Chapter Text
Katsuki Bakugou prided himself in his image, whether it be publicly or physically, maybe both, he didn't know.
He couldn't have asked for a better life, he was raised in a rich family, with his mother being a famous designer along with his father, who worked for a high-end tech company. They taught him from a young age that he was pretty much perfect and that others shouldn't look down on you, and if they did you should make them regret it.
That worked well through preschool, middle school and high school, he bullied his way up the hierarchy of each, collecting pathetic boys and girls (lackeys and extras) along the way to lead along with his ideals.
And as he looked back on the years, as he looked at himself in his bathroom mirror 7 years later at the age of 24 - whilst brushing his teeth, wearing his hero mask and costume.
He regretted every minute of it.
The feel of the soft fabric against his skin contrasted with the weight of what it meant, it made him hesitate every morning when he had to put it on for the public. The guilt of his teenage years weighed heavy on his shoulder but he pushed through and put on a brave face for his public appearances. His years at UA really made him rethink himself, put him in his place so to speak. He was still a Bakugou, explosive and quick to anger but under the surface there was a storm brewing he refused to look into. Like opening a can of worms.
He feared if he took a peak, everything would come crashing down around him, his perfect work record, his publicity, his hero ranking.
Everything.
He spat into the sink, looked back up and sighed at the reflection.
The instability in his judgment had their moments- gone one day and back the next but tenfold. His mother would probably tell him to stop being a baby but he didn't know how long he'd be able to keep up the appearance that every fan knew him as. Or, rather, the image they perceived of him through glamorized media outlets.
Confidentiality was what his agency called it.
All heroes were anonymous and rightly so, they deserved to have personal and private lives just as much as any civilized citizen.
He picked up his keys before leaving and locking the door behind him. Checking the hallway before walking out in all his gear, he'd gone out with his gauntlets once before and almost gave old Mrs Huddson from across the hallway a heart attack at the sight of the two hanging bombs.
Luckily she was old and didn't add things up, or so he hoped.
When he got to the stairs, instead of going down like normal people would, he switched and went up. The roof top fire escape door was unlocked to his glee and he opened it carefully. Part of why he'd bought his apartment was because of the easy escape if anyone attacked him and he had to admit, it was a handy lift off.
He walked to the edge of the roof top, the toes of his heavy duty boots balancing off the building and let out a sigh.
Another day of pretending...
-
After a particularly nasty villain fight, fatigue ran through Katsuki's muscles. He winced at the pain in his face, the villain had got a good hit on him and he could practically feel the blood running down the side of his cheek. A crowd had gathered at the scene, a mixture of civilians as well as camera crews. “Ground Zero sir, how did you foil this villains plan? I didn't see you break a sweat out there today!” A woman around middle age with brunette hair shouted from the crowd. Katsuki turned to look at her and from what he could see of her, she was wearing red lipstick and a dress suit with a blazer, another reporter...
Katsuki chuffed and smirked as he walked closer to the horde of people, silently reveling in the excited squeals they let out at him recognizing them. “Was a piece of cake, that loser had no chance!” He rolled his shoulders back and forth and didn't miss the way the woman eyed him.
It was simple fan service. UA had taught him a few things in his time there. Not only how to fight but how to win over the public.
Red Riot, his hero partner and best friend in daily life had his own army of fans in the crowd and they cried his name out as he approached them.
Katsuki looked back at the dressed up woman in front of him and prepared himself for the onslaught of questions. “Have we got a name we can call you, Ground Zero?” The woman bit her lip, trying her luck to get Katsuki to slip up on live television. He commended how brave she was and chuckled, knowing what she was trying to do. "You can call me whatever you want."
The reaction he got was a small pout from the woman and he internally cringed, what was it with these people always wanting to know his real name.
“Awww, well, at least let the camera get a good shot of you.” She finally gave in drawing out her little pout, she leaned back to let the huge camera lens behind her go over her shoulder and close to his face. He had to take a step back to avoid the thing knocking any of his costume off. One of the shutters so close they clipped the orange and black bit of his mask and he growled.
