Katsuki adjusted the duffel bag slung over his shoulder as he stared at the plain white door just ahead. Something inside of him prevented him from moving forward or retreating, yet a silent, burgeoning anger pushed him closer and closer to a decision. He knew that just beyond the door would likely be nothing but frustration and fighting, and yet, he knew that eventually, he would have to reenter the household. Before he could think to stop himself, Katsuki threw a hand out, twisted the doorknob, and pushed to let himself inside.

"…I'm home!" Katsuki called as he looked around the kitchen. The stovetop burner was on and the familiar aroma of boiling noodles occupied the space, yet no one was there to watch the food. "Mom…?"

Katsuki didn't have to wait long before Mitsuki Bakugo appeared from the hallway, a phone held to the side of her face. She paused at the sight of her son, and then cleared her throat.

"…sorry, we'll need to continue this later. Family emergency."

"…yeah. You could call it that," Katsuki acknowledged as he watched Mitsuki end the call.

The duffel bag slipped from Katsuki's grip and fell limply to the ground as he kept the kitchen island between himself and his mother. For a moment, neither of them said anything, the sound of boiling water the only thing breaking the silence.

"I'm glad you came home," Mitsuki acknowledged before moving to tend to the pot.

"I said I would be," Katsuki grumbled. "U.A. auditions are next week, and…"

Mitsuki looked over her shoulder as her son trailed off, but said nothing while she waited. Katsuki made a noise of discomfort as he folded his arms across his chest, looking annoyed.

"…I want this settled, before then. I don't know how often I'll be home. I might not have time."

"You also might not want to be home. I'm well aware," Mitsuki filled in as she returned to stirring the noodles. "I understand that, too."

"Do you think I want things to be strained between us?" Katsuki asked. "You think I want to be pissed off all the time, when I'm here?"

"No, and I don't want that for you, either," Mitsuki explained. "I'd like us to have… some sort of bond. You were almost killed a few months ago. I know you likely believe I don't care, b-"

"I know you care," Katsuki interrupted. "But that doesn't change the fact that everything about our family has been a mess for years. Practically since I was a little kid. I didn't even fully understand just how bad it was here until I started living with Deku. Yeah, I'm no angel, but where do you think I learned my habits from, Mom?"

Mitsuki let out a sigh and braced her hands upon the counter before shaking her head in defeat.

"…Katsuki, I don't know how many more times I can say it. I fucked up. I fucked up a lot. I haven't been the mother you deserve, and we both know it. Despite all that, though, you've grown into a young man I can be proud of. I want to use that as a stepping stone toward rethinking our relationship, and hopefully moving it forward to something more… pleasant, for both of us."

"…yeah. About that," Katsuki began. "I've been doing a lot of thinking, over the past few weeks. I've also been training a lot with Deku, and seeing him just be so… so damned soft has made me kinda realize that maybe you and Dad being the way you were with me is the reason I've gotten this far. Or at least, part of it."

Mitsuki turned the burner off before stepping away from the stove and facing her son.

"…don't start yourself down that path. Don't try to make excuses for what we did to you for so long. I didn't really see it until I almost lost you."

"It's not an excuse if it's probably true," Katsuki denied with a glower. "You should see how pampered he is, and how inept he was before I whipped his ass into shape. Look around at how weak and spineless most other people my age are and think about how close their home lives are to his. There's a connection."

"You don't know that," Mitsuki warned. "You're making an assumption."

"Am I?" Katsuki asked as he narrowed his eyes. "Are you about to try to tell me that the way you two raised me is normal?"

Mitsuki sighed in annoyance, before beginning to rub at her forehead.

"You're backing me into a corner, here. No, your childhood wasn't 'normal', Katsuki. I'm not trying to say that it was. I'm saying that every family has its problems, even Midoriya's, but you may not be able to see them. I don't think you would turn out the way he did if you had been in his situation and given what he's been given."

Katsuki snorted at the comment and shook his head.

