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The blonde slammed his hand onto the bathroom wall. This was it. He was surely going crazy. There was no other explanation. Ever since that fight at Kamino Ward, Bakugou had noticed some…changes. And it was all Deku’s fault on top of that. That damn nerd did not know when to stop acting like a hero. He did not know when to just stop.
Why he let Deku get to him, Bakugou would never know.
He took off his shirt and examined the scar in his torso in the mirror. The last physical remnant of Kamino Ward. Not even Recovery Girl could make this one go away. All of his other physical wounds were healed by her. His mental ones…were going to stick around for a while.
You’re still mourning the loss of your perfect body? HAH! Pathetic! Those scars just mean you’re tough! You should go outside and train like a real man.
Bakugou banged his head against the wall several times. Why was this happening? Why was this happening to him ? He was supposed to be the strongest, mentally and physically. He was supposed to become the number one hero in the future. Godammit! He should be better than this. He should be stronger than this.
Pffft the damned voice teased in a singsong voice the brat doesn’t realize what’s really happening to himmm! How hilarious!
“Why don’t you just tell me then, smart ass?” Bakugou grumbled.
The voice just kept laughing and snorting. It was annoying.
And where’s the fun in that, explody boy?
“Are you okay in there, Bakubro?” Kaminari shouted from outside.
“Just leave me alone, dunce face!” He growled in response.
This must be his punishment, Bakugou assumed. Because he was not smart enough. Because he was not brave enough. Because he was not strong enough and had to rely on Deku of all people to escape from villains. All Might lost his power because of him. Some heroes lost their lives because of him. This torment was just the consequences of his own lack of strength. And do you know what the worst thing was? Bakugou could not tell anyone that this was happening to him, not even his lackeys
closest friends
. They were already treating him like a baby. The school was already treating him like a baby, assigning him a therapist to talk about his troubles. It made him want to tear his hair out. Strong heroes did not have voices in their heads, and if he wanted to prove to the world that he was okay, he would need to prove that he did not have troubles.
The trouble was, he did.
The nerd was acting weird. Even the voice admitted that.
Deku was always a bit weird, but now, he was doing all sorts of weird stances in the middle of Ground Beta. It seemed like something out of an old 21st Century Kung-Fu Panda Movie. Part of Bakugou wondered if Deku needed psychiatric help as well. He was already delusional, and now this? What was the idiot thinking?
The class had an informal practice in the gym. While all of the other extras had left to go eat and frolic and whatnot, Deku had stayed behind, wanting to work on One for All a bit. Bakugou stayed behind as well to be on the lookout for anyone who came back. He was doing this as a small favor for All Might. After all, the former number one hero did save his life. He definitely did not care about the nerd or his new quirk.
What is up with Gonpachiro today ? The voice mused. He’s out of it today. We should fight him!
“His name is Deku,” The blonde mumbled, confused as to why he was defending the nerd.
Santaro!
“Deku.”
Monjiroooo!
“Izuku!!”
“Are you okay, Kacchan?” The greenette looked over to his childhood friend with worry.
Bakugou tsked. “It’s none of your business, Deku.”
Deku furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
“It’s just…you haven’t called me Izuku in a really long time,” he mumbled.
“I said it’s none of your business!” The blonde shouted. “Get back to training or I’m going to leave!”
Deku’s eyes widened and he hurried back to where he was practicing his jumps. Bakugou rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall, trying to act as if nothing had happened. He had to act casual. He could not let Deku know what was going on in his mind. He could not let him know how weak he was inside.
Wait, Tanjiro?
“Oh shut it…”
The rain was pouring bullets onto Bakugou’s skin, but he did not care. He was still on UA grounds, so he was not breaking any rules. And with this storm, no one would hear him. He would be alone if his thoughts were not constantly pestering him. This was his breaking point. He could not take the voice anymore. Maybe being a hero was not for him. Maybe he should just run away into the forest and live among the wild boars. He could definitely make a spear and hunt game if need be. He would always survive. Maybe if he stopped trying to be a hero, the voice would stop bothering him.