He stood there and let the camera people do as they wanted. He didn't pose dramatically like the other heroes did. There was no point.
“So Ground Zero, do you have a partner in your life? They must surely be worried that you're out here putting your life in danger nearly everyday.” Another person asked, a man in a suit with yet another damn camera crew behind him. He pushed the woman that was previously interviewing him out of the way and stuffed his microphone into Katsuki's face.
He didn't like the attitude the guy gave off but shrugged it off and clipped his tongue. “No I don't and I would prefer it stayed that way.”
“Why is that?”
He was about to reply when Red Riot appeared by his side and interrupted, a warm hand came down onto Katsuki's shoulder to catch his attention. “Hey everyone, sorry to interrupt but we need this guy so I'll take him off your hands for a bit.”
The man practically span him around and dragged Katsuki over to where the chief of police was standing with his arms crossed. “Ground Zero.” The older man spat with distaste, his uniform looked pristine and worn at the same time and the array of medals on the lapel of his collar shone in the sunshine. Katsuki hummed in acknowledgment, not the slightest bit interested in what the man had to say. “You should be more careful about what you disclose to those people...”
Katsuki raised his eyebrows, hackles rising. “You mean the public." He stated as sarcastically as possible. "The public who pay for your work through taxes? Those people?”
The other bristled, back straightening. “You really have no respect, do you...”
The air became tense but Katsuki didn't back down. He continued smirking at the elder, he had to be at least 75 years old, shouldn't he be retired? Red Riot, who only now started to feel the atmosphere started to protest, trying to release the tension between the two but this had been going on for years as it was. The Police Force and Heroes had never really blended well and it was only when the cameras were out that they gave the heroes any time of day. Katsuki despised the majority of them, old pricks like the man standing in front of him as the prime example but just as the police had them so did the heroes.
“Of course I don't.” Katsuki replied, blood boiling each second the grey haired man looked at him. “How about we ask the public about that little comment, hm?” Katsuki turned and held his arm out, pointing over to the horde of cameras currently pointed back at them.
The police man tried not to react but Katsuki could tell he was getting under his skin. He licked his lips, tasted blood and only remembered he was injured the whole time. But he didn't feel the pain anymore, his adrenaline rising so much from talking to the head of police that it was working him up. “How about you stop hiding behind that black mask and talk to me as your real self, then we can find out how much of a man you are under that thing.”
Katsuki saw red, to pissed to see straight he lunged at the man. Red Riot swooped in and held him back with a firm hold around his waist. The police man had an annoying smile on his lips which pissed Katsuki off more. He was dragged backwards by Red Riot and had to be restrained soon after. He'd been in this situation before back in UA when he won the Hero sports festival, All Might had to talk him down for awhile afterwards.
When he arrived back home he threw off his mask, cleaned himself up and went straight to bed.
-
From: Endeavor.
Sent 6.59am – Received 7.00am
My office.
He couldn't look away from the text he woke up to the next morning.
“Shit."
If Endeavor wanted to see him, that surely meant it was bad. He checked his phone for any other texts, none showed, not even from Hawks, who he was directly under. This was beyond bad... The head of the agency, the Number 2 Hero Endeavor wanted to see him.
A horde of thoughts entered his mind as he moved on auto pilot, getting up from his bed, doing his usual morning routine before pulling on his hero costume and made the trek to work. He gulped as he walked through the glass doors of the agency, the receptionist smiled at him in greeting but he didn't respond in kind. Honestly, he felt like screaming and crying in frustration but he knew that would be bad for his reputation. He just had to get this over and done with.
He entered the shiny elevator and pressed the button for the 25th floor, the doors closed automatically and that's when he truly came to terms with just how much shit he was in. He looked in the mirror at the back of the elevator and took in his appearance. He slouched as he bought his face closer. He had bags under his eyes, so prominent they could be seen from the outside of his mask. The cut on the side of his cheek was scabbed over, it looked red but was healing properly.