"You have no idea just how much he's been given…"

"Maybe not, but I know how much you've accomplished and earned," Mitsuki emphasized as she began to close the distance to her son. "And I don't want you chalking that up to your father and I. Getting a shot at U.A. is your personal victory… and there's no doubt in my mind you'll make it in. I don't expect things to just be 'fixed' between us, now, and I don't think we can 'settle' this today, either… but we can start. If you're willing."

"…I hate doing things slowly," Katsuki griped. "Especially when they're important."

"Some things can't be rushed. I'm sorry, Katsuki. For everything."

Katsuki bristled as his mother opened her arms. Every fiber of his being wanted to resist the gesture, to the point where he could feel a drop of sizzling sweat work its way down his chest from his collarbone.

"…a hug? Are you serious?"

"We can at least try to be normal, even if we're not," Mitsuki offered with an oddly optimistic lilt.

Katsuki stared for a moment, before briefly bending to grab his duffel bag.

"I… can't. Not yet. I want to fix this somehow, but I'm not ready for that, yet. I'll be in my room."

Mitsuki blinked, and by the time her eyes reopened, Katsuki was already disappearing into the hallway. She stared along after her son for a moment, before propping her elbows upon the kitchen island and beginning to run her hands through her hair.

"…off to a great start…"

"Whoa… Kacchan, it's huge!"

Katsuki's eyes followed the structure of U.A. University's main buildings to find that it was, indeed, huge. Acting as almost a sentinel structure at the edge of campus was a massive pair of towers connected by a skybridge to form an 'H' shape. Seemingly every inch of both buildings was coated in mirrored glass, and the towers were tall enough to block out the midday sun almost entirely from view. The faintest hint of two additional matching structures behind the first pair, also connected by skybridges to form a square, became visible as Katsuki and Izuku got closer.

"…of course it's huge. Don't be a dumbass."

"I… I-I might be a bit of a dumbass today," Izuku warned with a wide grin. "It's the first time I've seen U.A. in person! Aren't you excited!? This is what we've always wanted, since we were little kids!"

"…yeah," Katsuki agreed as he wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, I guess, but we're not in yet, Deku. We've got an opportunity. Nothing more. There are over a hundred applicants, and only sixteen of us are getting in…"

Izuku's eyes widened as he and Katsuki made their way up to the foot of the large, multi-tiered staircase leading to the front of the buildings. At the top, another ground-level connecting tunnel awaited, where the front doors and central lobby could be found.

"Are you… actually doubting yourself…?" Izuku asked cautiously.

"No, of course I'm not," Katsuki snarked as the boys began to climb. "I'm saying it's too early to celebrate. If you think everything we've done over the past few months has been hard work, wait until you see what's in store for us here. You're still not ready."

Izuku let out a noise of frustration as he nervously adjusted the collar of his dress shirt.

"That's not gonna stop me from trying my best to get in legitimately…"

"Non! This cannot be!"

Katsuki could feel the small hairs on the back of his neck bristle in annoyance at the unfamiliar and clearly forced accent emanating from the next flight of stairs. A tall blond boy stood blocking the path, his arms spread out to the sides in a grandiose display as he prevented two other would-be students from progressing up the steps. The loud, smarmy-looking roadblock had his eyes narrowed and his nose slightly upturned as he stared down at his unfortunate captives.

"Certainly, I misheard you both," the boy prattled on. "Neither of you has heard of moi? Or the Aoyama family at all? Quelle surprise! We're incredibly influential!"

"Listen, I'm sure we'll get to know you soon enough once we all make it through," the brunette woman pleaded as she clasped her hands in front of her waist and shifted from side to side. "But we really should all get up to the lobby…"

"Nonsense!" her captor replied as Izuku and Katsuki found themselves blocked by the other three hopefuls. "Take it slow, ma chère. Are these sights not magnifique?" the boy asked as he swept his arm toward the glittering towards behind himself.

"Take in the sights once you know you'll be here for more than a day," Katsuki snapped with an unimpressed glare. "Until then, you're just an obstacle in the way of people taking the process more seriously than you are. Step aside and shut up, or I'll move you aside."

The self-proclaimed member of the Aoyama family touched a hand to the ruffled collar of his shirt as he made a noise of offense.

