The Hero & The Demon

Chapter Fourteen

Naomasa Tsukauchi didn't often receive mail, so it was easy enough to guess what the letter at his door was even before he saw the UA seal emblazoned upon it.

He smiled. Whilst there had been very little progress on the investigation into Kage Sekai, the boy had never allowed himself to become disheartened. His drive and conviction hadn't wavered since they first met in the police station months ago. There had been the odd concerning development, like the recent incident at Gunhead's gym, but none of it had ever distracted Kage from his goals. That commitment was sure to serve him well in his future career.

"Kage!" Tsukauchi called for the boy, and he emerged dutifully from his room, though he also looked rather tired. Apparently, he had decided to sleep in today, and was still wearing pyjamas. The sight was amusing, though Tsukauchi still frowned. It was a bad habit to get into, even if there wasn't any school on. He straightened when he noticed the envelope in Tsukauchi's hand.

"(Oh shit!)" He said, slipping into English. He hadn't done that in quite some time, but occasionally it emerged when he was surprised or caught off guard. He remained focused on the envelope. "You know, I had almost completely forgotten about the results."

"I'm not surprised, given that you also seem to have forgotten to get out of bed." Tsukauchi shook his head. Kage looked down at himself, then back up and gave a cautious smile.

"Sorry. I had a hard time sleeping tonight."

"More bad dreams?"

"Mhm." Kage nodded. He hadn't given Tsukauchi many details, but for some time, Kage had apparently been experiencing a series of strange nightmares. From what he could gather, they all seemed to centre on a strange realm of smoke and lightning, and a figure of pitch black save for golden eyes. The image was at once too vague and too specific, as Kage was sure he wasn't missing any obscured details from the dreams and yet was unable to place them to anything familiar beyond an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He offered, though he suspected he already knew the answer. Sure enough, Kage shook his head after a moment's hesitation. Kage seemed to be a rather private person, which Tsukauchi didn't mind for the most part. It worried him occasionally, but he had friends, a good school career, and his training and exercise was as fine a hobby as Tsukauchi ever had. He was sure that if it was particularly important, Kage would let him know.

"Not really. There wasn't anything new this time. It just kept staring at me." Tsukauchi nodded. The dream figure apparently didn't speak often when it appeared, instead simply watching Kage stumble around. It wasn't hostile, which seemed like it might have been a good sign – it was unlikely to be a representation of the boy's captors – but it remained off-putting.

Tsukauchi knew well the disquieting sensation of being watched. His work was always under some kind of scrutiny by its very nature. Still, the literal nature of Kage's nightmares was enough to unsettle even him.

"Well, if that's all, we have other business." Tsukauchi held out the envelope. Kage reached for it, but he pulled it back before he could touch it. "Go and get yourself dressed first, then we can look over the results. I'm looking forward to seeing how well you did myself." He smiled. Kage nodded and turned back to his room.

It barely took him a couple of minutes to emerge once more, this time properly yet simply dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. Tsukauchi had gotten the boy a handful of different sets of outfits, but casual clothes seemed to be the only things he ever bothered with unless he was being forced into a school uniform. Tsukauchi only wished he had known that ahead of time, as it would have saved him some money.

"Alrighty, what've we got?" Kage said, rubbing his hands together. Tsukauchi guided him into the living room, where the two sat down on the sofa and laid out the envelope on the coffee table. Kage stared at it for a moment, not touching it. Tsukauchi raised an eyebrow.

"Staring at it won't change the results, you know." He said. Kage shook his head.

"It's not that, I'm just trying to think of how to open it." He said, confusing Tsukauchi. It was an envelope, surely it wasn't that complicated a process. In answer to his unspoken question, Kage continued. "I've never opened anything with a seal like that before, is it okay to just break it? 'Cause that feels weird. Someone clearly did a lot to make it look nice on there, but if the point is to break it in half anyway, what's the point?"

"That's your biggest concern? The seal?"