Pffft, as if .
Bakugou yelled into the forest as loud as he could, finally being able to release his pent-up anguish. Why would not this voice stop? Why did he have to go through this alone? All he ever wanted was to be a hero. He wanted to be the best hero like no one ever was. Why was this voice so determined to ruin him? Maybe he should have been nicer to Izuku. Maybe he should have been nicer to Kirishima, and Kaminari, and Sero, and Ashido. Maybe he could have been respectful towards his teachers who have done so much for him. But it was too late now. He was out of his mind, and it was about time he accepted his fate.
He just kept running, deeper into the forest, hoping the trees would conceal him. He could not do this alone. He could not escape his own mind. No matter how hard he tried, Bakugou alone was never strong enough. Bakugou stepped in a mud puddle and slid forward, losing his balance. He fell onto his back. The rain kept falling onto his head, but it was not enough to drown out the voice.
“Kacchan? What are you doing here?”
Bakugou sat up and whipped his head around. There he was, the nerd himself. He had to be dreaming. There was no way he was here with him. He must have hit his head too hard when he slipped and fell. There was no way fate was so kind as to grant him someone to be with so he would not be alone.
“I-Izuku?”
“Kacchan, you’re drenched,” Izuku muttered, moving closer so Bakugou would be covered by his umbrella. “You’re going to get a cold at this rate.”
Bakugou sniffled, just now realizing he had been crying. He could not even think of an angry retort to fire back at him. He no longer cared if Izuku saw him in a weak state. He just wanted this nightmare to be over. His tears mingled with raindrops.
“What are you doing here?” Bakugou mumbled.
Izuku rubbed his neck, nervous about something. “M-me? Oh I was just training! Have to keep practicing, you know?”
Bakugou squinted. Izuku did not look like he was training. He was wearing a black and green checkered haori, and large hanafuda earrings dangled from his earlobes. The only thing that gave him the impression that he was indeed training was
the
sword
hanging from his waist. It was black in color with some ornate designs on the side. But what stood out to Bakugou was the flame hilt.
“T-that hilt,” he stuttered, shivering from his cold, wet clothes, “seems…”
Izuku’s eyes widened in realization.
“Do you recognize this hilt, Kacchan?” He smiled, softly.
Bakugou traced the edge of the hilt with his finger.
“It was…Rengoku’s,” he said at last, unsure of where this knowledge came from.
Izuku exhaled, as if in relief. He placed a hand on Bakugou’s shoulder and looked directly into his eyes.
“Is it you, Inosuke?”
Inosuke…
That name sounded familiar, as if it belonged to a friend he knew long long ago.
Inosuke Hashibira! That was he! He was Inosuke Hashibira! Or that is who he used to be.
So you finally figured it out. Took you long enough.
Bakugou stood up and looked into his friend’s eyes. They had fought together, trusted each other, and won together. And they would most definitely fight together again. They were bound by fate to fight for justice. He was an idiot for not realizing this sooner.
Tanjiro.
“Tanjiro…”
Tanjiro dropped the umbrella and rushed to hug him.
“It’s so good to finally have someone else here, Inosuke!”
Inosuke rolled his eyes, smiling too. “Yeah, yeah! Now quit it! You know I’m not for that type of mushy stuff.”
Izuku smiled and wiped a few tears from his eyes.
“I know, it’s just…I thought I was going to be alone. There’s been some…developments.”
Bakugou raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me…”
“It’s better if we go back to my room,” Izuku added, now serious. “We’re both soaked, and I don’t want anyone, or anything, to overhear us.”
Bakugou nodded. “Okay, let’s go then. It looks like we have a lot to talk about.”
Izuku smiled and rushed through the forest in the direction of the dorms. It was clear that he was not using his quirk, and his movements almost seemed inhuman.
Bakugou chuckled. The nerd was not going to beat him today. Not in this race, at least. Izuku may have had a five second head start, but the forest was his domain.
Bakugou steadied himself. It was time.
And for the first time in this life.
He breathed.