Chapter Text
23rd of June 20XX
UA STUDENT DENKI KAMINARI DISAPPEARS FROM LOCAL MALL. PRO-HEROES WORRY THIS MAY BE THE WORK OF THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS.
15 year old UA student Denki Kaminari disappeared from the mall he was last seen in on the 22nd of June at 6:30pm. The teen was last seen by an employee of an ice cream store but has been missing ever since. Pro-Hero Eraserhead expresses his worry that this may be the work of the League of Villains due to the large amount of coordinated attacks directed at the school and students. Police and Pro-Heroes are working hard to find the teen but with no demand for ransom from any villain, there is not much they can do. The parents of Kaminari beg for the safe return of their son and encourage anyone with information about the whereabouts of the teen to come forward and share the information. The teen was last seen wearing a plain yellow hoodie, black jeans with matching trainers. He is 5'6" with yellow eyes and straight yellow hair with a black lightning bolt streak on one side. His quirk is electrification. Police had attached this document. It's an anonymous form so anyone with information can disclose it without the fear of being prosecuted.
2 years later.
Bakugou was never one to admit defeat. He hated the thought of losing and never backed down to anyone. But as the 2 year anniversary of his friend's disappearance hit, he knew he had to admit defeat at some point. Of course he still held onto the hope that Kaminari would pop up somewhere alive but after two years of nothing from anyone, there was a limited possibility that Kaminari was still alive and unharmed. He took the news of the disappearance awfully. Partially blaming himself for it. He should’ve gone out with Kaminari that day and spent countless hours causing general chaos in the mall, because maybe, just maybe, if he did, his friend would still be with him.
The two years passed and Bakugou knew he had to accept it at some point, but irrational anger always built up inside of him whenever he thought about Kaminari or the League. The rest of the class had started to accept it, a lot of them accepted it a year after the disappearance but Bakugou refused to. The teen sent Mineta to the hospital for a few weeks when he suggested that he should “just get over it already”. Of course the grape wouldn’t understand. He wasn’t close with Kaminari. He thought he was by the short time they spent together but Bakugou... the Bakusquad knew Kaminari. They shared jokes, they snuck out together and they caused trouble together. They were whole with Kaminari. Aizawa didn’t punish Bakugou for knocking out Mineta.
Besides Bakugou, the only other person who held onto the hope of Kaminari being alive was Shinso. Bakugou didn’t think he had seen someone cry so much. Not even Deku cried that much. Bakugou didn’t let himself get mad. He knew it must've been tough for Shinso. Losing a partner must be one of the worst things. A few months after Kaminari's disappearance, Bakugou found himself waking up from nightmares about Kirishima, his own boyfriend being taken from him so suddenly with no trace left. If the nightmares weren’t of Kaminari being tortured for hours on end, it was about Kirishima. It wasn’t surprising that Shinso didn’t date anyone else. He didn’t even look at anyone else, not even in a platonic way. The kid was a shell of himself, if he wasn’t quiet before, he was completely silent now. Only nodding vaguely to questions and tapping on the desk mindlessly while looking out of the window during class. Bakugou wasn't surprised to hear that Shinso also had nightmares every night, waking him up each time.
Things changed over the two years. In fact, a lot has changed. Class 1-A was in their third and final year in UA, Mineta had been expelled a year prior after taking a “prank” too far and everyone was working part-time with a Pro-Hero. They had changed physically too. Their costumes had been upgraded countless times, and some students had new looks. Kirishima has let his roots show, his hair now red and black, Deku had even more scars from fights with villains, some of them now across his face and Todoroki let his hair grow out slightly, now constantly tied up. Yaomomo had let Mina dye her hair pink a few weeks prior and wasn’t bothered to have it changed back. Bakugou didn’t think he changed that much, although he did have a few burn scars on his arms from trying to cook, but he prefers to say that he got into a fight. “Much more manly” Kirishima would tease before jumping back to avoid weak explosions from his now pissed boyfriend.
Everyone was now stronger too. After Kaminari's disappearance, everyone vowed to get stronger so a situation like this wouldn’t happen again. Working with Pro-Hero’s helped this too. Bakugou decided to work with his teacher Aizawa, not really trusting any other Pro-Hero. The two had gotten closer over the years, neither willing to give up on Kaminari. Bakugou saw the dedication and determination in his teacher's eyes when Kaminari was taken. He was sure Aizawa didn’t sleep at all the first week, constantly at the police station helping out or in class forfeiting his nap time to work on the case. Aizawa was the only teacher, no, the only adult Bakugou trusted enough to work with.