"It's more the most immediate." Kage shrugged. "Obviously I'm worried about the results, too. I think I did okay on the practical and I feel pretty good about how the written exam went. It was easier than I expected, which hopefully means I'm good at this and not that I'm too dumb to figure out the questions. Always a risk with exams…" He trailed off. As usual, Tsukauchi took a mental note, but he doubted that memory would be particularly helpful. That experience was all too relatable to just about anyone Kage's age.

Tsukauchi himself had to undergo annual tests to make sure he could still handle his police job, and it was easy to feel like he knew more than he really did during them. Nothing was more humbling than a passing score that was still under his expectations.

"Well, here goes…" Kage hesitantly reached for the envelope. Instead of breaking open the seal, he chose to use his powers to create a small knife to serve as a letter opener, with which he cut open the top of the letter. Inside, there were two sheets of paper and a small, circular metal device that Tsukauchi didn't recognise. Kage, on the other hand, made an 'ah' sound as he took it out and placed it on the table.

"It's a projector." He explained inexplicably. "You should probably close the blinds, just to be safe. I don't know how bright or dark it'll end up being. A friend of mine mentioned these, but he was in his room and it was really dark at the time." Tsukauchi raised an eyebrow.

"Did your friend get his results early?" Kage hesitated for just a moment, something Tsukauchi knew meant he was about to tell a lie.

"Yeah, his came in just a few hours ago. That's why I was so tired, we were up early talking about it."

"I thought you were tired because of your bad dreams?"

"I can be tired for two reasons!" Kage protested. "I'm a teenager, being tired all the time is my whole thing. Now, are we going to turn this baby on or what?" Tsukauchi sighed before getting up and closing the blinds at the end of the room. Kage clearly knew more than he let on, but pressing him on the subject wouldn't get him anywhere. At best, it would just lead to Kage getting flustered and irritated. At worst, there was a small chance he might even get hostile. He certainly wasn't going to give away any information. He always seemed to close up whenever Tsukauchi caught him in a lie or tried to investigate the odd things he sometimes said. It was as though he felt that Tsukauchi would not accept his explanation, so he chose not to bother with it.

Tsukauchi still took note of it. He was a detective; it was his job to look into anything that seemed out of place. Even if it felt wrong to be looking into something seemingly so inconsequential at times. He knew whatever Kage was hiding wasn't malicious in nature, and given his amnesia there was even a chance he wasn't even aware he was doing it. That was unlikely, Tsukauchi felt, but he had to consider all possibilities.

When he sat back down, Kage pressed on two points at the side of the projection device. A large screen emerged from it, presenting a set that looked far more like a game show panel than a school setting.

"I AM HERE, AS A PROJECTION!" A loud and familiar voice came through the device's speaker. Tsukauchi doubted anyone could tell just how tired All-Might looked and sounded in that moment. It was subtle, of course. All-Might never showed much on his face beyond a reassuring smile, but Tsukauchi could tell it had been stretched for a while. His suit was ever so slightly crinkled in noticeable ways, and one or two hairs stood out of place, though the overall image was still fine. He smirked.

"He looks weird in a suit." Kage commented, which made Tsukauchi snort out the laugh he had been trying to suppress. It was definitely true – All-Might's suit hung tightly to his body in a way that didn't look comfortable at all. How he was able to move around like that, Tsukauchi would never know. His friend's clothes always seemed either too tight or too loose these days.

"I'M SURE YOU'RE WONDERING WHY ALL-MIGHT IS IN YOUR UA LETTER. WELL, THERE'S A SIMPLE EXPLANATION!" The projection of All-Might posed dramatically for effect. "YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE NEWEST UA FACULTY MEMBER! IT WILL BE MY JOB TO TEACH THE NEWEST GENERATION OF HERO STUDENTS, WHICH INCLUDES…YOU!" He pointed directly at what Tsukauchi assumed was the camera. The effect actually looked slightly off, as his finger was blurred and out of focus, before he returned to his normal stance.

