Katsuki Bakugo knew that he didn't always react appropriately to situations, and sometimes, his anger and frustration could get the best of him. While he didn't admit it out loud or apologize for his behavior in the vast majority of situations, he always tried to make some sort of effort to reconcile with the people who received the brunt of his outbursts. The truth was that his overreactions were a result of pent-up emotions exploding forth after being repressed for so long, as he had never been encouraged or permitted to talk about his feelings at home. Katsuki was self-aware enough to understand the cause, though that, too, was another thing he would never admit publicly. In time, he decided to rationalize his behavior to himself and took a twisted sort of pride in it for the only reason he could think of- at least he was honest with his feelings, unlike so many other people.

When Katsuki was annoyed, people knew. When Katsuki was ready to put someone through a wall for their behavior, it was no secret. When Katsuki was feeling protective of someone, everyone around knew exactly what was going through his mind.

But when Katsuki arrived in the small conference room within Sir Nighteye's office to see Bubble Girl missing half of her left arm and unnatural cracks running the length of the cheek on the same side, not even he knew what he was feeling.

It was the first time that Katsuki had ever seen All Might in his emaciated, weakened form, but nothing about the man's appearance shocked him when he saw the look on the pro hero's face. His body matched his expression perfectly, to the point that if someone had told Katsuki that the man had suddenly physically shriveled as a result of emotional pain, he would have believed it. All Might's eyes were puffy and red, and the smile he was known for was entirely absent. The number one hero in Japan looked more like a stick insect than an icon.

Mirio Togata stood gripping the back of one of the chairs at the conference table so hard that the wood looked ready to break under his hold. His breaths were audible as tears streamed down his cheeks, and the elder student kept his eyes down on the table as the two first-years entered the room. Nejire Hado had her elbows upon the surface and her head in her heads as she sat, her shoulders shaking. Tamaki Amajiki was facing away from everyone else in the room, standing in the corner with his head pressed into the wall. Katsuki couldn't tell if he was crying or not. For a moment, he wasn't convinced the boy was even alive.

Then, there was Kaoruko Awata, better known as Bubble Girl. The intern was a few years older than the students in the room, though her tired eyes and blank face made her look positively ancient by comparison. She sat silent and unmoving in a wheelchair with a doctor kneeling by her side and whispering questions. Kaoruko answered none of them as she stared down at the floorboards in a seemingly catatonic state. A white bandage was wrapped around the stump of her left elbow, barely visible within the flowing sleeve of her hospital gown. Her smooth, pale blue skin was suddenly interrupted by a violent, blackened scar that seemed to almost spiderweb across her left cheek and down the side of her neck. The skin was raw and red within the crevices, giving her the appearance of a porcelain doll that had been dropped and cracked upon the floor to reveal living tissue beneath its shell.

Katsuki wasn't sure where to turn his attention as he looked around the room. He noticed that Izuku's eyes had already started to well up before he even knew what was going on. In any other situation, Katsuki would have told him to stop being dramatic and obnoxious, but something in the air felt different. Something was very wrong, to the point where Katsuki couldn't find any words at all.

"…leave us. Please."

The voice sounded so strained and weak that neither Katsuki nor Izuku realized it had come from All Might at first. As the doctor rose from his kneeling position and gave All Might a silent nod, Mirio balled a fist and pounded it into the table. His entire arm shook as the doctor quietly left the room, and All Might leaned out of the doorframe to watch the man go before locking the door. Mirio sucked in a deep breath before letting it out as a shuddering rasp and shaking his head.

"This is all my f-"

"Don't you dare," Nejire interrupted as she raised her head and fixed Mirio with a glare. "Don't finish that sentence. What you did, and what you're doing, had nothing at all to do with this situation. I won't let you put that burden upon yourself. Refusing One for All had nothing to d-"

"Both of you, enough," All Might warned, his voice stern and serious. "What happened is no one's fault but that of those directly involved."

"What… happened?" Katsuki asked lamely as he struggled to get the words out. "Why are we here?"

"Sir Nighteye is dead," Kaoruko said in a monotone voice, her eyes unmoving from the floor. "He was murdered. I watched it happen."

"Wh-…" Izuku began, his face turning pale immediately. "You… but that's impossible, h-he's…"

"No one is invincible, Midoriya," All Might as he shook his head. "Not him, not me, and certainly not you. That's why I've called both of you here- Togata, Hado, Amajiki, and Awata are now all aware of your possession of One for All. The U.A. faculty that will be involved with you this year is also in the loop, but… I didn't feel that bringing them all here would be appropriate. Bakugo, you're here because… Midoriya is going to be unable to keep what you're about to learn to himself, and I would rather he have a safe, reliable outlet than an unknown one."

Katsuki wrinkled his nose and shook his head but said nothing as he took a seat at the table. He couldn't take his eyes off of Amajiki, who still hadn't moved a muscle. Izuku, in contrast, had broken down almost immediately and refused to look at anyone.

"…Miss Awata?" All Might said softly. "Would you like me to explain the details?"

"…we were on assignment at the Shibuya Central Museum," Kaoruko began in the same quiet, almost robotic tone. "We had leads that a Yakuza cell has been operating out of the place and causing trouble."

Mirio stiffened immediately, though no one around him seemed to notice.

"…which family?"

"The Nue," Kaoruko answered, causing Mirio to relax his shoulders slightly. "But they weren't the main threat. I think I saw several of them, but there was another man there. His name was Tomura Shigaraki. He was responsible for the murder of Sir Nighteye. I'll put the details of the killing itself and everything I saw leading up to it into a report. I don't think I can discuss it right now."