In all honesty calling his teacher by his hero name out in public was a little weird at first but had gotten used to it as he constantly yelled it when they found themselves fighting alongside each other against a villain. Bakugou’s job didn’t feel like a “job”. He wasn’t treated as some useless kid who was deadweight. Instead he was treated as an equal, although some fights forced Aizawa to push the kid away, reminding him that he was still a kid and shouldn’t put his life on the line so soon. Bakugou fought against Eraserhead and only backed down when he was threatened with an in-school suspension. A negative to working with a teacher was the fact they still had the right to administer school punishments outside of the establishment.
Hey kid, are you okay?” Aizawa walked through the door to the office, his phone in one hand, a few papers in the other. Bakugou shrugged, unsure of how to answer. In all honesty he was bored. Thursdays always seemed to be the most boring and uneventful day of the week. The hours dragged and no one seemed to feel like committing crimes worth their time on a Thursday. At this point he didn’t care if it was busting a drug ring or saving a kitten from a tree. He needed to do something. Bakugou looked back at his phone, seeing a message from Kirishima that made him want to find him and punch him.
HardRockCafe: Hey Bakubro guess what?
HardRockCafe: I have a concussion so I’ll miss our date night tonight. Apparently I need to “rest” whatever the hell that is. Anyway, do you still have the ice cream in the freezer you bought the other day?
KingExplosionMurder: you’re a dumbass you know that don’t you?
KingExplosionMurder: and hands off my ice cream before I blast you back to whatever hole you crawled from. Today is a boring day. I’m just about ready to pay someone to do something illegal just so I have something to do.
As if on cue, Aizawa's phone buzzed on the table, making both of them jump slightly. Aizawa picked up his phone from the table and his face paled slightly before returning to its usual hard glare. Bakugou knew straight away that there was something going down and the usually boring Thursday was about to turn a little more interesting.
"Get up, our team has been called to a raid at the mall. Some type of explosion has been set off, and apparently the league is there.” Aizawa grabbed his capture scarf which was laying on the table next to them while Bakugou jumped up. Both of them were already in their hero outfits so they wasted no time running out of the building, towards the direction of the mall. It only took them ten minutes to get there but the place was already a mess. People were screaming and running around, kids were crying, trying their best to stay with their parents or any adult they trusted and the place was ablaze with blue flames.
Dabi was there for sure.
Bakugou slid to a stop before a small gathering of police officers off to the side where Aizawa had also stopped. He looked around to see that a bunch of heroes were already there, helping civilians and trying to contain the fire with not much luck. There was no sign of the League or any villain for that matter which Bakugou hated to admit but it worried him. If they weren't there, then where?
Aizawa grabbed Bakugou's shoulder, drawing his attention back to him. He barely realized that he was starting to panic a little. This was the first full blown attack he had helped out with while working with Eraserhead and he was uncharacteristically quiet and nervous. He brushed Aizawa's hand away from his shoulder and put on his usual brave face. He couldn't let his mask slip in front of everyone.
"There’s no sign of the league but we need to move in and help anyone who’s trapped.” Aizawa handed him a small black device. “Put it in your ear and let me know if you see anything suspicious. Good luck kid.” Bakugou nodded and put the earpiece in his ear which crackled to life and after a quiet beep signaling it was on, the teen ran off alongside Aizawa, who split off from him as soon as they reached the burning mall. His eyes were constantly darting from one side to the other, looking out for any movement.
The first floor was clear, no sign of anyone civilian or villain. Although the presence of red feathers alerted him to Hawks’ presence, who seemed to have already cleared the first two floors. Bakugou met him on the crumbling third floor. He was standing on an opening in the wall, presumably where a window had been, his eyes closed and feathers quivering. Bakugou coughed and placed his sleeve over his mouth. The heat from the fire that had started at some point on the first floor was almost unbearable but at least the smoke seemed to be thinning out a bit. His coughing alerted Hawks to his arrival, who snapped his eyes open, gaze falling on the teen as a sharpened feather landed in his hand.
"Geez kid, are you trying to kill me?” The hero asked. He let his feather go which flew out of the window. Hawks jumped off the ledge he stood on, walking over to Bakugou, only stopping when the building started to shake and sway. Bakugou braced himself, half hoping that if the building collapsed, Hawks would have the speed and sense to catch him with one of his feathers and not let him die yet.
“Are there any people on this floor? Eraser sent me to look for people.” Bakugou explained, ignoring the Pro’s statement. He had better things to think about, like saving people. Hawks nodded and paused for a second before giving a verbal reply to the teen. His eyes darted behind the cracked yellow glasses sat on his face, stopping to look at something behind Bakugou.
"There’s another person on this floor but my feather can’t reach it to get them out, it’s too complex. Can you go? I’ll check the next floor as the building is getting too unstable. I can fly out but I don’t want you getting hurt. Eraser would have my head on a spike if that happened.” Hawks tapped his jacket quickly, pausing for another second. “It’s down the hall and the first door to the right. The walls must’ve collapsed.”