"Excusez-moi?"

"Move," Katsuki commanded as he began to walk up the steps toward the other blond. The taller boy stepped out of the way just in time, only for Izuku and the two strangers to follow him up in short order.

"How rude!"

"…not even French, you pretentious asshole," Katsuki muttered as he continued up to the final set of stairs.

"How do you know?" Izuku asked, his voice full of curiosity.

Katsuki shot Izuku a sidelong glare, before returning his attention to the mirrored doors ahead of them.

"…heard a lot of conference calls at home, usually with a bunch of foreigners. French men don't sound so forced. He's faking it."

"…I had my suspicions, to be honest, but neither of us wanted to call him out on it… or anything else, for that matter. So… thanks, man."

Katsuki briefly looked over to the source of the unfamiliar, incredibly deep voice, only to find a young man whose frame and face certainly didn't seem to fit the sound at all. The speaker was model material, with facial features that looked strangely feminine while also being sharply angular, giving him a somewhat androgynous appearance. His eyes were a bright, expressive green despite their tired and droopy look. The man's hair was a shock of fluffy, untamed, shoulder-length crimson splayed about in a poof that wouldn't look out of place in a metal band from decades prior. He wore a simple outfit of a black t-shirt featuring a band logo that Katsuki had never seen before, along with a pair of ripped jeans that exposed both of his knees. Even in the face of all of his other clashing eccentricities, what caught Katsuki's eye more than anything else was the young man's tail.

Extending from beneath the back of the stranger's shirt was an absolutely massive reptilian tail, looking to weigh upwards of a hundred pounds on its own. The thick, shiny appendage was primarily a muted sandy color with dark brown scales banding and swirling along it. While its owner continued to lazily drag it behind himself, the tail let out a distinct thwump as it impacted each step.

"Yeah, maybe not the way I would've handled it, to be honest, but thank you for clearing the path!"

Katsuki and Izuku both looked to the other side of themselves, where the girl who had been blocked by the Aoyama boy was smiling sheepishly. Somehow, her hair seemed to almost defy gravity, its odd mass fluffed out to the sides in a somewhat more controlled style than that of her male companion. While his brilliant green eyes looked weary, her chocolate browns were wide and expressive. The young woman's cheeks were quite literally rosy and plump, and her wide smile made them seem even more so. She was dressed somewhat conservatively in a school uniform, likely from her high school, with a dark blue jacket and red and black plaid skirt.

"Kacchan can be like that, sometimes," Izuku explained as he returned the girl's nervous grin with one of his own. "But he does know how to get things done. Nice to meet you both! I'm Izuku Midoriya!"

"Ochaco Uraraka," the girl let on as she bowed her head slightly. "Nice to meet you, too!"

"Daisuke Aki," the redhead added with a shrug as he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "And you are?"

"…it doesn't matter" Katsuki answered as he laid a hand on the door handle and pulled it toward himself. "I've got other things to worry about, right now. So do you. Save the name game for the people who make it in."

"...well alright, then," Daisuke replied with a confused tone as he moved to hold the door for Ochaco and Izuku after Katsuki made it through. "Something I said, or…?"

"No, it isn't you," Izuku began as he glared at Katsuki's back while making his way through the door. "He's… there's a lot going on with Kacchan right now. He's a good guy, he's just a little rough around the edges."

"Is he always so serious?" Ochaco whispered to Izuku as she leaned a little closer.

"…yeah. Pretty much," Izuku whispered back.

"Say whatever you want behind my back," Katsuki offered with a wave of his hand as he picked up the pace and walked across the lobby, toward the front desk. "Just get your heads in the game or get out of my way."

"Hey," Daisuke tried as he laid a gentle hand upon Katsuki's shoulder. "You sh-"

Before the tailed man could get a word out, Katsuki had wrenched his body off to the side to stare Daisuke down with the harshest glare he could muster. The tendons on his neck were taut as he looked on in barely restrained fury, and he clenched a fist at the sight of the offender's entirely blasé attitude. Daisuke only served to anger him further as he raised a brow and shrugged, his tone as smooth and relaxed as ever.

