Chapter Text
People weren’t created equal. Some people got lucky. They were born with skills that other people simply weren’t. That was the harsh reality of this world. Bakugo Katsuki was not lucky.
Bakugo Katsuki was Quirkless. Stupid doctor told him so back when he was a kid. Extra toe joint or something, he hadn’t really been paying attention. He had been in shock at the time, not ready to accept that fact just yet. The old hag had taken him to see a doctor about his Quirk after everyone else in his class had already gotten theirs. Even his friend Izuku had managed to start levitating things like his Mom did a few weeks back. He was excited to learn what his Quirk was, only to have cold water splashed into his face. He was the only one in his class who didn’t have a Quirk. One of the only people who he had met who didn’t have one.
He was living in a world of super humans as a nobody. A weakling. A hapless bystander who couldn’t do anything. At least, that’s what everyone told him.
Katsuki refused to accept it. Every time his classmates put him down, he took that anger and funneled it into his core. He would prove them wrong. No matter what it took, he would.
Because he was Bakugo fucking Katsuki, and even without a Quirk, he was better than half of these extras. He kicked their ass without one, did better at school without one, and he was god damn sure there wasn’t a single thing they could do that he couldn’t.
That was the fire he held onto. It was hard to keep it alive, with everyone and everything raining on it every day. But he protected that fire and kept it close to his chest, because he knew he could do it. He could be a Hero. He could be a Hero.
He held onto that fire, no matter what anybody else told him.
Until All Might extinguished it.
Katsuki stared at his teacher from his desk. The rest of his classmates were being loud and annoying, as usual. They never shut up. He wouldn’t mind if they all didn’t treat him like shit.
“Now, you’re all third years, so I know you’re all spending a lot of time thinking about your futures. I should probably hand out a career apprehension test or something like that.” His teacher began speaking, holding a stack of papers in front of him. A wicked grin starts to crawl over his face before he tosses the stack of papers to the side. “But who cares about that? I know you all want to go into the Hero Course!”
As soon as he says that, the entire class erupts into chaos. Everyone starts using their Quirk, showing off as much as possible. Except Izuku, of course. Katsuki catches the little twerp shooting a glance his way, which only annoys him even more.
The teacher has to manually calm everyone down so he can keep talking. Idiots.
“You need to think about which High School you’ll be going to. Even if you shoot high, you should have a fall back. I’m looking at you, Midoriya.” The teacher grins as he speaks. The class's attention is directed back to the green haired boy. Izuku shrinks a little at the sudden attention. Their teacher smiles. “Now, with that Quirk of yours, you’ll probably make it, but you need a back up plan!”
“Oh, come on, teach! Midoriya’s Quirk is amazing! Of course he’ll make it!” One of his classmates calls out.
“Yeah! He’ll get into UA for sure!” A girl behind Izuku beams at him.
Izuku scratches the back of his head, acting like he’s modest or something stupid like that. “Guys, it’s really not that amazing. I’m sure there are people with way better Quirks than mine.”
The entire classroom spends the next few minutes gassing Midoriya up. Katsuki watches in disgust. Morons. For his part, Izuku doesn’t exactly look ecstatic about the entire thing, trying to hush everyone after each compliment, which pisses Katsuki off even more.
A different voice cuts through the chaff. “Actually, it looks like Bakugo wants to go to UA, too.”
Katsuki’s eyes go wide. Everyone in the room turns to face him, sans Izuku, he supposes. Their expressions are either astonishment or mockery. Of course.
“Bakugo? But he’s Quirkless!” Someone behind him calls out.
Katsuki sneers over his shoulder at them. “I’m aware, dipshit.”
“Bakugo!” His teacher calls out. He scowls at Katsuki. “Do you want detention again? ”
The blonde lets out a long, labored sigh. “No, sir.” His exasperation is clear in his tone, but it doesn’t look like his teacher is that invested in getting onto his ass, for once.
“Hmm…” The teacher stares at Bakugo for a few long moments before turning back to the rest of the class. “Now class, while Bakugo here might not have a Quirk, it would be wrong to dogpile him just because he’s dreaming big. Don’t be too harsh with him, alright?”
