Notes:

"Sorry but I've been distracted by...things."

Elden ring music plays faintly in the distance.

"Ignore that...also ignore this chapter if you want. Nothing important happens this chapter, its mostly just one long conversation that went on for way longer then I originally planned but I also didn't want to cut it down. Proceed if you want to read about laws and the nature of a hero, otherwise I'll see you next time."

In the quiet stillness of the UA office there was the faint sound of scratching. It was patterned out sporadically, but non the less, continuous.

Sitting in a chair Bakugo stared at one of the white walls of the perfectly even room with a deep frown etched onto his face. What the hell was with places and having ugly ass white walls? Did they think it was supposed to be calming or some shit? White rooms always seemed to put him on edge more then anything. They always made him think of hospitals or insane asylums or even...

Prison.

Deciding that he was done looking at paint dry his red eyes flickered over to the ticking time on the wall as he silently grumbled.

Only a few more minutes and he was done for the day...

The scratching stopped, the large imposing frame of Hound dog setting his pen down before looking up to draw his gaze.

"Ok." The pro heroes voice sounded like a growl, deep and full of irritation. "Let's try and talk about something else. How have you been liking UA so far after the months you've been here?"

"Its been alright." He shot back with a shrug.

"Make any friends since you've been here?"

"Not really."

"Is there anything you would like to talk about?"

"No."

His shortest answer yet seemed to be the one that drove the pro hero over the edge. Raising a large thick arm he slammed it down onto his desk with a load smack, the wooden thing rattling from the force.

"I was made to believe that you wanted to change Katsuki Bakugo...yet you have done nothing but dodge any way for me to start a conversation for an hour now. Are you actually trying to stay in the hero course or is this some kind of game to you." The tone in his voice made Bakugo roll his eyes before entering a defensive stance.

Of course he wants to stay in the hero course but he fails to see how talking about his feelings was going to accomplish that.

He already told the rat that he didn't need therapy. What the hell did they think was going to happen? That all they had to do was put him in a boring ass room, ask him some lame questions and suddenly he would start unloading all of his feelings onto them like a pregnant woman? Did they really think he was so weak that he couldn't deal with his own shit?

"Tell me how your classes with Principal Nezu went." Hound dog questioned, still trying to grasp onto any way to keep a conversation going.

You mean the classes on fucking law and regulation? The ones where all he does is sit there and listen to the rat blabber on for hours? Fucking riveting stuff there...

"They went fine." He said evenly.

"That's it? Nothing else to say? Just fine?"

"Yeah, they were fine."

He couldn't help but smirk when the bristles on Hound dogs back stuck up with irritation, his pen slightly cracking in his large furry hands. Tossing the destroyed pen aside he reached into his drawer before he hummed, scribbling something else down.

Try as he might but the pro hero wasn't going to go anywhere. All he had to do was give him dead ends to any conversations he tries to start and he will be out of here in record time. Just you wait.

Taking an even breath Hound dog calmed himself, letting his irritation leave through his nose.

"Its clear to me that trying to start small talk with you is going nowhere." Looking down at his notes Hound dog huffed before looking back at him. "Tell me about your childhood Bakugo. Where did you grow up?"

"Didn't they give you a report on my life or some shit?" He all but scoffed, laying back against the couch with crossed arms. "I'm sure there are plenty of articles on me already."

More writing from Hound dog, his hand hovering above the page of his notebook.

He couldn't help but think of shitty Deku's notebook...

"Yes actually, they did give me a few pages but I have yet to look at them."

That got him to raise an eyebrow. "Why the hell not? Isn't that your job to do shit like that?"

Letting out a small sigh Hound dog deflated, reaching a large hand up to take the small reading glasses off of his face before wiping it onto his button up shirt, giving Bakugo a chance to get a good hard look at him.

Hound dog was always a hero he didn't really take note of. Sure he was big and strong but he mostly dealt with small fries, leaving the major villains to the more important heroes like All Might. It was no doubt that the pro had some strength deep inside of him yet he chose to stay on the side lines...even in his prime. So really it's not like Bakugo ever took notice of him. Just another loser trying to be something greater then they actually were.

