All Might?" He thought before his brain flatlined and the teen lost consciousness.
Bakugou woke up with a slap. Not like a painful one that he had once received from the hag, but more like a series of smaller, not painful ones, that rouse him up. He groggily looked up and saw the impossible. All Might stood above him in hero costume and while giving him a beaming smile with both his mouth and blue eyes.
"That we lost you there." The hero said in that all familiar All Might fashion.
It was official, Bakugou's brain was out of air and now he was seeing shit.
"You are All Might?" He asked.
"I'd like to believe." Responded the superhero.
"And we are having a conversation?"
"Of course."
The quirkless teen looked around him, realized that his glasses were missing and then instantly remembered everything that had happened.
"I almost died." He concluded.
"My apologies for that. The city's sewer system was surprisingly hard to navigate." The man said with a chuckle.
"But thanks to your help We've captured the evildoer." All Might said while presenting two bottles filled with green liquid.
Bakugou's guess was that it probably hurt to have one's body separated like that even if you were made out of buggers.
"Anyway young man, you seem kind of out of it. Do you need me to help you get to a hospital and then we can contact your parents or a guardian?" The worried hero asked.
Meanwhile Toshino Yagi berated himself. Back in the street due to carelessness or sleep deprivation he had allowed the villain to escape to an alleyway and enter the sewer system. And now look at the result. A terrified youth that will remember this incident with trauma for the rest of his life. What was the point of having so much power if the man couldn't do what he swore in the first place. To create a world without the fear of villains.
"You'd really go out of your way to take me to a hospital?" Bakugou asked in disbelief.
"Of course. It is my duty as a hero to help my citizens. Because what is the point of a hero if not to help those in need."
The quirkless teen widened his eyes.
"You really are amazing All Might,'' he said.
"Well I don't like to brag but I try to be." The muscular hero shot back.
Bakugou chuckled.
"I'll be fine." He said to the man.
"Are you sure?" The concerned hero asked.
"Yeah. It's not my first scuffle." Said the quirkless teenager.
"Plus I'm pretty sure that that asshole takes priority." He said pointing at the bottled villain.
All Might decided to ignore the kid's way of speaking and instead focus on the fact that he'll be able to finish this more quickly. The man was close to dropping from exhaustion after all.
"All right then! Thank you for your cooperation and stay safe. I'll be heading off." With those words All Might jumped in the sky until he was no more but a speck in the distance.
"Drat! I forgot to give him an autograph." Thought Toshinori.
Well that proved that he finally needed to go to bed. He was even dozing off mid air. All Might clutched the bottle containing the criminal and quickly dashed off to the police station.
Katsuki Bakugou meanwhile gazed at the hero's fleeting form with a look of admiration. He then looked at his stuff that had been neatly placed next to him and saw that one of the lenses in his glasses was cracked. Guess he'll be making a pit stop before home. With those thoughts he turned around and walked from where he came.
Tatsuya Honami was not in a good mood. Or more correctly he was fucking livid. The reason for it? Well he was beaten again by that quirkless fucker Bakugou! The teen kicked a can and watched as it flew through the air. He took a deep breath through the cigarette in his mouth and exhaled it through his nose. One of the many upsides to having a fire breathing quirk was that smoking would ever ruin his lungs. In fact he preferred having the warm feeling of smoke in there.
"Oi Tatsu, you okay?" Asked a voice from behind.
The fire breathing teen turned around towards his friends. Or well former friends since none of them even moved a finger when Bakugou had beaten his shit. Remembering the event just made him madder.
"Okay?" Tatsuya said while his mouth lit orange from the flames.
"How can I be "okay" if that quirkless bastard keeps one upping me?" He yelled while a small amount of flames escaped his mouth.
They both looked terrified of the display, however still tried to help him.
"Don't worry about him man." Said the one with the long fingers.
"Yeah, Bakugou is a freak. You can't judge him by normal standards." Added the fat one.
Tatsuya snorted and kicked a bottle far away. It hit a corner of a building and unscrewed itself in a satisfying way.
"Anyway, how about we go to an arcade or something? That will probably light up your mood." Said one of his lackeys.
"I can't." He said whilst turning towards them and dropping the cigarete.
"I need to actually study to get into a hero school. After all, I don't want to end up like you losers." He joked only to realize that something was wrong.