Projected All-Might pulled out a small remote and pressed a button on it. In the background, a second, smaller screen appeared. He pushed a button again and it displayed the specific results of the practical exam. One name was highlighted.

8. KAGE SEKAI – 58 VILLAIN POINTS, 1 RESCUE POINT

"Huh. That is both better and worse than I expected. Pretty awesome that Izuku outdid me!" He said cheerfully. Izuku Midoriya was one of Kage's friends, someone with Quirk difficulties that he had bonded with at school, or so he had said. Tsukauchi saw his name was in sixth place. Curiously, he hadn't managed a single villain point.

The only other name Tsukauchi recognised was Katsuki Bakugou, sitting in first place without even a single rescue point. Given his attitude on the one occasion Tsukauchi had been present and what Kage had told him about subsequent encounters, this was much less curious. Still, it seemed the Aldera principal was right about him having potential. Hopefully UA would iron out his attitude issues.

The projected All-Might gave a brief explanation of what villain and rescue points were – villain points were self-explanatory, whereas rescue points were determined by a panel of judges watching the entrance exam closely. Each judge used a one to ten scale to deal out rescue points when they felt appropriate. Apparently, Kage's was slightly unusual in that it was added after the fact.

"YOU HAVE RECOVERY GIRL TO THANK FOR THIS SMALL GIFT, YOUNG MAN." All-Might's projection explained. Kage looked confused, clearly struggling to think on what he might have done to warrant the medical hero's attention. "AFTER GETTING THE STORY FROM YOUNG SORA KINZOKU, SHE INSISTED THAT YOU SHOULD BE REWARDED IN SOME SMALL WAY FOR YOUR EFFORTS."

"That doesn't make any sense." Kage shook his head. "Sora saved me, not the other way around. What story did she give that would have gotten me an extra point? I mean, I guess I'm glad but I feel like I'm missing something." He said, mostly to himself. He placed both hands under his chin thoughtfully.

Tsukauchi quickly looked for the name Sora Kinzoku, out of curiosity. She was down at eleventh place, it turned out. She had gotten seventeen villain points, and a rather significant thirty-three rescue points. Kage hadn't mentioned her by name before, but he had brought up how someone had helped him at the end of the exam.

The last name rang a bell to him. He would have to go through his files at work later, but he was sure the name Kinzoku had come up before. He didn't recall any specifics, however.

"COMBINE THIS WITH YOUR GRADE-A PERFORMANCE ON THE WRITTEN EXAM," Projected All-Might was interrupted by a voice from off-screen. He leaned over to listen to it. "Well yes, I know it's not literal, but I was going for showmanship there! Really? Isn't that a little mean? Yes, I know it's more accurate but- Oh, fine. AHEM! COMBINE THIS WITH YOUR GRADE B PERFORMANCE ON THE WRITTEN EXAM, AND YOU'RE WELL ON YOUR WAY TO TAKING YOUR PLACE IN THE HERO ACADEMIA! CONGRATULATIONS, KAGE SEKAI! CLASS 1A WILL BE SEEING YOU SOON!" The projection abruptly shut itself off after that. Tsukauchi stood up and re-opened the blinds, letting the early afternoon sun back in.

Kage, it seemed, was still lost in thought. It didn't seem that he had properly taken in the end of the message, the thought of what had gotten him that extra rescue point clearly sitting uneasily in his mind. Tsukauchi sighed.

"Why don't you just ask Kinzoku about it?" He said, snapping Kage's attention onto him. "You're both going to be in UA, I'm sure you'll have an opportunity to ask." This seemed to have the opposite effect of calming Kage down. For a moment, his face went wide and he had a distinct look of discomfort. Betrayal, even. But he washed it off so fast that Tsukauchi wasn't sure if he was just imagining it.