Yet watching him sitting in his chair out of costume, his large furry frame looking almost comical in his chair. No muzzle or hero costume to be seen, instead choosing to wear a nice white button up shirt and jeans he looked more like a middle school teacher then anyone else at this school.

He...kind of hated it. It urked him to no end yet he could not figure out why. Why the hell would he care about some c class hero that likes to pretend to be a therapist in his off time?

"Because I try to avoid outside forces when talking to a new patient." Hound dog finally answered as he put his reading glasses back on. "I'm well aware there is a lot of talk about you right now Bakugo, both from the event only a few weeks ago and the Aldera event many years ago...but I also know not to judge you based off of the mistakes of the past, no matter how recent. Despite your belief I am not here to judge you Katsuki Bakugo, only to help. This is supposed to be a safe space, what good would it do to admonish you for something that already happened?"

Letting out an annoyed huff he leaned forward in his seat. "If that were the case you would let me go. Say I pass, that I'm a good little boy or some shit and let me go back to becoming the best hero ever. You're not trying to help me, you are a being a wall between me and what I want...and just between you and me I destroy walls."

"Is that a threat Bakugo?" The pro shot back unamused. "It would do you well not to threaten a pro hero."

Oh please, as if he was strong enough to take me...

"It's a promise. Just let me go and I wont make it harder on you..."

"You and I both know that I can't do that Bakugo."

"Why the fuck not." He snapped back, letting out a small growl as he stood up in in an attempt to look bigger then he actually was. Small sparks flickered from his palms.

The pro hero's eyes squinted into a challenging glare that matched his own, his fist clenched around his pen as he sat up straight to look more intimidating. The two sizing each other up like two animals.

"Because you hospitalized a student on live television."

Ok now that wasn't playing fucking fair...

An uncomfortable feeling went through him as soon as the words left Hound dogs mouth.

Looking down at his shaking hands he swears he could see smaller smaters of blood decorated along his fingers. The dark shade of red splattered across him like a frantically made painting. Normally he would probably hear the sound of running water from the sink yet he couldn't hear anything over the ringing in his ears.

He could almost feel tears fighting their ways into his eyes as he frantically scrubbed away at his hands, trying desperately to wash it all away but no matter how hard he scrubbed it wouldn't completely leave.

Even after his hands were clean he still washed them.

There was some under his fingernails he just knew there was and there was a single spot that refusing to go away.

Why wouldn't it just go away!? Damnit, damnit!

His hands were starting to hurt from how hard he was scrubbing.

His mind kept drifting to the stadium, to what had happened.

This wasn't his fault...it, it wasn't his fault! He didn't mean to damnit. Deku and Big hands should have moved out of the way! It's not his fault they couldn't take a few blast...

His chest convulsed as he struggled to breath, something clinging onto his throat and refusing to let go. Letting out a sputtering cough he grit his teeth as he held onto the sink for dear life. Hoping, no praying it would leave him soon.

When the wave was done and he could finally breath again he couldn't help but look at himself in the mirror, the image of his beaten form staring back and mocking him.

He looked like shit.

Large, dark, bags hung low under his eyes and his dirty blonde hair was a ratty, uncombed mess. Despite winning both matches he didn't feel like a winner...winning shouldn't feel like this. Defeating an opponent shouldn't feel like this!

Why was this happening to him!? This wasn't supposed to happen damnit!

Growling back at his reflection he raised a cock fist and slammed it into the glass, a stinging pain running up his arm as the bathroom filled with the sound of shattering glass. Freshly made drops of blood falling from his knuckle and onto the sink.

Bakugo's hands slammed down against the couch, a small amount of pain rushing through his bandaged hand as he sat up with a hardened glare, his teeth bared like a rabid dog.

"That's not...I didn't fucking mean to! It was an accident damnit!"

The two stared each other down yet surprisingly, Hound dog was the first to back off. Laying back against his chair he threw his broken pen in a drawer with the others. Fishing his large furry arm inside before pulling out a new one and clicking it twice.