They weren't looking at him, but instead on something behind Tatsuya with terrified expressions.
"Are you idiots okay?" He asked before he heard something shifting behind him.
And by the sound alone it made him feel goosebumps.
"You'll do nicely." Said a disgusting voice next to his ear.
At the next moment Tatsuya Honami's day went from bad to nightmarish.
Toshinori Yagi was happy to be home. After successfully placing the criminal in the care of the proper authorities he was back in Might Tower and after a much needed shower was about to hit the hay. However before that he needed to turn off the TV after leaving it on again. The man berated himself about it. On one hand, he was so rich that a working television for a day or two wouldn't do anything to his funds but Toshinori was against it just by principle.
So now he stood there with the TV remote, while wondering why he even bought such a big screen if he didn't watch that many things on it. Out of habit Toshinori went through a few channels before pushing the red button. There was a cooking show. Endeavor caught another small-time villain gang. Wow, that guy worked even harder than him. Been the man younger he could make a great successor to his quirk.
After going to the next channel Toshinori froze. A live feed from a news helicopter showed a familiar dark green sludge monster that was surrounded by a burning alleyway. The location was Musfatu city. But how could it be? Did that villain have a brother? Toshinori remembered how handed the bottle with the sludge to the police.
Something clicked in the man's head. One bottle? He remembered that he trapped the criminal in two containers so why did… When he had dozed off midair! Toshinori was so exhausted that he didn't notice.
"Shit!" The man exclaimed out loud.
Due to his incompetence more innocents were suffering.
The thought of sleep escaped All Might's head as he bulked up in an instant. He quickly changed his clothes into something that wouldn't make people ask too many questions and jumped off his tower. At his fastest the man could get there in around 15 minutes. Toshinori Yagi could only hope that no one would get injured during that time.
The now glassesless Bakugou Katsuki left the glasses shop. He had placed an order to get his specs repaired even though he had many spares at home. Still it was cheaper than actually buying new ones and knowing how often Bakugou got into "arguments" he'd be poor if the quirkless teen would've bought new ones every time his old ones broke.
He yawned. After all the shit that had happened today he would kill just to get the opportunity to relax. It was then when he saw the giant, black smoke pillar that was forming pretty close to him. Frankly after almost getting deep throated by Grimace's more smelly cousin Bakugou wasn't exactly keen to look for more trouble. Plus, the damn thing wasn't even in the same direction of his house.
And yet Katsuki kept staring at the smoke.
"Fuck it!" He swore out loud, startling the people who were around him.
The ashen haired teenager thought that since his day was already full of so many "fun" things he might as well see who's blowing all that smoke. It's not like he had anything better to do.
After a few minutes of walking Bakugou arrived at the center of it all and frankly it looked like a scene from hell. Like sheep, people were crowding the entrance to an alleyway that was completely on fire. Some pros were standing in front of the citizens, however they were not doing much else. And in the center of it there was a villain that he had been acquainted with.
It was that green slime bastard. The guy stood there swatting off any hero that came too close while occasionally spitting out a stream of fire. Bakugou was sure that it was the same guy that All Might caught. Did he escape? And what is with those flames? Was it some power up? Just remembering what that fucker tried to do with him made the quirkless teenager gag.
"Why aren't any of the heroes doing anything?" Asked a guy from the crowd.
"Apparently none of their quirks can do anything since it has a hostage. And since the kid is constantly spewing flames the best the heroes can do is damage control until someone with the right powers shows up." Said a different person.
"How horrible!" Gasped a woman from the crowd.
Meanwhile Bakugou was mind blown. Did he hear that correctly? Were these pros just standing there waiting for someone with the right abilities to show up? But what's the point of heroes if no one wants to risk their lives? Plus he had been caught in that shit before and believe him, the person with the fire quirk was experiencing a personal type of hell right now.
Katsuki Bakugou would never call himself a noble person. In fact he was very far from being one. The teen felt some manner of happiness when he barrated his classmates and it would be a lie to say that some part of Bakugou didn't enjoy every time he got to beat up someone with a quirk. In fact his ex childhood friend had said it the most accurately. He was a villain. The makings were there, all he lacked was a strong quirk to enable him.