Bakugou nodded and after mumbling a brief thank you, he ran off in the direction of where Hawks had mentioned. Red emergency lights were the only thing illuminating the way, making Bakugou almost trip over rubble and broken furniture. He cursed under his breath, a technique he picked up from Aizawa. He was told he should refrain from swearing so loudly on the job as there were always kids around him and he would get hell from parents if their kids picked up his language. It wasn't long before he reached the door Hawks told him about which was closed. It wouldn’t open from simple pushing from his hand, or even rough shoving from his entire body. Something must’ve fallen and blocked it, trapping whoever Hawks could sense inside.
"Hey Eraserhead." Bakugou spoke into the earpiece, awaiting a response from his teacher. For a minute he forgot he had it in his ear and started to worry that he had to deal with the threat of a collapsing building on his own. He waited for a few minutes before the piece crackled before a voice spoke over it.
"I'm listening, what's going on?" Aizawa answered. Bakugou could faintly hear yelling and screaming from the other side and he figured that Aizawa was also mid-rescue. An unfamiliar feeling washed over him. Why was he feeling guilty for asking for assistance? Aizawa did tell him to relay any information about finding people back to him, but in the back of his mind, the teen knew his younger self would be judging him for following orders from an adult so easily. Maybe the past few years had changed him more than he realized.
"There's someone trapped behind a blocked door. I need to know if the main building is strong enough to handle a small explosion. I don't feel like being crushed by a few tons of rubble." Bakugou replied, rubbing sweat from his palm on the fabric of his trousers. If he was going to cause an explosion, it would have to be small enough to keep the building stable but big enough to blast open the door without injuring the person behind it.
"Yes, the building should be secure enough to hold it. We have a few Heroes stabilizing the main points. You might feel the building shake but I'll let you know if you need to get out. Is Hawks with you?" Aizawa asked, handing a kid over to Present Mic who was the temporary babysitter of missing and lost kids. Not that he minded, the other Heroes didn't like kids that much so all elected the only adult who was suitable for the job.
"Yeah, Hawks is in the building. He's gone off to find people on the higher floors as the building is too unstable. I'll let you know when I've found them. Make sure I don't die, I feel like going to my graduation." Bakugou replied, his usual sarcasm slipping in. He heard Aizawa laugh quietly before promising to make sure he stayed alive to see his graduation.
Bakugou hit the door a few times to see if it would give way. No luck. No one announced their presence behind the door either so Bakugou figured they were either too injured to call out or were passed out. He refused to acknowledge the fact that they could be dead. With a small deep breath, the hero in training pressed his hand against the door and let out a small explosion. It was enough to blast a hole in the door and to shake the building slightly, although it wasn't enough to make Bakugou worry that much.
He looked into the room, kicking the edges of the hole to make it bigger. The wood finally gave in under his thick boots, splintering in all directions. It was big enough to walk through therefore it was good enough for him. The room was relatively empty and free from smoke. Rubble had blocked the door just as Bakugou thought, but that seemed to be the only non living thing in the room. The wall to his left had exploded, the cause of the rubble. In the middle of the room was someone crouched down, their back to Bakugou and hair and face covered by a hood of a jacket. Their hands were shoved deep in their pockets, hiding them completely. They sat completely still, apparently unaware of Bakugou's arrival.
"Hey, uh- are you okay?" Bakugou asked, walking closer to the figure but stopped when they stood up. One scarred hand removed itself from their pocket, moving up to their hood and pushed it down away from their face. It wasn't the black hair that caught Bakugou's attention but the yellow lightning bolt streak dyed into the side. He barely registered it because before he knew it he was staring into dull yellow eyes that reminded him of... No. It had been two years, so there was no way in hell this was Kaminari.
Their second hand removed itself from their pocket, holding a small, silver pocket knife which was flicked open. Bakugou wasn't paying attention, instead he studied the face of his former friend. The more he looked, the more he recognized it as Kaminari, but it wasn't the Kaminari he knew and messed around with. This was a different Kaminari. His once bright gold eyes were now a dull yellow, barely any sign of life in them. His smile was replaced with a sadistic smirk and his face and neck were covered in lightning bolt scars.
The feeling of cold, sharp metal against his cheek was the thing that brought Bakugou back to reality. Kaminari had jumped at him, swinging the knife towards Bakugou's throat, barely missing. Bakugou responded by jumping back, using a small explosion to propel himself backwards. Kaminari jumped up at him again, too fast for Bakugou to respond. This definitely was not the Kaminari he knew. He was much faster, much stronger, much more powerful.
Bakugou screamed when the feeling of the knife plunged itself just under his ribs, twisting slowly as Kaminari crouched over him, already having pushed the other to the floor, managing to throw him off balance. Kaminari removed the knife from his body with ease, no remorse or regret in his eyes. There wasn't even slight recognition in his eyes as he stared at Bakugou on the floor.