"Y-yeah, you're right." He said. "I'll have to ask her about it later. It's weird though, I feel like I would have remembered if I'd done anything to save her. We shouldn't be even at all." Tsukauchi wasn't sure what exactly he meant by 'even', but decided not to ask. This hardly seemed like something worth dwelling on to him, and he was sure Kage would feel the same given time.

"So, about that B grade." Tsukauchi said with a smirk, crossing his arms. Kage's mouth opened, then closed quickly several times as he struggled for words. Tsukauchi couldn't help but laugh, which did not seem to help Kage relax.

Kage's studies were certainly a more fixable problem to address, and Tsukauchi would be sure that any problems were thoroughly dealt with.

The next day, Izuku Midoriya was still amazed that he was neither dead nor dreaming.

The fact that he had made it into UA at all was absolutely baffling to him, but somehow, he had managed. He knew he would have to thank Ochako Uraraka as soon as he saw her again, since she as the reason he had lived through the whole encounter. He had come perilously close to death that day and was terrified he would have gotten nothing for it.

Well, nothing save for the satisfaction of having saved someone. That, admittedly, was worth a lot.

He still wasn't sure if he believed All-Might when he said he had nothing to do with it. Even if the man wasn't lying, if he had mentioned anything about Izuku being his successor, that would skew things unfairly in his favour. No, he had to trust that All-Might hadn't said a word. Izuku certainly hadn't. Not a single soul he knew was aware of the truth of his powers.

Including the two who were also called by their teacher today.

Kage had never pressed Izuku on the specifics about his powers. Izuku's cover story about being a late-bloomer was something he trusted on faith and didn't question, so he didn't seem surprised at all when Izuku revealed he had gotten into the school. The possibility of that not happening didn't seem to ever occur to his friend, so he only expressed a cheerful joy at the news. He didn't even seem bothered by the fact that Izuku had managed to score higher than him!

"Well, obviously." He had rolled his eyes when Izuku had asked about it. "You're the most heroic person I know, and I'm…me." He seemed to think better of what he was originally going to say, finishing in a defeated tone of voice that made Izuku frown. Being Kage Sekai hardly seemed something to be disappointed by, but he doubted there was much he could say that would make Kage see that.

Still, his reaction was overall shockingly kind. It made for a stark contrast to their other companion.

Kacchan had been stone-faced and silent the entire walk to the teacher's office, but his violent hostility was on full display regardless. Izuku's explosive former friend was always at his most unnerving when he was quiet. He yelled so often that it was hard to be truly intimidated by it anymore, and at least then it was clear where you stood with him. When he was quiet, on the other hand, it was hard to really tell what he was thinking beyond the fact that it would have bad results.

Kage had noticed this immediately, and had insisted on stepping between Izuku and Kacchan before anything could occur. Kacchan had glared at him, huffed, and then the three continued to move. Everyone was keenly aware that the three were a bomb just waiting to go off. It was only a matter of time before things detonated.

The teacher saw them approach and waved the three into the office with a wide grin. Izuku wasn't used to seeing him look at him so fondly. He gave an awkward smile in response. Kage grinned back gladly, whilst Kacchan's face remained unchanged. Whilst all three of them were now looking at the teacher sitting down at his desk, Kacchan didn't seem to be actually paying the man any attention.

"Well, I've gotta say I'm impressed." The teacher shook his head incredulously. "To think that not just one, but three of our students managed to get into UA's hero course! You've all done a great job in making Aldera proud."

"Thank you, sir." Kage bowed his head as he spoke. "I'm glad that we could all make you proud. Keep our success in mind for the future." There was a pointed edge to Kage's last words that Izuku wasn't sure about, and the teacher seemed similarly confused by for a moment. He frowned as Kage met his eyes, and in that moment Izuku could feel an added tension briefly slip its way into the air before dissipating.

