Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Hello there. I might be wrong, but…you’re Kacchan, aren’t you?”

Bakugo tore his gaze away from his phone to glare at the person who’d interrupted his leisure hours, ready to tear into the intruder with a vicious slew of verbal attacks. And then froze.

Whoever he was expecting to see, it certainly wasn’t him.

Midoriya Izuku stood there, leaned forward expectantly, a half-smile on his face that was at once just like him and completely foreign.

Midoriya Izuku, the boy who was reported dead in a car accident four years ago.

Midoriya Izuku, wearing the outfit of the new crime lord who had every villain in Tokyo under his thumb.

It didn’t make any sense.

The only reply he could come up with was a simple “Yes.”

Deku – if it really WAS Deku – smiled for real. “Ah, so you are. You’ve changed since I last saw you.”

“So have you.”

“Then you do remember me?” He straightened up as Bakugo stood to face him. The two were almost equal in height, though Bakugo outweighed him easily. “I never would have guessed it.”

The pro hero scoffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, it just is amazing to me that you’d remember me. After all…” his smile darkened, pulling on his lips and morphing into something deranged, dangerous. “Why should you remember a nerdy, quirkless child you urged to commit suicide?”

Bakugo’s breath caught in his throat. His features drew up in a heavy scowl as the memory came back.

“But I’m not here to reminisce!” Deku changed the subject abruptly. “I’m just here because your name was on a list.”

Wait, what?!

“What list?” Bakugo demanded.

Deku shrugged. “Just a list of interesting people. Pro Heroes like you, usually. Ingenium, Endeavor, Mount Lady, that purple one I forget the name of…”

It sounded innocent enough, but he was rattling off the names of Pro Heroes who had gone missing recently.

One of whom had shown up in a river weeks later.

In spite of himself, he took a step back. He cursed and snapped “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull, but I’m leaving.”

Deku got a look of genuine distress on his face. He looked like a little child who’d been denied ice cream. “Don’t leave, Kacchan!”

He opened his mouth to retort when a rush of air caught him off-guard and suddenly Deku was standing beside him, lips spread taut in a disconcerting leer. He gripped Bakugo’s arm so hard it hurt.

“Don’t leave yet. Stay.” He pulled on his arm. Hard. Smiled the way a cat looks at a wounded mouse. “Please.”

“Why?!” He couldn’t pull free – why couldn’t he get free?

“Why? Why, he asks.” Deku chuckled lightly. “It's plain to see, isn't it? I...want to learn more about you...” He leaned in, uncomfortably close, and whispered.

“…Kacchan.”

A sudden crack and the world blazed in bright colors before all went black.

Deku drew back his fist as Bakugo crumpled limply to the ground.

Chapter Text

Deku looked in the rearview mirror and saw the inert form of Bakugo beginning to stir. Good. He’d thought it was only a low-grade concussion. It would be a real pain if he was seriously injured. Having satisfied himself that his captive was alright, he returned his attention to the road.

Bakugo groaned and flung an arm out. It met with the hardness of the door, and he jolted awake. A sharp curse fell from his lips. “What…?”

“You’re awake! Now, I’d warn you not to do anything hasty,” Deku told him seriously. “We are on the highway after all, and I don't want you in anything but mint condition right now.”

He only took a second to process this before freaking out. “I’ll blow you up!” He roared, and swore as he stood up. “Get me outta here!!”

Deku just laughed as he drove. “Ah, this takes me back! Just stop thrashing around so much. This car is pretty expensive. I’d rather not use a sedative on you yet, but you’re going to force my hand.”

“SHUT UP.” Bakugo yelled. “GET ME OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!”

Green eyes met his in the rearview mirror. Deku’s gaze was heavy with a dangerous expression. “Once more, and I’ll use the sedative. Got it?”

Finally, the hero forced himself to calm down. He sat back, voicing nothing but a low growl.

An odd smile touched Deku’s lips as he turned to focus on driving.

A minute passed, and another, and another. Bakugo could clearly see out the windows and traced their route. It was strange that Deku wasn’t trying to cover his tracks at all, or prevent him from figuring out where he was.

Strange and worrying.