And yet the fact that he was watching from the sidelines helpless, while another person was struggling in front of his eyes, well it made him mad beyond comprehension. Bakugou looked at the villain, hoping that the poor person inside there would make it. That was also when the criminal turned in his direction.
Even from this distance, when half of the person's face was being molded inside the villain Bakugou could recognise Fire Vomit. And then it took a second for him to see the pleading look in his classmate's eyes for his legs to start moving on their own. He was going to help save him. Even if the cost of it was Bakugou's own life.
The crowd screamed as a quirkless teenager sprinted out of their midst and passed the heroes who were too engrossed in the villain to notice anything until it was too late.
"Stop!" Someone yelled behind him only he didn't listen.
"What am I doing?" Bakugou thought as he got closer to the villain
Probably nothing smart was his first assumption, however if he was going to die, he might go out by doing something. His eyes quickly took notice of a pipe that was sticking out of a pile of burning rubble and without a second thought, he grabbed it. The shaft was hot and burned his palm, but at least he now had a burning, sharp object.
"You again!" Screamed the villain.
"I don't need you, so how about you are a good boy and die!" With that said the creature swung its arm against the teen.
Time moved slower for Bakugou as he barely managed to sidestep the pound that would've pulverized his bones. Frankly he had been in a bunch of fights in his life, however compared to this nothing stood even close.
Remembering that he still had his bag the quirkless teen threw it in the villains face.
"You little!" Exclaimed the sludge with its vision temporarily hampered.
Using the opportunity Bakugou tightened his grip over the improvised javelin and stabbed it into the villain's eye.
It screamed, loudly and painfully and also lost its grip over the upper part of the other teen's body.
"What are you doing!?" Screamed the terrified teenager.
"Just shut the fuck up and spit on it!" Yelled Bakugou.
Tatsuya understood the message and used his new mobility to turn around and launch a stream of fire directly in the villain's face.
The sentient slop screamed even louder as well as released the fire breather from its hold. The teen yelled and fell on his stomach.
"Run!" Ordered Bakugou as he saw that the sludge villain was extinguishing the flames around it.
However then he saw Fire Vomit looking at him with an expression that said everything. It was either due to exhaustion from overusing his quirk or fear, or even both, but the other teen's face conveyed:
"I can't move my legs."
With a roar the slightly charred villain turned towards Tatsuya and raised its arm.
"I'll fucking kill you!" Said the villain as it swung down on the helpless teen.
Just like before Bakugou's body just moved before the teenager could think and he was in front of the blow. He guessed then at least now the other heroes might have enough time to save his classmate. With that the quirkless teen closed his eyes.
A shock wave went through the air, however Katsuki Bakugou felt no pain.
"I really am pathetic."
He opened his eyes. Though dressed in casual clothing in front of the teen stood no other than All Might.
"I always aspire to be a great champion." Said the hero with a raised fist.
"All Might!" Exclaimed the terrified villain.
"However it seems that there are always others willing to sacrifice their lives just to save another. I really should start learning from their example!"
"DEETROIIT,"
"Curse you All Might!" Screamed the villain.
"SMAAASH!"
What happened next will be engraved in Bakugou's brain for years to come.
A giant gust of wind exploded from All Might's fist as it connected with the villain, blowing it away. All the fires were extinguished in an instant and Bakugou saw as the superhero had grabbed both him and Vomit Fire so they wouldn't be blown away as well. After that it was like the world had gone silent. Then Bakugou heard thundering from above and looked up just at the same time when the first rain drop connected with his cheek. Then it started to rain.
"Somehow, All Might's fist made it rain." He mused as the crowd behind him started to chant the great hero's name.
The quirkless teen allowed himself a smile as he looked upon All Might's giant visage. He really was the coolest.
The remainder of the incident was more boring than Bakugou liked to admit. Fire Vomit was placed in an ambulance and whisked away to a hospital. Apparently due to panic he had gained a "second awakening" or whatever was it called. The gist of it was that it was a power up or something. Which explained how he was able to torch down that alleyway.
Anyway he had also overused it and suffered a plethora of symptoms from quirk fatigue to minor burns in his mouth and throat. Though the people working in the ambulance were pretty sure that he'll make a swift recovery. Frankly, Bakugou wasn't that thrilled about that information. Call him an asshole or not for thinking like that, but the quirkless teen was sure that the first thing that dipshit will do once back from the hospital will be to lord over everyone with his upgraded quirk. Hooray!