"I see. You're right, I suppose." The teacher sighed and leaned back in his chair. "After all, the three of you went above and beyond anyone's expectations! Especially you, Midoriya!" The teacher looked at him and Izuku flinched under his gaze. It felt strange to be the positive centre of attention. It also didn't help that this also drew Kacchan's gaze to him. Izuku could feel the boy's glare from the corner of his eyes.

"I'm told you were in the top ten of the entrance exam students! Who would've thought?" The teacher smiled. Izuku shrank into himself, not trusting his mouth to say anything without deflecting or worse, letting something slip.

"Anyone paying attention."

"Hm?" The teacher turned to Kage, who had muttered something in a bitter tone. Kage's expression hardened into a frown. "What was that, Sekai?"

"With all due respect, I said anyone paying attention." Kage repeated, clearly not meaning any respect in his tone. "Izuku Midoriya has been one of the most dedicated students of our entire class, working constantly for months to achieve this, even whilst being constantly doubted, belittled and mocked both by our classmates," He gave a pointed look towards Kacchan. "And even the faculty at times."

"N-now, that might be going a bit far." The teacher tugged at his collar nervously, but Kage continued.

"The way he has been treated for simply trying to pursue his dream to the best of his ability is absolutely shameful, and your condescending attitude of surprise proves that this will only continue. I want to be very clear when I say that Izuku's outstanding success is in spite of Aldera, as is my own, because your ability to support and uplift your students is clearly selective at best and downright insulting at worst."

"Just hold on one minute!" The teacher's face was red. He rose from his seat and banged his hand against his desk. "You really should not be taking that sort of tone with me, young man! I am still your superior. Just because you've gotten into a new fancy school-" Kage interrupted him, apparently deciding to choose violence today and concluding that self-preservation was something only other people needed to bother with. Izuku tried to convey an apology for his words with hesitant glances alone. He wasn't sure it was effective.

"You're right, sir. I did get into a new school. Which means I have no more reason to be patient with this one." Kage crossed his arms. "Which is good, because I find the attitude of the faculty to be repulsive and the management to be incompetent. This isn't even just about your terrible treatment of Izuku either, although to be clear I could fill an entire book with complaints about that alone, and I've only been here for less than one year. The student council is overworked, underfunded and barely listened to, and the staff turn a blind eye to all manner of poor student behaviour. This school is easily the worst I have ever been to, which I assure you is saying a lot." The teacher's fist was clenched and his face was red. He looked ready to burst.

"Are you finished?" He practically growled. If Kage was in any way bothered by this, he didn't show it. His face was an innocent grin that invited no opposition.

"Why yes, I am." He said. "Good day to you, sir. I thank you for your congratulations, and I'm sorry we will be parting on such terms. That said, I don't regret a word of what I just said and I hope you internalise it all. Bye!" He waved, and then he excused himself from the room casually. As though he could just do that. The teacher opened and closed his mouth several times, completely baffled. Kacchan and Izuku shared a rare moment of kinship as they looked at one another with similar confusion, before Izuku realised who that was and quickly focused his eyes back in front of him.

"I-I-I am so sorry about him, sir! Kage has been…dealing with a lot lately, and-!" Izuku bowed deeply as he tried to apologise for the display his friend had just made, but the teacher waved for him to stop. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and slouched back into his seat.

"It's not your fault, Midoriya." He said. Izuku relaxed just a tiny fraction. "I've certainly dealt with rowdier students before, anyway. I'm certainly not happy about his behaviour here, but in some ways, he did have a point."

"Sir?"

"We…we've failed you, Midoriya." The teacher placed a hand on his shoulder. "You've achieved so much more than we ever thought possible, and given that, I can't help but think our standards and expectations for you were misguided. Bakugou's success isn't a shock at all given his strong work ethic, but also because we've supported him on his way. We could have done more for you in that sense too, and for that, I'm sorry." Tears threatened to emerge from Izuku's eyes.