Maybe even as worrying as this nerd’s apparent status as the number one villain.

Finally, the car came to a stop in the garage of a nice house at the back of an empty lot. The city had been left behind long ago, and there were no other buildings for miles. Only this one eccentric house with high stone walls around it.

“Well! Here we are,” Deku sang out, as chipper as if they were arriving in Disneyland. “Oh, and I really don’t trust you to get out nicely and not run away, so I’ll have to use a bit of sedative right now…”

He only had seconds to process those words before a cloud of white mist swirled around him and, for the second time that day, he lost consciousness.

Chapter Text

Midoriya Izuku entered a high-ceilinged room, carrying the limp body of Bakugo Katsuki in his arms. He kicked the door shut behind him.

In one corner of the room, a doorway opened into a small, barren kitchen and two couches that looked as if they hadn’t been touched it years. On the other side, a long row of drawers lined the wall, with a florescent light and high table with restraints in the middle. It was as if two radically different buildings had been inexplicably fused together.

Deku laid Bakugo down on the examining table. He straightened up, sighed, and paused. Then, with a nonchalant shrug, he took the unconscious man over to the couches and put him there instead.

When Bakugo woke up, it was again to a pounding headache, and a dull numbness that weighed his whole body down. For a moment he thought he had been blindfolded, as the room was so dark. After blinking a few times, he realized his eyes were indeed open. He groaned, sitting up carefully. What had ha….

Oh.

Deku.

The nerd himself appeared in the doorway, bearing a tray of tea like some weird waiter. He pulled up short upon seeing Bakugo awake. An eerie smile spread over his face – a smile that wasn’t Deku at all.

“Oh, you're awake.” He strode over and offered a cup of steaming liquid. “Your head hurts now, doesn't it?”

Bakugo eyed Deku, and the cup, before taking it. “K…kind of.”

The green-haired young man sat down with a look of amusement. “It’s not tainted. You can drink it. I meant it when I said I wanted you in mint condition.”

Maybe it was worth the risk. Bakugo’s head was pounding as if it would burst. He glared at Deku took a small, tentative sip of the questionable drink. It didn’t taste odd, and nothing happened.

“I may be a villain, but I don’t lie. Drink up – it’ll make you feel better.”

He took another sip and growled “Feel better? With you popping up out of nowhere, hanging this dang research over my head? What the heck are you trying to do, anyways?”

Deku set his cup down and laid a finger against his chin. He hummed thoughtfully and, after a few seconds, replied in a conversational tone “Let’s see… for starters, I'd like to spar with you again. Just to get an idea of your current firepower, stamina, et cetera.”

Bakugo narrowed his eyes in anger. He scoffed and finished the tea, cursing the nerd.

Deku was only getting started. Talking about all this crap so excitedly, like the nerd he was. “I also really want to know about how your nitro sweat is produced.” He laughed lightly and waved the subject away. “That's one for later, though. I should do all surgical experiments at the same time. More efficient that way. Here, relax and have some more. I want you to get rid of that nasty headache.”

The headache was subsiding – he had to admit, that tea worked wonders – but Bakugo was far from relaxed. He didn’t say a word, just looked around carefully, trying to work things out.

So, assuming this wasn’t some dumb prank or a dream, it looked like the nerd was the villain behind all the heroes disappearing lately…

And somehow, Bakugo had managed to get himself caught by him.

It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t DEKU who had caught him. It being Deku somehow made things worse.

Villain or not, the nerd hadn’t changed much. He was sitting there, muttering away as he scribbled in a notebook. Weirdo.

As Bakugo finished his tea, Deku’s muttering suddenly got louder.

“...I know. I... I know. Be quiet. Just be quiet!!”

Bakugo looked up in confusion. Deku had a death grip on the notebook, and the pencil had shattered in his hand. He was shaking like a leaf, eyes wide and staring, face creased with inexplicable pain.

“Not yet. I haven't gathered any data yet.” He hissed, almost pleading. “Stop…Stop it.” The notebook and pencil fell as he leaned forward, covered his face with his hands.

The heck?