"Which is exactly why we are here, to prevent such event from happening again." He said matter of factly. "UA can't exactly have you running around and seriously maiming villains...no matter what they may have done."

One of Hound dog's ears twitched as he thought of what to say next. An uncomfortable silence filling the room.

"Tell me Bakugo, do you know what the legal definition of a hero is based off the state?"

That...made him pause, the sudden change in subject so jarring it took him a second to think of what to say.

What the fuck was it again? The rat had been drilling it into his head for days now, you'd think he would remember it by now.

"Heroes are...public servants right? Something about being funded by the government or some shit?"

Looking up at him a little surprised Hound dog gave an approvingly nod. "Yes. I'm pleased to see that you are taking Nezu's teachings to heart..."

How could he not when they only talked about the same thing every fucking day?

"In the roughest of terms heroes by law are qualified as government employees. We are paid by the government through taxes that the every day citizen must pay. It is a common misconception that pro heroes are paid more based off of the numbers but that is only the case with the top fifty, every other source of money is usually from endorsement deals or merchandising. In many ways we are a specialized type of cop trained to handle situations that a normal man with a gun could not. We are trained to keep public destruction to a minimum and we have our own subsecs of heroes that specialize in certain jobs and situations. Namely the big three categories are Battle hero, Rescue hero and Underground hero."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Bakugo couldn't help but ask. His annoyance evident in his tone. "Shouldn't this be something talked about in classes, not during internships?"

"I'm telling you this now Bakugo to emphasize what we as heroes do. Not the self aggrandizing thing that the news likes to do around heroes." Hound dog growled back, his voice going more even and deeper until he almost sounded like a wild animal. "Many students come here with the promise of glory, fame and violence. They come here with a chip on their shoulder expecting the world to bend to the image that they have in their own minds but I'm here to tell you that is not the case. Despite what you would think from heroes like All Might, hero work is not all fun and games. It's not all autographs and roaring fans. For the lucky few it is but to others it's something much more mundane. It's putting your life on the line day by day to make sure that people make it home from their jobs when the sun sets over the horizon. It's making sure they feel safe and being a symbol of protection. Its protecting the sheep from the wolves..."

By the end of his monologue Hound dog was standing on his feet, a snarling noise coming from his snout as his claws stained into his own hands...and just like that he was back to normal. Taking a deep breath he sat back down in his chair.

"I am sorry, I can tend to get carried away some times."

Carried away was a fucking understatement...what the fuck was that?

"Sure man, whatever." He responded with an unamused shrug to hide the fact he was a little unnerved by the whole thing.

"My point being that we by law are not judges, juries or even executioners." Hound dog went on as if he didn't just transform into a snarling wild animal infront of his very eyes. "If two people arguing in a bar turns into a physical altercation with quirks that quickly escalates to a point where you have to step in it is your job to take both of them in with minor injuries and let the courts decide their fates. You do not get to decide on what is right, only enforce the laws already in effect."

"W-well My mama always says some laws are dumb and should be changed if they dont serve the people!"

Frowning at the memory Bakugo clicked his tongue annoyed. "And what if the laws endanger the people?"

Giving Bakugo a thoughtful look back Hound dog let a small smile come to his snout. "Then you get together with others and help change it. We may be enforces of the law but that does not make it set in stone. At the end of the day we are protectors of the people."

The answer was a simple one yet it was one Bakugo never thought about before...before he could dwell on that thought for long the pro hero pushed on.

"Tell me Bakugo. What is it you want from all of this?"

Finally a good fucking question

"I'm going to be strong, stronger then all of the rest! The best hero the world has ever seen!" He all but shouted, slamming a closed palm to his chest. "Even better then All Might. It doesn't matter who gets in my way, I'm going to win no matter what because a true hero wins no matter the obstacles in his way. I'm going to be the number one hero one day, just you wait! All Might might be on top of the hill for now but one day that spot on the top will be mine!"

Looking up unamused from his notebook Hound dog wrote something down before asking. "And then what?"

...what?