He still wasn't convinced this wasn't a dream. A teacher apologising to him? Izuku had always known they had turned a blind eye to Kacchan's actions. He had been called out in class more times than he could count, and any mentions of his ambition to become a hero was usually met with a disappointed, pitying expression at best. He had never really blamed them for it, but that didn't mean it hadn't stung.

To have that validated was…a lot. A part of him wanted to yell. To protest, as Kage had done. To call out how they should have done something sooner, how they had just left him alone to be harassed and berated, how Kacchan's bullying had not only gone unchecked, but at times even rewarded.

But Izuku wasn't the kind of person to dwell on a grudge like that. Instead, he smiled at the teacher and wiped his eyes clean.

"Thank you, sir. That means a lot to hear." He said. The teacher seemed shocked to see his expression, but his face softened into a warm smile.

"Well then, I can only promise to support your career going forwards. You've done us all proud, young man! Keep it up, because Aldera is rooting for you." Izuku nodded. It was quite an impressive feeling, to be receiving so much support from others. He had wanted it for so long, but deep down, he had felt sure it would never be his. Now, everything had changed.

The teacher dismissed him, and Izuku held his head high as he left the room. That whole encounter had gone far better than he had expected. He hadn't even had to deal with any hostility from-

"DEKU!"

And there it was. Of course, Izuku had jinxed it. He should have known better than to assume he would get away that easily. He froze in place as Kacchan stalked over to him.

"O-oh, hey Kacchan!" He waved, trying to be as non-threatening as he could possibly be, which wasn't hard to do around the boy who could explode every inch of him into piles of bloody dust. "C-congrats on-" He didn't get a chance to finish, as Kacchan picked him up by the collar with one hand and slammed him into the wall. His expression was full of venom as he leered in close.

"What the hell kind of trick was that?" He hissed bitterly into Izuku's ear. "You're a Quirkless, useless, spineless loser! Everyone can see that, especially me! How the hell are you making them think anything else, and how are you tricking UA?! Answer me!" Kacchan was practically choking Izuku with how much he was pressing him against the wall.

Izuku wanted to answer, but he was honestly confused and didn't know what the hell Kacchan was even talking about. What tricks? Izuku had been as surprised as anyone else to be treated with respect, he wasn't doing anything on purpose.

"I bet it's got something to do with that freak, doesn't it?!" Kacchan continued in a growl through gritted teeth. "You and him have been conspiring against me, haven't you?! I was supposed to be the only one from this dumb backwater school to make it into UA! You idiots have ruined all my damn plans! You were supposed to stay the hell out of my way, but you just couldn't help yourselves, could you? Know your damn place, nerd."

"Kacchan." Izuku raised his own hand and grabbed Kacchan's arm. He held onto it tightly, with more strength than he thought he had. Next to Kacchan, Izuku had always thought himself to be a weakling. But after training with All-Might, getting into UA, he was stronger. He was better than this.

"Get your hands off me."

"What was that, Deku?" Kacchan raised his other hand and made some popping explosions. For once, Izuku didn't react. He had seen these enough times. Seen Kacchan enough times to know what he would do and what he wouldn't. He was done pretending otherwise.

"I said, get your hands off me!" He shoved with all the might he could muster, and managed to send Kacchan stumbling back. He had torn off a piece of his school uniform, but that was the least of Izuku's worries right now. He met Kacchan's glare with one of his own. His entire body was shaking, but he refused to let that stop him.

"I've earned this, Kacchan." He said. His voice was unsteady, but brimming with determination. He would not back down from this. "Someone placed their faith in me. Told me that I could become a hero. I…I'm done letting people down. I'm done being useless. I'm going to UA, Kacchan! You won't stop me!" He announced. Kacchan stared at him, then at his hand. It was clear that he hadn't expected Izuku to try standing up to him.

Izuku hadn't expected it either. But there was no taking it back now.

He turned around and began to walk off before Kacchan could process things any further. By his estimate, he had maybe ten seconds before he recovered from Izuku standing up to him before Kacchan would rush to beat the crap out of him for it. He would rather get the hell away before that happened.