He inhaled shakily and lowered his hands. His eyes landed on Bakugo, and an apologetic smile touched his face. It was the first time he’d looked like himself today.

“...I'm sorry. I got…overexcited.” There was a tic below his left eye, and he rubbed at it as if to force it to stop.

Bakugo stared, and cursed sharply before demanding “What...what was that?”

Deku gave a nervous laugh, shrugging his thin shoulders. “It's...it's noisy, in my head. Better on some days, worse on others. Looks like today is a worse day. Don't worry - I won't let it interfere with my work.”

There was literally nothing he could say to that.

After another breath, Deku stood. “Well. Let's get on with it, Kacchan! Time for a little sparring match. After you.”

He stood, but hesitated. “Deku, what happened to you?” He demanded roughly.

The villain paused, falling deep in thought.

“What do you think…makes someone a hero?”

The nerd actually had the gall to counter a question with a question. But Bakugo obliged to answer. “Power and determination.”

“A criminal could have that,” Deku replied. “You know, they say the ones who later became heroes saved people, and their bodies moved before they could think. But that's not a good thing, is it?”

Bakugo shook his head.

Deku continued musing. “A man who kills in anger...his body moved before he could think, and when the mist cleared from his eyes, there was a dead person before him.”

That was certainly true.

Deku turned and looked at him, his expression unreadable. “So...Kacchan…what makes someone a hero? Are there really heroes?”

“Heroes never kill people.” He glared at Deku. “Unlike villains like you.”

“So you wouldn’t kill a criminal?” He shot back. “Not even a mass murderer?”

“There’s the death penalty for that. Heroes don’t kill unless they absolutely have to.”

“So, leave the justice up to a system that is populated by corrupt people, is that it?”

Bakugo started to growl at that, and Deku smiled condescendingly. “And don't try to tell me they're not corrupt. I've paid my way out of more situations than you need to know of.”

“They’re trusted by the heroes. By everyone. Not everybody’s like whoever you bribed.”

Deku hummed, nodding thoughtfully. Finally he sighed. “You know, I’d heard about you. I heard that you were different from other heroes. I wanted…to see that for myself.”

“Huh?” He was about to demand just what the nerd meant by that, when Deku turned and leveled a dark, dead gaze on him.

“But now I see that you're just the same as every other hero. You recite the same lies. Cling to the same story. You're either delusional or you're blind. Either way, I was right…”

Something in his gaze chilled Bakugo. It was uncanny. Inhuman.

Deku raised his head with disdain. “Heroes…can’t be trusted.”

He curled his lip in a snarl. “Die in hell.”

And all Deku did was smirk and reply two words.

“You first.”

Chapter Text

The two headed for another door which led to a spacious, walled-in courtyard. Deku had Bakugo walk ahead of him, in sight at all times.

“Now—”  He shut the door and locked it, turned to Bakugo with a wide smile. “Now it’s time to fight, Kacchan! Let’s see if you can teach me anything.”

He merely glared silently at the villain, making no move yet.

Deku shrugged off his blazer, folding it carefully and putting it aside. He caught Bakugo’s eye and chuckled. “Cheer up!” He said, patting him on the back. “You’re still alive, aren’t you?”

“Luckily.”

The villain stretched and settled into a ready stance. “I'm ready when you are. Come at me. Is your opening move still a right hook? I'm excited to find out.”

There was no response but a piercing stare.

Deku laid a few fingers against his chin, affecting an expression of puzzlement. “Oh? You want me to go first? I was hoping you’d make the first move….it’s more fun to parry than it is to attack.”

Bakugo lifted his head and snarled “You go ahead. I wanna see if you’re still weak.”

His smile wavered, became something leering and demented. Deku nodded slowly. “Then by all means, look and see, Kacchan.”

BAM

Too fast to keep track of – a blur of black and green, Deku’s face right up close to his, and then an incredible force smashed into his middle and his feet left the ground and was flung backwards like he was no more than a rag doll. He hit the wall behind him, hard, and found himself on his knees, trying to breathe.

Bakugo cursed and regained his feet quickly. Deku was still standing in the same place. He blasted himself forward and reared back, ready with a right hook at Deku’s jaw.