Katsuki can barely stop himself from scoffing aloud at such transparent bullshit. The only reason the asshole brought it up was to make him feel worse. He pulled these kinds of stunts all the time. Maybe if Katsuki didn’t antagonize him so much, he wouldn’t have it out for him, but Katsuki wasn’t the type to take this kind of shit lying down.
The class gives a very fake “yes sir” to his demands, and class continues as if nothing had happened. Katsuki continues ignoring his teacher for the rest of the period. It’s not like he was going to learn anything - he was months ahead of the syllabus in his studies. He’s just waiting for lunch to start. It’s boring, but it doesn’t take too long for Katsuki to finally be able to move on with his life.
Katsuki ate lunch alone that day. Just like every other day. He used to eat with Izuku, maybe, six months ago, but that was before “The Incident”. Ever since then, he decided he wanted nothing to do with him.
After he finished eating, he left the cafeteria to go study alone in the halls. He spent a lot of time outside of school working out, so it was better to get his studying done while he was stuck in this dump. He needed to work out, because if he didn’t, he’d be weaker than these extras, and he could never accept that. He finds his usual spot rather quickly. It’s a small area under a staircase. The teachers would get onto him if they found him down here, but they did that no matter what he did, so who gives a shit.
About ten minutes into his studying, Katsuki hears a few steps making their way towards him. He can tell it’s at least two people, though he obviously can’t tell who it is. He scrunches himself against the wall more just in case, trying to avoid getting detention again for no reason.
He hears the footsteps stop right in front of the staircase. Katsuki curses under his breath. Of course . They’re here for him, aren’t they?
And then, the voice he wanted to hear possibly least of all called out. “Kacchan.”
Katsuki growls under his breath. “God damnit, Deku…” He crawls out from under the stairway to meet his former friend. Izuku looks over him with a soft smile, though Katsuki thinks he can see some trepidation in his eyes. Behind him is an extra Katsuki didn’t bother remembering the name of. He has rocks for hair, a part of his Quirk, and was a douche. Katsuki puts his best glare on and looks at Izuku. “What the hell do you want?”
Izuku’s smile grows wider, more fake. “I was just surprised to hear you were still applying to UA. After. You know.” He looks away from Katsuki as he speaks the next couple words. “The Incident.”
Katsuki scoffs. “You must think I’m really stupid, to keep trying after all that?”
Izuku shrugs. “More just stubborn. You always were.” His expression is blank, though Katsuki can tell he’s upset. What kind of upset, he’s not sure, but Izuku’s hiding something.
Silence overtakes the pair for a few moments. The extra looks between them a few times. For some reason, probably because the world just fucking hates him, the asshole decides to speak. “Midoriya, you know you don’t have to be nice to him. You can say he’s stupid, everyone knows he can’t be a Hero. Not like you.”
Izuku’s expression drops to a frown. Katsuki’s glad to know he didn’t have time for this idiot, either. Izuku turns to the boy with the fakest smile Katsuki has ever seen. “Hey, Shikichi. Didn’t you say you would try and be quiet while I talked to Bakugo earlier?”
The extra shrugs (Katsuki had resolved to not remember his name). “I don’t see why I should. Honestly, I don’t know why you’re spending time with this guy. I thought you gave up on him a while back.”
Izuku puts on a pained smile that most people would view as normal, though Katsuki knew it really meant I really wish I could punch you right now. “Look, [REDACTED], I know you’re trying to look out for me, but I really don’t need it.”
“Deku, just tell this guy to piss off already so we can talk.” Katsuki huffs. “That’s obviously what you want to say to the little prick. I don’t know why you never say what you’re thinking. It’s probably the most useless thing about you.”
The little rock asshole was furious about that. “What the hell gives you the right to say that to Midoriya, of all people?”
Katsuki just shrugs. “I don’t know. He’s just a guy. I don’t know why you guys act like he’s the second coming of Christ or whatever.”