The heroes collected the remains of the sludge villain and handed him to the police. Apparently the bastard was still alive even after being scattered in about a million pieces. Like seriously even if the quirk made the guy look like literal puke he still could've become a good hero. Oh, well! Speaking of good heroes….
Bakugou was currently being chewed out by two of the posers that hadn't done jack during the hostage situation. For simplifications sake he decided to name them "Wood" and "Hand Job" and they were just lovely.
"How could you run out like that and risk your life?" Said Wood.
"There was no reason for you to get involved. In fact if All Might hadn't gotten there in time you'd be dead!" Added Hand Job.
Bakugou was a patient person. Sometimes. Or at least he struck only when he was provoked. What counted as "provoked" still depended on the situation. Like for example after dealing with a day full of bullshit.
"I'm so sorry." He said through his teeth. "However my classmate was being suffocated to death while you morons just stood there like massive tools!"
Apparently these fellas didn't get criticized enough because their initial reaction was to show an expression of genuine surprise before lashing back.
"How dare you!" Said Wood. "If it was possible we would've saved your friend immediately, however due to an unfortunate quirk and weakness match up we couldn't do anything."
"Really, is that the excuse we're going with?" Asked Bakugou with a feral grin.
"Then riddle me this fellas, how in hell, I, a person who would've burned as quickly as someone made from wood and have no quirk was able to actually do something with just a burning pipe. Maybe because I'm just using my brain and not pretending that the world runs on "rock, paper, scissors" logic. Seriously with fucks like you prancing about who needs villains!"
That sent the heroes in a rage induced lecture about respect that quickly turned into all three of them just exchanging bile. During those moments the quirkless teen also checked on All Might only to see that he was fighting with reporters. It must've been though being at the top.
When all was said and done Bakugou was allowed to go home. One of the ambulance workers had a healing quirk that fixed his slightly burned hand. One of the police officers had offered to take him home, but he. After everything he wanted to go there by himself.
It was already evening as he was walking home. All Might's rain storm had subsided and skies were litt up orange by the setting sun. Due to the number one hero's wind blast and the rain Bakugou's hair was completely freed from its gelled prison and spiked in all directions as it naturally should. After everything that he had gone through Bakugou really didn't have the energy to fix them again. In fact the quirkless teen feared that if he tried some more random shit would just happen.
"Young man!" Suddenly a voice yelled from behind him.
Expecting another load of bullshit the quirkless teen turned around only to be surprised by seeing a somewhat familiar face.
Bakugou only instantly recognized that the person was All Might due to their clothes. Other than that the stranger was different enough from the number one hero for people to not immediately see a connection.
The person looked physically strong however not the bulking level of swolleness that All Might was known for. All of his hair was down and resembled more like a mane than the pair of antennae that the world's greatest hero had. Even his mannerisms were different. Were All Might radiant pure confidence and joy this guy had kindness and coziness. Plus he looked tired. All Might never looked like anything else than perfect.
"All Might?" Bakugou cautiously asked.
The man gave him a warm smile. Another thing that was different from the famous hero.
"Exactly, young man" He said.
And here Katsuki thought that his day couldn't get weirder.
"Wow so your appearance was a transformation quirk. That's cool." Said Bakugou with a smirk.
Then his smile faded.
"However, I doubt that you went after me just to show it."
"Right on the nail again." Said the deflated hero. My true intentions were to apologize."
"For what?"
The man suddenly looked extremely awkward.
"Both times the villain escaped and endangered you due to my negligence. I wish to apologize for it." The man said with a bow.
Well Katsuki Bakugou could now add hawing the world's number one hero apologizing to him as one of the most awkward experiences he has ever had.
"You are the number one hero, All Might, you shouldn't do this." Said the teen surprising the hero.
"Plus, you genuinely seem sorry and want to fix your mistake. I can say that you are already doing more than most people or even pros."
All Might straightened himself while having a thoughtful look.
"There was another reason why I came to you." Said the man, gaining Bakugou's interest.
"Young man, why did you go out of your way to save that boy despite the danger?"
The quirkles teenager suddenly looked incredibly awkward.