The doors opened as they reached the 25th floor and Katsuki strutted out. His outward appearance confident and arrogant, it told the opposite of what he felt inside.
“Ground Zero, sit down.” Was the first thing Endeavor said as Katsuki entered his office.
He swallowed and felt his hand start to sweat, his palm gave off small explosions against the door handle where his hand was clasped- giving away how nervous he really was. It didn't go unnoticed by Endeavor who probably relished in the sight from his desk.
“You have every right to be nervous.” He said it calmly but there was fire behind those words.
He finally let go of the door handle and started walking towards the older man. The metal door shut automatically behind him with a soft click and he felt more trapped in the large office. Two armchairs sat opposite Endeavor on the other side of the desk and Katsuki took a seat.
“Do you know why I called you in here, Zero?” Not even Ground Zero, oh he was pissed...
He swallowed and shook his head, deciding it wasn't smart to open his smart mouth.
Katsuki flinched at the sound of paper hitting wood and saw that Endeavor had slammed some files down onto the desk. His mugshot from when he first enrolled in the agency stuck out of the top and his younger, more determined eyes stared back at him.
His younger self would surely be disappointed in how he was now...sitting across the table from the Number 2 Hero and shaking like a leaf inside. There was not much that could make Katsuki hesitate, he'd faced many foes and villains, but Endeavor was different. Katsuki had read what he did to his sons, the oldest, a villain called Dabi had claimed to the media that Endeavor was so abusive towards him that he tried to kill his youngest brother Pro Hero Shoto when they were just babies.
Endeavor pulled out a piece of paper from his file and cleared his throat before beginning to read. “Dearest Pro Hero Endeavor, due to this afternoons appearance on national television we hereby request the suspension of one Ground Zero. The charges from The Police Departments would request said hero be temporarily suspended due to his actions to the director on yesterday's mission. The complaint put forward stated that Ground Zero put the police in the public's bad books, insinuating the police were useless and the likes. The director and head of police agree to the decision and suggests the hero be put under a strict schedule with therapy sessions to help with his attitude problems-”
Each breather Endeavor took made Katsuki realize just how fucked he was.
He hadn't thought that the cameras could catch his conversation with the director of the police but obviously they did and it painted the police in a bad light.
Endeavor finished by folding the piece of paper multiple times before bringing it up in the air and lighting it on fire with his finger tips. “You heard what they want.”
Katsuki gasped, back straightening, Endeavor couldn't possibly mean that... he bit his tongue but he wanted to lash out. He gripped the arms of the leather seat he was in for dear life and feared they'd sizzle under his palms with the heat he was letting off.
“Temporary suspension and therapy sessions, I'll add anger management to that list as well. That's all.”
He held his breath but stayed seated, fearing if he got up to fast he'd pass out. Every instinct in his body was telling him to defend itself, he wanted to land a punch square in the flame bearded mans face... he could probably win if Endeavor was caught off guard but he knew he'd be tossed out on his ass shortly after. Was it worth it?
He stood tall, not saying a word and stalked out of the office, slamming the door afterwards just to get his point across.
Fuck, the news would have a field day with this...
-
'Ground Zero temporarily suspended, Why, How and When?'
'The publics favorite Ground Zero has been temporarily suspended by Hero Endeavor on what grounds we wonder?'
'Zero gets the sack?'
'The latest on Ground Zeroes “punishment”'
The press had a field day indeed.
The first things Katsuki woke up to the next morning were 3 messages- two from his parents, one from Red Riot and a fuck load of news app reports on his suspension. The heading he liked most out of all of them was 'Ground Zero gone, who will protect us?'
“Who do they think they are, fuckers... bet the police can't even do half the job I do!” He growled before stretching and getting out of bed.
Orange and black caught his attention, his costume laid out neatly by his bed, he went to grab it almost automatically before stopping his hand. He shook the stabbing pain coming from his chest away and went to get something to eat. He hadn't had time off in a long time.