“A Quirkless loser like you has no right to say-”
“Guys.” Izuku almost yells over the pair, silencing them. “Let’s not fight, ok?”
Katsuki glares at him. He was always protecting the worst people, wasn’t he? That at least got the extra to quiet down. He gives Katsuki another glance before huffing and walking off.
“Whatever. I’ll see you later, ok, Midoriya?”
Izuku cringes. He chirps out a quick “Of course!”, but anyone who knew him could tell he was faking it. Sometimes, Katsuki wondered if his acting actually worked on these idiots. Once the extra is gone, Izuku turns to look at Katsuki again. “So, uh, where were we again?”
“You were calling me stubborn or something.” Katsuki doesn’t even look at Izuku as he speaks.
He can hear Izuku suck in a short breath at that response. “Right…” Izuku shuffles his feet around for a second, before stopping to speak again. “Look, Kacchan. I’m not going to tell you not to apply to UA. I don’t think you should, but it’s your decision. Still…” He pauses. Katsuki actually bothers to meet his eyes. “Look, what I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t push yourself too far. You… have a bad habit of doing that.”
Katsuki doesn’t say anything. Izuku stares at him for a while, waiting for him to speak, probably. The blonde pushes himself to his feet, grabbing his books off the ground as he does so. Silently, he puts everything into his bag and starts to walk away. Midoriya at least has the decency to not say anything to him as he makes his departure.
It’s not that Katsuki doesn’t want to talk to him. It’s just that, at this point, there’s nothing left to say.
He wonders if that will ever change.
Hours later, Katsuki begins making his way back to his house. He needs to work out for a couple hours, and then he’ll finish up a bit of homework. That will keep him busy until dinner, probably. What should he do after that? He’s not sure. He doesn’t have a lot of time to relax these days. Not when he’s so close to the due date on becoming the country’s first Quirkless Hero.
His stomach does a couple somersaults at that thought. Katsuki’s not stupid. He knows how impossible that dream is. He knows it’s not “reasonable” or “realistic”. But if he gave up now, then those extras would be right, and he can’t let that be true. Katsuki has to prove himself. He can’t let himself be weak.
“Hey, Quirkless.”
A voice breaks through his train of thought. Katsuki recognizes it quickly, letting out a heavy sigh before he turns to see the same asshole from earlier.
“Oh good, shit-for-hair’s back.” Katsuki spits out at the boy. Behind him, there are two other boys. One with a pair of dragon-like wings, and a tall, lanky boy whose Quirk Katsuki couldn’t recognize at a glance. The rock boy scowly at him.
“Shut up, loser.” The boy takes a few steps towards Katsuki with a… swagger? Katsuki has no idea what he thinks he’s doing with the way his steps sway from side to side, but he imagines it’s supposed to be threatening. “You know, I think you’ve been really ungrateful lately.”
Katsuki crinkles his brow. “Ungrateful?”
The boy smiles. “Exactly. I’m glad you at least recognize the word.”
Katsuki can’t help but laugh at how self-important the kid was acting. His chuckle seems to put the boy off guard for a second, but it doesn’t last long. Soon, he puts on his mask again and starts speaking. “Anyway, what I was saying was, you seem to be taking Midoriya for granted. You do realize how special he is, right?”
Katsuki thinks back to when they were kids, when Midoriya stubbed his toe on a rock and cried for half an hour.
“No, not really.” He responds.
The boy scowls more. “He has the best Quirk in the entire school. He’s going to be a Hero. The first kid from Aldera to get into UA! He’s incredible.” He leans forward, and Katsuki really can’t believe this kid is trying to be threatening. “And you’ve been treating him wrong.”
Katsuki snorts. “If you’re so into Deku, go suck his dick and leave me alone. I think he might be into that, actually…” Katsuki turns around and starts to walk away. These guys weren’t worth his time.
A few seconds later, he feels something hit the back of his head. Hard.
Katsuki falls to the ground, bracing his head. The little shit was standing over him, gloating. The two other boys stood around Katsuki, all wearing the same stupid expression. Sneering down at him, like he was weak.