Blinking a few times confused Bakugo couldn't help but stare, feeling like someone just smacked him upside the head. "...what?"

"What happens after you become the best?" Hound dog asked again, adjusting his tiny glasses. "After you climb, bite and claw your way to the top of the hill using other people's bodies as stepping stones to get there what then? Do you have a plan after or is that the end goal? What will you have at the end of things Katsuki Bakugo?"

He didn't like this wanna be heroes tone...what the hell does he know about the top of the hero world anyway!?

"I'd be the best of course. I'd have tons of cheering fans and beat anyone that even so much as looked at my spot. I'm going to be the best ever."

"Do you really think your ego would be ok with that? Just becoming stagnant and sitting on top of the rankings like a dragon hoarding gold?"

"W...what the fuck did you say!?"

"And how do you plan on getting there? By defeating more opponents? If that were so easy then Endeavour would have passed All Might atleast once in their rivalry. Endeavour has more rescues under his belt then All Might and actually passed his statistics a few years ago yet he had never been the number one hero over All Might, not even once."

Wait...that's not true was it? All Might was the best, he had always been the best...that would mean that he has the superior numbers, right?

"That's not fucking true. All Might has always been the best, ever since I was a little kid!" Bakugo shouted out, no longer bothering to keep his voice down.

"and yet Endeavour has almost double the rescue numbers under his belt. He's also defeated more villains as well yet the public looks up to All Might instead. Why do you think that is?"

He...had no idea. Racking his brain to think of a reason Hound dog wrote something down.

"You mentioned before that you wanted to be strong, strong like All Might, the strongest this world has ever seen. Yet, what you described just now is not strength, it's power." Bakugo frowned but for once did not try to interrupt, sitting there intently and listening. Watching as Hound dog got up from his seat and walked around his desk. "The difference is that there is no end to power. It's like a leech feeding off of you and constantly demanding more. No matter how much you give it it will never stop."

Jumping slightly at the sound of a bell Bakugo looked at the clock to see that they actually went over the time without him knowing. Hound dog walking towards a book shelf and pulling out a slick black book, thumbing through it before handing it out to him.

"It looks like that is time for the day Bakugo, thank you for the interesting conversation. Until next time your homework is to really think on what kind of hero you want to be and what you want at the end of the day. In the mean time, please take this book as a gift and I will see you tomorrow for the next session."

Reaching a hand out Bakugo took the book with a raised eyebrow, turning it over to read the front. The only thing on the front being white text of what he assumes was the title.

The Price of Power

He almost wanted to scoff yet...there was something about the book he found interesting, something pulling him towards it.

He'll just humor the guy and read a few pages of his crappy gift.

Folding the book under his arm he gave a curt nod, fishing his backpack off of the ground before heading out into the hall.

Out in the hall Bakugo locked eyes with the copy cat asshole, he forgot his name...

The other blonde was leaning against the wall and waiting for his own session. Apparently he was also being forced to take the same type of classes to both of their disdain. You would think it would be justifying seeing someone else go through the same thing he was but it frustrated him more.

THIS was the fucking guy that he was sharing a boat with? The guy who bragged constantly and tried to stab his opponent in the back like a fucking coward?

Is this the kind of person others saw him as?

An uncomfortable feeling came over him at that thought. Shaking his head he huffed, the two giving each other a long hard look before their gaze broke and they parted ways. Copy cat slinking into Hound dogs office and Bakugo heading home for the day.

Pausing in the hall Bakugo looked back at the closed door one last time before looking down at the black book.

"What will you have at the end of things Katsuki Bakugo?"

Staring off in quiet thought Bakugo shoved his hands into his pockets before he started his long trek home.

Notes:

Is that some cracks in Bakugo's armor I see? He should do something about that before they get worse...

I thought it would be interesting to have one of Bakugo's mentors being someone who also has anger issues. We dont really know much about Hound dog besides the time that he almost bit Midoriya's head off for fighting Gentle by himself so I thought he'd be a good fit. Plus the idea of the big werewolf man being book smart with little reading glasses gave me a chuckle.