Some part of him wanted to apologise for his tone, but he shoved that down. Kacchan had never once regretted the way he spoke to him, so he shouldn't either. Besides, he didn't really regret a word of it. Everything he had said was true.

So many people had now placed their faith in him by this point. All-Might, Kage, even the teachers at Aldera now, something he would have never thought possible ten months ago. In such a short amount of time, so much of his life had completely changed for the better.

Meanwhile, Kacchan had remained the same as always. His attitude had never shifted no matter how much more skilled he always continued to become. Izuku still respected Kacchan's ability, and he didn't think that would ever change. He knew that Kacchan could become a great hero, and he wasn't going to stop rooting for him on some level.

But now that Izuku felt he had more to compare it to, he was increasingly sure that he really didn't like Kacchan as a person. They had used to be friends, and Izuku seemed to have only recently fully registered that those times were well and truly gone. He had been holding out hope for a memory, blinded by nostalgia and his respect for Kacchan's strength.

Kacchan was always the one constant in his life, for better or worse, and that made him something Izuku latched onto. But now that he had friends, had a mentor, had support for his dreams and his life, he didn't need the sort of chaotic stability Kacchan still provided.

It was time for him to stop pretending Kacchan still had a place in his life, even if he wanted things to be different.

"Hey, Izuku!" Izuku looked up as he found himself walking out of the school gates to find Kage, smiling and waving for him. He had clearly decided to wait for him. He beamed as Izuku looked his way. "Hope Bakugou didn't give you too much trouble. You ready to go?"

Izuku's eyes briefly wandered back to Aldera.

He was ready, he decided. A new future awaited him. For the moment, at least, he was ready to stop dwelling on the past.

"Yeah, let's go!"

Katsuki Bakugou could not help but dwell on the past.

Where had everything gone wrong? Deku was a completely useless scrub of a person, but now he was getting all the acknowledgement that was supposed to go to him this whole time! Bakugou was the one who had climbed up from the dregs of this school to rise to the top, who had fought tooth and nail to maintain that place and had pushed his way all the way to UA high.

He had placed first in the entrance exam! He was unstoppable, the undisputed champion! Why was it that no one was willing to acknowledge that anymore? What did the accomplishments of losers like Deku and Kage have that he didn't?

"GRAH!" He slammed a fist into one of the walls of the school, his frustration getting the better of him. It wasn't an active class day, so there was little worry of getting caught defacing the building or anything. Not that such had ever presented a problem before. Everyone knew when he was angry, it was better to simply mind their own business.

Or at least, that was how it had been. He didn't know why, but things were different now.

"Bakugou?" The blonde pointed his eyes sharply towards the figure who had just called out to him. One of his old lackeys, Fingers, had apparently also shown up to the school. That wasn't a huge surprise – whilst the UA students were obviously the big draw for the school, they wanted to praise everyone's successes at some point. Fingers had crawled his way into another hero school – Ketsubutsu, Bakugou thought he heard him mention. It kept him out of the way, so Bakugou had no issue with it. Like most things Fingers did, it was beneath his notice.

"What do you want?" He growled, causing Fingers to flinch back. Bakugou stretched his back and stood glaring at the boy. He was waiting for an excuse, any excuse to use him as a punching bag. He really needed to hit something. "I'm not in the mood for any bullcrap today."

"O-oh, wow. I woulda thought you'd be in high spirits, y'know?" Fingers leaned back and gave a nervous smile. "D-didn't you get into UA like you wanted? I thought the teachers would be throwing you a parade by now." Bakugou took a deep, slow breath. As much as he wanted to pummel his lackey here, it wouldn't be worth it. He wasn't the source of his anger, after all, and for all his faults he clearly still knew where he stood.