The rock boy kicks him in the ribs. “Piece of shit.” The boy mutters. Katsuki gapes for air. “You’re so fucking ungrateful…”
He kicks Katsuki again. Pain flares through his side, and he really wishes he had just started running. He was probably faster than these idiots. “Let’s see how long it takes to teach you some manners-”
“What are you doing.”
The boy freezes. Slowly, he turns to look behind him, the rest of his little troupe following suit. Izuku stands behind them, an angry expression on his face. “What are you guys doing to Kacchan?”
“Midoriya!” The boy stammers. “I didn’t see you there! What are you doing here?”
“Kacchan and I live near each other.” He explains, calmly, though his expression betrays his rage. “I was just walking home when I saw this shit happening.”
Oh, wow, Izuku’s angry enough to curse. That doesn’t happen a lot. Katsuki supposes that no one’s tried to fight him in a while.
Shikichi gives off a nervous laugh. “I just… I thought that the way Bakugo here was treating you earlier was wrong! You know, someone like him shouldn’t be being so disrespectful. I just wanted to teach him a few manners, you know.”
Izuku takes a few more steps towards the boy. His expression only grows darker. “No, I don’t actually know. Why don’t you explain it to me, Shikichi?”
He gulps. “W-well, I, you know he’s Quirkless and all, and-”
“How does him being Quirkless matter?” Izuku interrupts. “I wasn’t aware that the laws applied differently to people based on their Quirk status. Do you care to enlighten me further?”
Shikichi doesn’t even respond. He just stares at Izuku, mouth wide open like some kind of stupid fish. Eventually, he sputters out a quick sentence. “Midoriya, you aren’t actually going to defend him, are you?”
“What?” Izuku’s brow scrunches up in confusion. “Of course not.”
Shikichi stares at him for a second. Slowly, he begins to laugh. “Oh. Right. Of course not. You wouldn’t-”
“Kacchan would get really mad at me if I tried to fight his battles for him. He’s stubborn like that.” Izuku interrupts. Slowly, a smile spreads over his face. “Besides, you don’t need my help for these guys, do you, Kacchan?”
Slowly, Shikichi, who Katsuki was not going to remember, turns to see the boy standing up behind them. The boy has a crazed smile on his face. “Of course not. These extras can’t lay a single finger on me without a sneak attack, the little pricks.”
Shikichi glares at him. “You little…” He was literally shaking with anger, which almost made Katsuki laugh. Maybe that’s his battle strategy. Make Katsuki laugh so hard he can’t fight properly.
“Do you guys still want a fight, or are you smart enough to run away with your tails between your legs?” Katsuki says. Shikichi takes a step towards him, and his goons follow suit. Good. Katsuki really wanted to pound this guy’s face in.
“I’m not going to lose a fight to a Quirkless loser.” Shikichi announces before launching himself at Katsuki.
He was more than happy to prove the little asshole wrong.
The fight only lasts around a minute. Shikichi goes down in one hit. Katsuki intercepts him with a right hook, sending him spiraling off to the side. The boy with the unknown Quirk gets one good punch in before Katsuki knees him in the stomach and kicks him in the side, which is enough to keep him down. The boy with the wings is the most annoying. He flies around for a little bit, diving on him and kicking him a few times. After a few dive bombs, Katsuki is able to grab a hold of his ankle and pull him down for a quick pummeling. That’s all it took, and the kids were laid out, completely destroyed.
Katsuki can’t help but feel a little full of himself.
“Nice Quirks you got there. They really helped you out.” He laughs to himself. He kicks the rock boy again for good measure. “Too bad a Quirkless loser like me could never match up to you.”
“Kacchan.” That voice breaks through his gloating. He turns to see Izuku scowling at him, very judgmentally. “You know, if you’re this cruel to them, you’re not that much better than they are.”
Katsuki snorts. “It’s one kick. And they started it.” He turns to walk back home. Izuku follows him, unfortunately. Though, he’s probably the best company Katsuki will get. Slowly, he realizes there’s something trickling down his chin. He reaches up to feel some blood cresting over his lower lip. “Shit, they busted my lip. Assholes.”