"If it's about the fact that I shouldn't have gotten involved, then your colleagues already chewed me out plenty. I'll pass for more." Replied the teen.
"I didn't intend to." Said All Might with absolute seriousness in his voice. "I just want to know why you did it."
That made Bakugou look surprised. For a second he thought of how big the chance he'll have to escape All Might, however after figuring out that it wasn't big, he decided to comply.
"Alright. It's a pretty long story, but I'll try to keep it short."
He told All Might some of it. About how rotten he had been since childhood, not having a quirk, and that he had hurt his friend, though he skimmed through the details about the last part. The quirkless teenager told him that he knew that he wasn't a good person because he felt some level of joy from fighting or just plain dissing people off.
"However when I was there just watching while everything got worse, I felt so angry that I couldn't do anything. Then I recognized who that villain had caught and before I knew it…."
"Your body moved on its own." Spoke All Might finishing what the teen was about to say.
"Yeah." Responded the dumbfounded Bakugou.
The blond man smiled hearing that.
"Since you told me something so private, let me tell you something in return." Said All Might.
Bakugou had no idea where this all was going, but he decided to listen.
"My quirk is called One for All. Its ability is that it stockpiles power which allows me to take my form as All Might. However, that is not its most amazing ability."
"One for All is a quirk that can be given away to a different person which in turn makes it stronger. In fact I'm the eight holder of One for All. And even though I've been doing my job diligently as the Number Hero today has shown that I'm close to losing the integrity that allowed me reach this point. Young man, I wish to pass on my quirk to you!" He said.
Saying that Katsuki Bakugou felt out of it would be the understatement of the century. All that All Might said sounded like bad fanfiction and yet there was a part of him that felt giddy of the prospect of being chosen as the next All Might. Without hesitation he quickly stomped that part down.
"I can't." Responded Bakugou with glassy eyes.
"But why?" Asked All Might.
"Listen All Might I feel honored beyond limit," replied the quirkless teen who suddenly felt that he was about to vomit.
"However, that quirk should be given to someone else. Someone who is heroic by nature and maybe even has a powerful quirk to boot. Not some bitter, violent, quirkless thug like myself."
All Might looked at him and took a deep breath. Suddenly he inflated and was big again.
"Young man, there is a story that all great heroes share. When someone was in danger, be it family member, close friend or complete stranger their bodies moved without them thinking and they did their best to help whoever they wished to save."
Bakugou just stood there frozen and like back then with the sludge villain he was unable to breath.
"I know that you see yourself as irredeemable and even though you should never forget your misdeeds, what you did in the past does not defy the person that sacrificed his life to save another."
Then All Might kneeled until he was the same height as the teen and grabbed his shoulders.
"Young man, you can be a hero!"
Bakugou didn't cry the day he was designated as quirkless and he didn't cry when he ruined his relationship with Izumi or spent his last years in isolation and self hatred. However, hearing those simple words made his eyes feel hot as tears ran down his face.
All Might stood up and gave Bakugou his hand.
"I ask you again, will you become a hero?"
"You're a villain." Screamed Izumi from within his mind and soon other's joined.
"Yeah, you're just some quirkless loser."
"There was no reason for you to get involved. In fact if All Might hadn't gotten there in time you'd be dead!"
"I'm the last person on this earth who deserves to become a hero."
And yet there in the center of all that self hatred was him and Izumi promising to become great heroes just like All Might.
He took a deep breath and looked at his idol's grin as the man offered him a hand.
Slowly he moved his shaking palm and incredibly slowly pressed it in All Might's much larger palm.
"Please," said Bakugou with even redder eyes as tears ran down from them.
"Make me into a hero!"
With a reassuring shake All Might's grin widened.
"Of course."
"By the way, I didn't mention it. But this is the story of how I became the world's greatest hero."
Hi Everyone. This basically a "what if" one shot that I decided to make.
I actually had wanted to write this for some time already and even had made a few drafts that were unfortunately lost. However I was unable to fully commit and actually write the gosh darn thing!
Thankfully the MHA manga had managed to rekindle my interest due to a certain last chapter.
Frankly, I am surprised that no one has decided to publish something like this before, but eh, maybe everyone just hates Bakugous guts. Which is fair.
Still I hope you enjoyed the fic.
Soul out!