His phone vibrated again on the counter top as he whisked eggs in a bowl, it was Endeavor no doubt...
From: Endeavor.
Sent: 7.05am
I have booked therapy and anger management sessions for you. Therapy is on Tuesdays, 9am. Anger Engagement is on Thursdays, 10am.
Katsuki huffed and pettily didn't reply.
Leaving the Number Two Hero Endeavor on read was probably a bad choice but he was still pissed!
He looked at the wall where his calendar hung, it was Tuesday... meaning he had Therapy in two hours.
-
The therapist Tenya Ochako was a nice lady, although he could practically feel her eyes studying him from her gaze.
He felt nervous for a hot minute but shook it off. Sitting there, in a closed off space where he had to talk about his feelings and emotions in his casual clothes was different. He was known as a workaholic and practically always in his hero costume with his makeup and mask but now he felt naked sitting in front of the woman. Plus she looked young, couldn't have been any older than him.
She had the classic look of a therapist, professional and put together. She wore a grey suit with a baby pink shirt and held papers in her left hand along with a pen in the other. “My name is Tenya Ochako. I promise I wont bite.” She smiled cheekily at the last remark and Katsuki's whole demeanor changed. She seemed to be trying to use humor to placate a reaction out of him.
“Don't treat me like a child!” He grumbled, staring her straight in the eyes making it clear she understood he didn't want to be there.
She let out a gasp at the sudden attitude, obviously she had thought he was some shy idiot, who didn't know how to talk. “Oh.. well may I ask your name?” She gathered herself and noted not to try that again if it got the blonde so defensive.
Katsuki stumbled for a second, so used to saying his hero name everyday, he felt his lips readying to say the famous name but zipped them and mumbled out his real name. “Bakugou.”
“Bakugou...?” She was looking for a first name.
“Bakugou Katsuki.” The name felt foreign on his tongue, like eating sandpaper.
They started the session familiarizing themselves to one another. She asked him questions about what his hobbies were, but when he went to reply with a shrug he realized he didn't do much but get up from bed, travel to work, save lives, maybe go shopping for food, workout and then go home and sleep. Rinse and repeat to the next day. He clammed up shortly after that and refused to speak longer than one word answers. Ochako took that as her opportunity to clarify herself with the situation. She was informed that Bakugou Katsuki had been sent to therapy by someone else, she had no information on who but she had a feeling- by the way Katsuki bristled- at the mention of his work, it was someone he worked with. She also noticed he was very tight lipped about his preferences regarding daily life. He had no social life, didn't go out to see friends. Didn't visit his family, didn't have social media and kept himself to himself. The only major thing was the attitude he was exuding.
She could tell he didn't want to be there, probably thought everything she said was trash but she felt a spark of understanding inside him, as if he truly did need what was happening to happen. It was as if he was holding himself back from over sharing and he was telling his inner voice to shut up.
She might have her work cut out for him after all.
He could tell from his perspective she was trying to get him to trust her, but he just couldn't. It was engrained in his blood not to trust people you just met. Stranger danger and all that. It was probably different in this case but none the less she could still be a villain and know who he is and maybe she could use any information she learnt to tell her bosses and then they could try to find him and know his location- he was clutching at straws he knew... but still!
“Bakugou...” A hand waved in front of his face and he jumped back. He noticed Ochako was closer than before and wore a face of worry on her expression, she'd put away her notepad when Katsuki had glared at it shortly after starting their session and chose more of a friendly approach.
“What.” He snapped and moved back into the sofa, edging away from her.
“Should we leave the session for today, you seem quite new to this and I don't want to push you past your limits.”
He wanted to dispute that but the thought of leaving early made him almost sing for joy. He agreed and practically swung the door open to get out silently hoping that was the last he would see of Tenya Ochako. Endeavor didn't say anything about it being a regular thing!
He went straight home, pushing a few hours in his apartments gym, waving sweetly at Mrs Hoddson as he walked past towards his door and holed himself up for the evening.