Izuku bites back a laugh. “I guess they did lay a finger on you, huh?”
Katsuki stops to glare at him. “Shut up, Deku.”
The other boy just shrugs, smiling. Katsuki can’t tell if it’s genuine or not. He spins around and continues walking, hoping that Izuku will just leave him alone, but apparently he’s not that lucky today. The other boy follows him, completely silent, and Katsuki really wants to punch him.
“The hag’s gonna be pissed at me when I get home…” Katsuki sighs. Izuku gives him a sympathetic look, but doesn’t speak up. His Mom and Dad were so annoying. As much as his Mom could yell, she quickly devolved into smothering him with affection whenever he got even a little beat up. It was annoying, but at least he knew they cared about him.
Katsuki goes to wipe the blood off his lower lip with his arm before he sees Izuku hand him a napkin. He stares at it for a second before reluctantly taking it. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Izuku replies immediately. He lets out a long, labored sigh. “I really wish I could keep idiots like that from attacking you, Kacchan, but they never listen to me. I’m not gonna go and start a fight with them either, so they all just end up trickling over to you.”
Katsuki laughs. “Is that a problem? I beat their asses everytime.”
Izuku lets out a long, labored sigh. It reminded Katsuki of how the old hag sounded. “Even if you win the fight, you still get pretty beat up. Auntie Bakugo’s going to die from all this stress, you know.”
“God, you really do sound like her sometimes.” Katsuki thinks out loud. Izuku just laughs, bright and cheery as always.
Katsuki catches himself smiling. Sometimes, he wished things could go back to being like this. Before The Incident. Before everything fell apart. It was easy to slip into. Katsuki, the rugged and angry underdog. The one everyone underestimated and wrote off as a lost cause. Izuku, the compassionate and confident Hero-to-be. The only one who knew that his Quirkless friend was twice as strong as most of these extras. They had gotten along for so long like this, believing they’d take the Hero world by storm together. Katsuki almost wanted to pretend that things could stay this way, that things could go back to how things were.
Katsuki can’t let himself get too comfortable with this lie.
“I’m going to apply to UA, and I’m gonna get in.” He announces. Izuku doesn’t respond right away, but the change in his posture makes it obvious that he’s tense. Katsuki stops and turns to face him. He takes one breath. Two. He forces his next words out before he can lose the confidence to say them.
“And when I get there, I’m going to beat you.”
Izuku’s expression turns to the one thing Katsuki hates most. The same look he gave him back then, back when everything fell apart.
Pity.
“Kacchan, we both know that’s never going to happen.”
With those words, Izuku walks away. Katsuki stares at him as he walks away. He wants to yell or scream. He wants to attack Izuku and beat him to a bloody pulp like he does all his bullies, make him admit that yes, Katsuki was good enough.
But he couldn’t do that, because Katsuki hasn’t managed to get a single hit in on Izuku for nearly four years. Because his yelling would fall on deaf ears. Because Izuku was probably the smartest person he knew, and if he said Katsuki didn’t have a chance, Katsuki should maybe just take the hint already.
Because Izuku had believed in Katsuki longer than anyone else. And now, no one believed in him.
So instead of doing any of those things, Katsuki turns around and starts to walk home. It’s a discrete area of the city. It was pretty much abandoned at this time of day. It was in the evening, a bit before people would start eating dinner.
Katsuki finds himself walking through a dark, isolated tunnel, completely alone. That was probably good. It had been a long day, and technically, he still had a lot he needed to do. He was having a hard time focusing on any of that, after everything. Sure, Katsuki hadn’t learned anything new, but having his Quirklessness shoved in his face had put him in a bad mood. The extra pulling that little stunt only made his mood worse. Normally, beating the shit out of people made Katsuki feel at least a little better, but Izuku being there this time made it feel almost… hollow.
Izuku could have taken those guys out without breaking a sweat. He was so strong, so much stronger than Katsuki was. He was basically a Pro-Hero already.