"Denki-" Bakugou forced himself off the floor, wrapping an arm around his waist, pressing on the wound to stop the bleeding. Kaminari seemed to snap, his eyes grew even darker as his grip tightened over the handle of his blade. Bakugou reached out for his friend's hand, wanting to know what the hell happened to his friend over the past two years. His hand was slapped away harshly, followed by a punch to the face. His nose connected with the handle of the knife, eyes watering as he collapsed to the floor. He was about to speak but was cut off by a knife against his throat.
Bakugou's earpiece was exploding with noise, muffled yells from a concerned Aizawa who must've heard him scream in pain. His vision was blurry and spinning slightly and his chest was grabbed by panic. The knife was still against his throat, a few centimeters from slicing into his skin and killing him. Kaminari crouched down next to him, forcing Bakugou to look at him. Bakugou didn't hesitate to look up at his friend, silently wondering if what he was doing was his choice. Kaminari was about to speak but was cut off by the sound of footsteps nearing the exploded door.
Shigaraki walked into the room, towering over Kaminari who immediately stood up and walked to his side. Bakugou watched the villain put the jacket hood over Kaminari's face and place his hand on the back of his neck, all fingers resting around his neck but one, not wanting to dust him. His eyes fell onto Bakugou who was still on the floor, back resting against the wall. The teen watched the way color seemed to drain from Denki's already pale face as he felt the feeling of a hand resting on his neck, barely protected by the fabric. He wasn't ashamed to admit that his heart completely shattered. It looked like the leader of the League was about to say something but Bakugou didn't give him the chance, his arm raised and sent an explosion towards Shigaraki. The ball of fire barely missed his face, instead hitting the doorframe behind him.
The building shook violently, threatening to collapse if there was any other type of movement. Shigaraki and Kaminari took this as an invitation to leave, a warp portal opening up beside them which they both walked through, leaving Bakugou alone. He didn't have time to think and process what just happened. It was all too much and the sound of Aizawa screaming and shouting in his ear was too loud for him to think. He knew he should reply to his teacher but the adrenaline keeping him from feeling the pain in his ribs was starting to wear off.
"....kid. Answer me goddamn it. Where are you? I heard you scream, answer me so I know you're still alive... god damnit kids always seem to get themselves into trouble. No Mic I am not okay!" Aizawa yelled. To say that he sounded stressed was an understatement. His voice was scratchy from yelling and there was a slight edge of frustration to the tone.
"'m fine.." Bakugou mumbled, forcing himself to stand up. The room spun violently, dark splotches filling his vision as he lent against the wall the entire time. He forced his feet to move, dragging himself down the hallway, leaning against the wall the entire time. It was his only support and it was stopping him from collapsing. He felt weak. How could he let Kirishima leave with the League again? How could he let the League do that to him? How could he collapse after one stab to the ribs? He had been injured a lot worse before so why was his body giving up now?
Anger rose in his chest, replacing the feeling of pain as he let off a dangerously big explosion in the direction of the room he just left, screaming in frustration as he did so. There was no way he could call himself a hero when he just watched his friend be taken again. The building shook violently again as a reminder that he was still in the building on the verge of collapsing. The hallway was filled with thicker smoke and it was a lot hotter than before. Smoke burned the back of his throat and stung his eyes. He was sure the explosion wouldn't help his situation at all. In fact it made it worse.
"Kid. I'm sending Hawks to find you. I think you've forgotten that I am literally just outside and I can see the explosions coming from the building." Aizawa sighed from the other side of the call. Bakugou let out a small huff so Aizawa knew he was still alive, which seemed to be good enough as Aizawa didn't say anything else. It wasn't long until Bakugou felt his shirt be lifted up by a red feather. Before he knew it he was flying out of the building and gently dropped to the floor where he was quickly surrounded by Heroes and paramedics. Clearly his lie of being fine wasn't good enough.
Aizawa was standing in front of him, his usual glare replaced by a look of genuine concern and panic. He looked as if he was five minutes away from having a heart attack. Pinching the bridge of his nose he took a deep breath, looking Bakugou over with the help of a paramedic. "I leave you alone for five minutes and you come back with a stab wound and burns. Jesus Christ kid what happened?"
"Denki.." Bakugou whispered before leaning against Hawks who sat sitting behind him as support. He knew he was close to passing out but he had to tell Aizawa that Kaminari was still alive. Far from okay but was alive. The League still had him and seemed to be keeping him alive so if they formed a plan, they could get him back. "Kaminari.. he's alive. He is alive.."
With that, like an asshole he passed out. He left the bombshell with the Heroes who exchanged concerned glances. Either Bakugou was seeing things and hit his head a bit too hard or they had a bigger issue on their hands. Aizawa sighed. He knew it was suspicious that the past few weeks were a bit too quiet for a Pro-Hero.