-
Thursday came around sooner than he expected and normally he'd go into work later during the day and finish his shift later than usual but as soon as he opened his eyes he knew he had his anger management session...
He got ready, pulled on a casual black t shirt on, the designer label stuck out but he deemed it fashionable enough to go to his first session out of town. It didn't take long to get to by train, only an hour on the outskirts of the city, where there were more fields of grass than anything Katsuki had ever seen before.
The building in front of him looked... shady to say the least. It was an old run down school from what he could see from the outside. The wooden double doors at the entrance creaked open and he stepped into the hallway. It was dark and the lights were turned off.
Was this the right place?
It looked deserted and devoid of life. The drawings on the walls made by the kids who get taught there looked colorless and didn't give off a vibe of happiness. He tuned his ears further into the dark hallway, listening carefully and heard some shuffling coming from under the doors of one of the rooms running off from the corridor.
“Good morning everyone!” A clear voice could be heard as Katsuki drew closer, boots scuffling on the cheap shiny Lino floor. He looked down at his phone to check the time. Shit, he was late! He wrenched the door handle and swung it open meeting multiple pairs of eyes on the other side.
“Ah, you must be Bakugou Katsuki!” The same cheery voice he'd heard before said from the crowd in the front but Katsuki couldn't tell which idiot decided to speak to him at all! Had Endeavor told them his name so he wouldn't miss the session? He huffed and began strutting towards a empty seat towards the back row.
He caught sight of a free one and went to sit on it before a thick hand slammed into the seat of the chair, blocking him from actually sitting on it unless he wanted some pricks hands to touch his ass.
He followed up the tattooed arm, the mans face was covered in scars and he had three teeth- no four teeth missing at the front. “Hey, move your hand.” Katsuki growled, he wanted nothing more than to smack the hand away but he held back.
“What did you just say to me?” The old man said, beginning to stand up, the only thing was he kept going, up and up- way past Katsuki's height and rolled his head between heavily muscled shoulders, obviously trying to show off his strength. Katsuki felt a familiar fire beginning to burn in his veins, and went to grab the guys flannel hoodie before a small hand clapped onto his back. He turned quickly, to get a look at who dared touch him and paused.
Green.
A whole lot of fucking green met his eyes and he blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing right.
The guy standing before him couldn't have been more than 5 foot 2 at best. He wore a simple green jumper with a white shirt underneath, the bottom of his shirt was untucked and stuck out from below the jumper and he wore tick dark framed glasses. What Katsuki was most struck by were his eyes. Green emeralds confidently looked back at him from under the glass and Katsuki sucked a breath of air through his nose.
The mans hand which had been on Katsuki's back came round and he placed it on his hip. The nerds - which is only how Katsuki could describe him - gave him a last once over before he looked around Kastuki to address the taller tattooed man. “Percevil...” The same sweet voice from before came out of his plump lips and Katsuki thought he may be in love in that very second.
But wait, Perceval?
The muscle guy was called Percival!
Percevil who Katsuki would now call Percy for short, looked down at the green haired man and his expression... softened. “I'm sorry, Deku...” Were the next words coming from Percy's mouth and Katsuki's jaw almost hit the floor.
Next, the guy who Katsuki guessed was called Deku turned back to him.
With his beautiful sparkling eyes and furrowed brows Deku crossed his arms.
The whole room was silent, watching and waiting for something to happen.
“Mr Bakugou." Katsuki felt himself straighten up. "That is not how I thought our first introductions would be.” Deku spoke in a calm manner, but something told him there was something under that small smile that he didn't want to mess with. Deku hummed, contemplating the perfect way to defuse the situation. “For that little stunt, you'll be sitting at the front with me!”
-
After being forced (practically dragged) to sit at the very front of the class Katsuki was all too ashamed that he had fallen for Deku's little smile, he had to remember he didn't want to be there, not go goo goo eyed at some man!