"I wasn't the only one, moron." He said in a slightly calmer tone than before. It was still hostile, but that was true of just about everything he said. "The whole point was to prove that I'm the best of the best, but no one's willing to listen to that when two other weaklings managed to stumble their way into my victory! I don't get why anyone gives them the time of day." He popped a few explosions in his hand as he spoke. Fingers paused and looked like he wanted to say something, but he wasn't talking. After a moment's pause, it started to bother Bakugou.

"Spit it out if you have something to say." He barked. Fingers flinched again, but took a breath and spoke up quickly.

"Maybe it's because of your bad attitude?" Bakugou stopped and glared at him, but Fingers kept speaking before he could lose his nerves. "You don't even try to remember people's names and you talk down to everyone you talk to, which Kage never does when we hang out. Deku's even still nice even though most of the class calls him that, and that makes people wanna root for 'em, you know? You're just kind of an asshole." He spoke fast, perhaps hoping that Bakugou wouldn't understand his last words if he got through them fast enough.

Unfortunately for him, he was wrong. Bakugou leered over him threateningly.

"You want to say that again, loser?" He raised a hand and popped some more explosions. "What makes you think you can talk down to me like that?" This time, Fingers didn't flinch. It seemed that letting out all of his bullcrap had managed to help him find something approximating a spine.

"Y-yeah, I do wanna say it again!" Fingers exclaimed. "You're a jerk, Bakugou! And you make everyone around you act like jerks too! I used to think you were cool because your Quirk was so awesome, but now I see that it doesn't matter if you're going to be such a prick! I-I thought we were friends, but when Tsubasa went missing you didn't even care! You've never cared about anything but yourself, and that's why no one cares about you and your stupid UA dreams!"

Bakugou was done taking this from someone so far beneath him. He went to slam his fist into Fingers's stupid face. Unfortunately, he saw it coming. He held out his hand, and his fingers stretched out to the sides to form a shield.

"I bet you didn't even know I could do this, did you?" He said as he kicked Bakugou in the stomach, forcing him back. "You've never paid attention to anything I ever said! You're such a piece of crap, Bakugou!" He stretched out one finger long-ways and it hit Bakugou right in the eye. He grunted in pain and stumbled, holding one hand out to fire off an explosion. Unfortunately, his aim was off with one of his eyes suddenly not working. Fingers dodged again. Bakugou roared, ready to keep fighting. He charged, but Fingers just ran away instead of trying to attack again. He was such a coward, saying all that shit to him only to turn tail and run?

"Get back here, fingers!" He screamed. "I'm not done with you!"

"My name is Nobashita Yubi, and I'm done with you!" He called back, still running. He was faster than Bakugou somehow. He wasn't as well built, but clearly, he made up for it by being lighter. Bakugou turned a corner and ended up losing his target. Like every other source of his anger lately, he had escaped without Bakugou being able to do anything.

Yet again, all these worthless whelps were trying to challenge him. Trying to show themselves as more than just bugs to be stepped on. Forgetting their place.

His words rang unpleasantly in Bakugou's head. What did Bakugou's attitude matter towards extras and losers? What right did they have to be offended when he was clearly just exercising his right as someone superior? He was the best. Why was he having so much trouble getting others to recognise that?

Tsubasa wasn't a name that rang a bell. Bakugou vaguely remembered he and Fingers had known a boy with wings who he hadn't seen in ages, was that who he meant? Why should Bakugou have given a crap about someone like that?

Katsuki Bakugou as sure he was doing everything right.

Why then did everything seem to be going wrong?

AN: Another chapter, another reminder that I do like Bakugou I promise! He's just so compelling because he sucks so much early on. Challenging his ego so much early on is proving to be pretty fun, as is showing Izuku start to step away from him now that he has more active support in his life. I'm not going to completely overhaul their dynamic or anything, but I think this might kickstart some shifts in it as the story goes on. The next chapter will probably be the last one before we get into UA proper! I was originally going to cram its events into the end of this one, but I think I can make it work as a chapter on its own. Hope you enjoyed, lemme know your thoughts and have a nice day!