Deku’s eyes blazed. He dodged – at that speed he looked like a flitting shadow. He laughed, and a note of hysteria crept into his voice. “Ah! The infamous right hook! This takes me back.” His form blurred, and in a split second he’d darted somewhere else.

Bakugo straightened up, whirled to look for him.

He was standing at the other end of the courtyard, half-crouched, grinning like a madman. “Show me more. Show me more, Kacchan!” He shouted. “If you really want to crush me, then give it your all!”

Tch.

He took off at a run straight at Deku. Sweat beaded on his hands, held ready. Eyes locked on his opponent, he shot his fist forward at the same instant that he detonated the nitroglycerin in his palm. It exploded against Deku’s abdomen with crushing force and he felt the nerd stagger back.

But that was all…almost full power, and all Deku did was stumble back a little.

When the smoke cleared, he was smiling in Bakugo’s face.

“Just like when we were kids...” He commented sounding…almost happy. “Although your power has increased since then…I’ll have to make a note of that.”

Bakugo moved back too late – Deku was a blur of speed, lunging at him, and all of a sudden Bakugo found himself being hurled through the air.

“I’m going easy on you! Don’t wanna kill you just yet, after all!”

He flipped, threw his hands out, and set off explosions and changed his course. A larger explosion directed behind him, and he shot toward Deku, foot out and ready to deliver a bone-shattering kick to the jaw.

Deku stayed where he was. He met Bakugo’s attack and flipped back, moving with his opponent’s foot and offsetting any impact. He landed like a cat, and drew one leg up before lashing out in a vicious side kick that landed head-on.

Bakugo hit the ground hard and all the wind was knocked out of him. He pushed himself up, eyes on Deku. He was approaching slowly, looking thrilled. His eyes blazed with an inhuman light. “Not yet. Don't be dead yet.” He murmured in a sing-song tone. Abruptly his voice went high, piercing, unsteady. “I'm not done! I'm not satisfied yet, Kacchan!”

Finally Bakugo exploded “I'D RATHER DIE THAN BE PART OF YOUR STUPID TESTS!”

Deku began laughing. He laughed with reckless abandon, shoulders shaking, like he couldn’t control his mirth. “You're just as fierce as ever!” He bent down, tensed his hands like claws. “Come on, don't disappoint me!”

As he rushed at him, Bakugo readied himself and jumped. Let off an explosion, a good smoky one, as a blind to hide his movements as he passed over Deku’s head. Whipped his arm back in front of him, using both hands to direct a point-blank attack on the nerd’s back as he landed.

But Deku had moved quicker. It was too late to change the plan when he was suddenly faced by Deku’s eyes. He was able to block most of the attack easily – too easily. All of the manic excitement from before drained from his expression, and his eyes looked like those of an old, old man who had seen too much of the world.

“…predictable.”

Too quick to be seen, he punched the air in an incredible blast. Bakugo was flung head over heels into the far wall. Struck it hard, hard enough to turn his vision black for a split second, and then he slid the few feet down to the ground and stayed there.

Deku walked up slowly, not even panting. He looked on the fallen hero with dark, dead eyes. “That’s all I need…for now.”

Bakugo made no move as he approached. Head down, on his hands and knees, he’d completely given up. He didn’t even flinch as Deku reached out and took him by the shoulder.

“It’s less than I’d hoped for…but useful nonetheless.” Without even gracing him with a look, Deku hauled Bakugo to his feet and picked him up easily.

“Let’s go.”

And silently went back inside with his hostage, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Chapter Text

Bakugo was still silent when Deku dropped him on the threadbare couch. His only movement was to sit up. His eyes locked on the floor, all he could see of Deku were the familiar red sneakers as he walked up.

“Why are you acting like this, Kacchan? I've never seen you so...apathetic.” Deku stopped before him, tilted his head and glared with dark, empty eyes. “It’s disgusting.”

No response.

“If this is all the resolve you have…then I really was right about the wills of heroes.” He sat down on the opposite couch and gave a deep sigh. “Do you want something to eat?”

“No.”