He sat in a small plastic chair obviously used by small children and he felt like an utter prat. His chair was singular and away from the rest of the others and stood right at the front of the classroom.
The only pro was that he got to watch Deku prance back and forth in front of him.
“Alright." Deku announced, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. He sat in a chair just opposite Katsuki, next to some extra who looked all too happy to have the angel with green hair sat next to him. "I'd like you to introduce yourself!” Katsuki paused, Deku was addressing him?
He stayed seated, facing the class of fully grown people. It was funny to see such a rough and tough looking group in a school classroom with their asses sat in too small sized chairs and Deku in the middle brightening up the room with just his smile. He almost forgot how to speak at just the sight. "I'm Bakugou Katsuki." It came out for the second time that week. He still had to get it through his head not to say his damn hero name!
Deku went around the room and when he prompted, another person introduced themselves to the whole room. Katsuki didn't really pay attention to the first half of the session, not wanting to know anyone's name. He wasn't there to make friends or know people.
Deku clapped his hands together and almost gave Katsuki a fright, taking him out of his thoughts. “Now we're all familiar with each other, we can start with-”
What? No! Katsuki wasn't satisfied, he didn't even get to hear Deku's introduction. “What about you?” He interrupted loudly.
A hush fell across the class.
“Pardon?” Deku said, confused at the question Katsuki was asking.
He pushed the thought away that Deku looked cute whilst being confused and explained. “You didn't introduce yourself.”
“I didn't?”
Deku was forgetful too!
God- what had Katsuki gotten himself into...
“Well, my name is Midoriya Izuku but everyone here calls me Deku. It's nice to meet you Bakugou.” He sent a bright smile Katsuki's way.
“Call me Katsuki.” He had to admit, in his head that sentence sounded cooler than it had come out of his mouth... He could distinctly feel multiple pairs of eyes on him and he had a feeling he wasn't the only one liking Deku's appearance in this place. No need to fear, he was the best out of everyone there so it should be easy impressing someone like Deku.
“Katsuki then.” Deku grinned and Katsuki felt his heart jolt.
First name basis! He made an effort not to fist pump in celebration.
He hardly listened to the second half of the session before Deku asked another question. “So, if anyone is comfortable with saying- how is their progress going?”
Multiple hands raised up.
“Ah yes, Nobu.” Deku picked a guy with a vaguely familiar face on the middle row. He had long arms and weirdly shaped facial hair. “I have accomplished my new goal. I am proud to announce I have moved back into my house and I've found another job.”
Multiple claps rang out and Nobu smiled proudly. “That's really good, Nobu!” Deku said, smiling widely. “Has your sleeping improved?”
What had that got to do with anger management?
Nobu frowned, hesitant. “Not yet, I still see the memories...” Deku spouted something about that being his next goal and another hand rose up.
A person by the name Magne spoke up. “I managed to avoid a fight the other week! One of my collogues asked me to help in the Ground Zero fight-”
At the mention of his name Katsuki prickled.
How could Magne know about his fight? The television crew hadn't arrived until after he'd left the scene. There was no real action, the fight was over and done with quickly...unless.
Villain.
He looked around the room again and felt the walls closing in on him. In the far corner a guy with long grey hair sat silently, listening to Magne go on about how brave she was for rejecting to help in his fight. He'd seen the guys face before... Nine. Minus the black and purple mask he wore he looked relatively calm. Katsuki remembered the fight they had, it went on for longer than he wanted to admit, the guy was strong. He looked to the other side of the classroom. A young girl in a school uniform spoke up next; Himiko Toga... the blood sucking villain who could disguise herself as anyone who she drank from. Fuck, he was in a room full of villains.
“Everything ok, Bakugou?” A calm voice said by his head and he jumped slightly. He'd blanked out so much Deku noticed and had to go and check on him.
That's right... he wasn't Ground Zero at the moment. He was Bakugou Katsuki.
They didn't know he was him.
But Katsuki had a sneaky suspicion that if they knew he would probably be exchanging in fist to fist combat.