"…just saying, you should chill out a bit. Nerves are a real killer when it comes to tests."

Katsuki spared Izuku a brief glance, only to find his friend giving him a pleading look. With a ragged sigh, Katsuki shook his head and turned to take in sights of the crowded lobby.

"…fine. Whatever. Katsuki Bakugo. Happy, now?"

"Happier, sure," Ochaco offered with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Katsuki. Does anyone know where we should be going…?"

"Desk?" Daisuke guessed as he pointed at the various secretaries seated behind the long, wooden desk at the far end of the lobby.

"How insightful," Katsuki said with a roll of his eyes. "Desk it is."

The others fell in line behind Katsuki as they meandered through the packed lobby. Excited chatter rang out all around them as they slid around and between small groupings of applicants. Not ten feet from the desk, Mirio Togata strode up to the group, clad in his hero suit. His red cape billowed behind him as he walked, and he had a clipboard held firmly within his hands.

"Hi there! I see you four don't have badges just yet," Mirio pointed out with a friendly smile. "Can I get your names, please?"

"Ochaco Uraraka," the girl replied, mirroring Mirio's smile.

The group watched as he mumbled her name to himself while flipping through pages upon his clipboard, before marking a box with an 'x'. Just as quickly, Mirio unclipped a badge from beneath the metallic clamp and handed it over to Ochaco.

"Miss Uraraka, you're in Group H for the written test, room 202. The rest of H is gathered over there," Mirio explained with a nod toward the right side of the lobby.

"Guess that's my cue to leave," Ochaco said with a small wave. "Bye, guys! Maybe I'll see you in Class 1-A or 1-B!"

"Bye, Uraraka!" Izuku called as he returned her wave.

"Would you cool it?" Katsuki grumbled. "You just met, and we'll probably never see her again."

"Daisuke Aki," the lizard-tailed young man said, prompting Mirio to slide his pen down the front page and make a quick mark. Within seconds, Daisuke had his badge, and affixed it to the front of his shirt.

"Aki's an easy one to find. Group B, over on the left," Mirio instructed with a nod.

"Well," Daisuke said with a sad smile. "It's been real, you two. Best of luck to both of you."

"You, too!" Izuku called with an enthusiastic wave.

Katsuki merely rolled his eyes as he stepped up and narrowed his eyes.

"…you're Lemillion, aren't you?"

Mirio's slight smile turned to a full-on grin as he gave Katsuki a nod.

"Yup! Pleasure to meet you, Mr…?"

"Bakugo. Katsuki Bakugo."

Mirio's smile disappeared almost immediately and turned to an expression of shock. He quickly closed his mouth as he began to flip the top paper on the clipboard back.

"…there a problem?" Katsuki asked, his eyes narrowed.

"No!" Mirio denied quickly as he handed over Katsuki's badge. "No, not at all. You're actually over in Group H, with Uraraka."

"Great," Katsuki deadpanned as he took the badge. He hesitated for a moment before breathing a labored sigh and shaking his head slightly. "Good luck, Deku…"

Izuku's face lit up at the offer, though he was momentarily too stunned to say anything in return. By the time he raised his hand and called out, Katsuki had already disappeared into the crowd, blending in amongst the other applicants.

"You, too, Kacchan!"

"…hey," Mirio said hesitantly.

Izuku returned his attention to the third-year student immediately, only to find that all warmth and enthusiasm had disappeared from Mirio's face. His mirthful blue eyes instead had an incredibly serious edge to their stare, and his mouth was downturned into a grimace.

"…you're Izuku Midoriya, aren't you?"

Izuku's eyes widened at the question, and for a moment, he found himself unsure of what to say in return.

"I… yeah, why…?"

"I'll wait for you outside the door after your written exam," Mirio offered as he began to flip through the papers in search of Izuku's name. "I think you and I should talk. Alone."

Author's Note:

Have the first UA chapter a day early. Why not.

The story has now officially started. I'd consider everything up to this point 'prologue', personally. Shit's about to get really wild, and canon is basically out the window entirely from here on out. Be ready for anything.

-RD