“Hm.” He leveled a piercing gaze on Bakugo – like he was trying to see through him – and then shook his head. “It really won’t do if you starve before I’m finished. Whatever – have it your way now, but in a few hours, I’ll insist that you eat.”

He narrowed his eyes at the nerd. “I’ll kill you, Deku. Somehow.”

“Hypocrite.” He just looked tired, very, very tired and fed up with everything. “You said yourself that heroes don’t kill.”

“If they don’t have to.”

“Why, exactly, do I need killing so badly that you'd dirty your pretty hero's hands on me?” Some life finally came back into his green eyes as he asked.

No response.

“Go ahead, tell me.” Deku laced his hands together, leaning forward in anticipation. “I’m dying to know your reasoning.” Then chuckled, adding “See what I did there?”

No response.

He waited a few seconds longer, and then sighed deeply. “I see I’ll get nowhere with this. Oh well, moving on…”

“What now?” Bakugo demanded.

This time, Deku ignored his question. He stood up, making his way to the other side of the room, and pulled something out of a row of drawers. In a fluid movement, he slipped off his black gloves, then pulled on long, rubbery surgical gloves.

Bakugo stiffened. “Uh…”

He snapped the gloves on his arms and turned back to Bakugo. “Next order of business is collecting some samples from you. Hair, blood, some of that interesting sweat you produce...nothing too drastic yet.”

As Bakugo got up from the couch, Deku gave an unsettling smile. “Don’t struggle, okay? It’ll only annoy me…”

Bakugo ignored the warning. Never taking his eyes off Deku, he backed up warily.

Deku followed and laughed – a light laugh, like he’d heard a joke. “Isn’t this funny? It’s like a cheap horror film!”

He cursed. “Don’t touch me.”

“Oh come on, I’ve wanted to gather samples from you for a long time now. Don’t be difficult.”

He ground his teeth. “Don’t. Touch. Me.”

Deku paused at that. His eyes widened, shone with insane light. “Are you scared? Are you scaaaared, Kacchan?” He laughed. “Are you trembling in fear? Why? You've changed so much, haven't you? But…” He started coming forward again. “You haven’t changed enough. Not in the right ways.”

“You’ve changed too.” Bakugo snarled. “You’re not the Deku I used to know. There’s….nothing left of the Deku I knew.”

All of the mirth left his face and his brows drooped. “I give you the credit for that. It's the only thing you did for me. Killed off the child I used to be.” He mimed a swooping motion with his hands. “The old Deku really did take the swan dive off the roof, and here we are now, with nothing of that useless little nerd left.”

A sad smile touched his lips. “I…could almost thank you for that…”

And just as abruptly, his expression hardened. “…yet at the same time, there’s no way I could ever forgive you.”

Bakugo just breathed in the silence, trying to think of a good way out. He didn’t get much time to think – Deku clapped his hands and declared “But, I digress! I've time to spare today but let's not waste it chasing you around the room, okay?”

“You’re never gonna touch me.”

He rolled his eyes and took a quick step forward. Bakugo moved away, standing lightly on his feet in a cautious stance.

Then he was slammed against the wall with lightning speed. Before he could even get his bearings, the face of the little nerd was right up close to his own, and his shoulders were stinging under Deku’s clawlike grip. He was trembling and breathing hard, his face contorted in a cross between a scowl and a demented grin.

“Do you even know...how much I want to kill you right now?” He choked back a laugh and dug his fingernails in deeper.

“I want to. I want to rip you apart into thousands of little pieces. But I won't. Not yet. I have to wait.” Again swallowed hard, forcing away a giggle that fought to escape.

“If I rip you apart there won't be enough for me to study. That'd be a pain.”

C..crap…

Deku brought his head up and finally laughed, long and loud. “But it'd be such fun, so much fun, and I really want to, and if you keep troubling me I just won't be able to hold back, you hear me, I won't be able to hold back!!”

Slow inhale…slow exhale. The insanity faded from his eyes somewhat as he got a grip on himself.

“So… please...make this easy...?”

Bakugo nodded slowly.

Deku paused a moment, then let him go. His shoulders relaxed and he looked less like a rabid dog and more like himself. “Good. Good, Kacchan.”