Katsuki furrowed his brows as he listened. The total lack of emotion or inflection in Kaoruko's voice unnerved him. Nothing about the sound seemed human, as though her entire personality had somehow broken. Though he had never met Bubble Girl before or even heard her speak, he couldn't imagine that she was anything like the shell of a woman sitting before him.

"That is perfectly fine," All Might reassured. "I don't want to force you to relive the situation any more than I'm sure you already are…"

"Every second," Kaoruko said in a hollow tone. "Every day. All Might called you all here, though, because Shigaraki told me things before he tortured me. Things to tell All Might, specifically, but they now matter to everyone in this room considering the fact that One for All has been passed on. Shigaraki works for a man known as All for One- a villain that All Might fought in secret over a decade ago. All for One has been in hiding ever since, recovering from his loss. Shigaraki is his chosen successor, and they're coming for One for All. They plan to raze Japan to the ground, and they will only stop when the power is handed over."

"…they won't stop," Katsuki said as he shook his head. "They'll take the power, and then use it for… something. Whatever it is that they want to do. Some megalomaniacal agenda."

"He's right," Mirio agreed. "There's no winning this, except for bringing Shigaraki and All for One to justice… one way or another."

"…there is only one way," All Might said cautiously. "We find them, we bring them down, and we bring them in… without letting any of this go public. Shigaraki wants his name out there. Otherwise, he wouldn't have told it to Awata and sent the message to me. All for One also left a message at a mall, several months ago. There was… a word scrawled in blood, meant to let me know that he's still alive."

"…'Brother.'"

Everyone in the room save for Kaoruko turned to look at Tamaki, who still had his forehead up against the wall.

"…the message said 'Brother,' didn't it?" Tamaki continued. "Was that meant to be taken literally?"

"…no," All Might clarified. "The original bearer of One for All was indeed his brother, but he and I have no relation. Now, 'Brother' may as well refer to Midoriya, rather than me. All for One just doesn't know it yet."

"And we can't let him find out," Izuku said. His face had drained of all color, and his eyes were wide. "They want… they're going to come after me, once they know…"

"We'll have your back," Nejire insisted. "I think… the five of us are going to have to become something of a team, moving forward, with All Might's support. This is too important of a secret to risk letting you handle this alone. We'll be here for you."

Izuku stared for a moment as Nejire offered her hand across the table. The older girl had forced a smile despite her bloodshot eyes, and she gave him a small nod. Izuku placed his palm in hers and tried his best to return the expression.

"…thank you…"

Katsuki felt his throat beginning to close up as he watched the scene unfold. Without warning, he stood from his chair and pushed it back underneath the table, earning several looks of confusion throughout the room.

"Is there anything else we need to know right now?"

"I… suppose not," All Might admitted. "I'll handle the PR surrounding Sir Nighteye's death… though the news will be delayed."

"…I would like to help," Mirio offered as he wiped his eyes on his sleeve. There was a roiling anger mixed in with the sadness in his eyes, which didn't go unnoticed to All Might. "I was his apprentice for a while…"

"I would appreciate that very much. For now… I think we should all take some time to decompress. I'll get Miss Awata back to her apartment, and get you all her report once it's available."

"Actually…" Nejire began as she held up a finger. "This can't be easy on you. He was a close friend of yours, right? Let me do it. I brought my car, and… Awata, I'd like to offer to stay with you, for as long as you'd like. I wouldn't mind living at your place and helping out while you recover and get used to your… arm. Is that okay?"

Kaoruko didn't even bother to look at Nejire, and despite her words, there was still no inflection at all in her voice.

"I would appreciate that. Thank you."

"Thank you," All Might agreed as he gave Nejire a grateful bow. "You're… very kind, Miss Hado. Come, everyone. Let's give them some space."

Nejire stood up and gave Mirio and Tamaki tight hugs as Katsuki, Izuku, and All Might left the room. As she pulled back from Tamaki, he gave her a quizzical look.

"You're sure about this?" the boy asked. "You're going to be alright doing this alone?"

"Yeah," Nejire confirmed as she brushed her hand across her eyes. "I need to do this for her. Sorry I can't help you guys finish setting up our dorm…"

"We'll handle it," Mirio replied. "Take care of yourself, too. Please."

Nejire nodded and waved to her friends as they left the room and shut the door behind themselves. With a weary sigh, she walked over to Kaoruko's wheelchair and crouched down, putting herself at the older girl's eye level.

"Hey there," Nejire tried, forcing as much positivity as she could. "Are you ready to get going?"

Kaoruko didn't physically respond. Her gaze never left the floor, nor did she even blink.

"Okay."

"Okay," Nejire echoed. "I'm… sure this is going to be hard, and I can't even imagine what you're thinking right now, but… as time goes on, if you ever want to talk about anything, I'm willing to listen. You can ugly cry on my shoulder, or we can j-"

"There is one thing I feel like I need to say," Kaoruko interrupted. Ever so slowly, she looked up at Nejire. "But it needs to stay between us."

Nejire's mouth hung open as she met Kaoruko's eyes. Though her facial expression was still entirely neutral, there was something unnatural about her stare. Nejire could only approximate the emotion within Kaoruko's eyes as rage, though that didn't quite do it justice- whatever feeling of sheer hate and determination she saw filled her with a cold terror that rooted her in place.

"I… o-of course…" Nejire said hesitantly. "Anything."

"When we find Shigaraki," Kaoruko deadpanned, "I'm going to kill him."

Author's Note:

Yes- Bubble Girl is going to be a major player in the events of this story…

-RD