Why was he born like this? Why couldn’t he have just been born with a Quirk? Any Quirk? Even if it was something dumb like being able to make bubblegum out of his earwax or something, at least he could find some way to work with that. He couldn’t work with nothing. He had to-
Katsuki steps in something. He blinks. He stares down at the ground, wondering exactly what it is and why no one’s cleaned it up yet only to realize that whatever he stepped in is moving. The sludge crawls and morphs, and Katsuki slowly realizes it’s growing. He tries to run, but he doesn’t get very far. Sludge wraps around his body like viscous tendrils, holding him in place. Some sludge crawls its way over his mouth, and suddenly Katsuki realizes it’s trying to force it’s way inside him. He tries to struggle, but he can’t pull himself away.
A cold, horrible voice erupts from around him. “Ah, good. You’ll be a fine suit, blondie.”
Katsuki can’t breathe. The sludge is forcing its way down his throat, into his lungs and stomach. Katsuki pulls as hard as he can, but the Villain doesn’t even budge. He’s going to die here. After everything he worked for, Katsuki is going to die in a dirty back alley tunnel. Alone. He can feel tears start to dribble down his cheeks and into the messy fluid that was keeping him trapped.
Dark spots start to spin in front of Katsuki’s vision, and he realizes that he’s about to pass out. If he does, he’s pretty sure he won’t wake up again. He tries to scream, to thrash out, to do anything, but he’s too weak. As his body starts to seize up from a lack of oxygen, a single thought starts to blare over and over in his head. I’m not ready to die.
“Fear not, citizen. ” A loud voice booms out from behind Katsuki. He can feel the Villain surrounding him go rigid, or at least as rigid as a bunch of slime can. Katsuki recognizes the voice, but he won’t let himself get his hopes up. There’s no way it’s him.
“No…” The sludge Villain curses. “You can’t-!”
Before the Villain can finish his thought, Katsuki feels an unbelievable rush of wind through the tunnel. The sludge holding him in place flies away, splattering all over the walls and floor. Katsuki falls to his knees, pushing himself back up to look at his rescuer. He can’t believe his eyes.
“For I am here!” All Might yells, posing for Katsuki. The Hero rushes back into action, throwing a few more punches at the Villain. Normally, Katsuki would be studying his movements to try and learn from them, to make himself a better Hero. But right now, all he can do is stare in unrestrained awe.
It was All Might. All Might had saved him, and he was even cooler in person. He was powerful and confident, the strongest person Katsuki had ever seen. And he used that power to save him . To protect someone who couldn’t protect themself.
He would give up anything to be like All Might.
The Villain gets dispatched rather quickly. All Might manages to force him into a bottle, which is as simple as it is effective. Katsuki almost laughs at how mundane of a solution it is. Once he does, All Might turns back to Katsuki and approaches him.
“Are you injured?”
It takes Katsuki a second to realize that All Might is talking to him. He tries to speak, but can’t find his voice. Instead, he just shakes his head. All Might seems to get his message.
All Might’s smile gets even brighter, which Katsuki would have thought was impossible before now. “Great! Now, I do have to get going. Get this Villain to the police! I trust you will be fine on your own.”
He was leaving already? No! Katsuki had just met All Might. He couldn’t let him get away that easily. He had to talk to him, even if it was just for a second.
All Might begins to turn around, and Katsuki’s body starts moving. All Might prepares to jump, giving Katsuki just enough time to realize this was a mistake before he’s flying through the air at what he assumes is mach speed. Katsuki lets out a guttural yell, half out of fear and half out of exhilaration because he’s flying through the air with All Might this is so fucking cool!
That’s about the point All Might realizes he’s there. The man turns around, looking almost panicked, which doesn’t make sense. All Might never panics. Even when he fought Toxic Chainsaw, he still didn’t panic.
“Young citizen! You must let go of me this instant!” All Might says with a slightly strained smile.
Katsuki furrows his brow at him. “What the hell are you talking about? I’ll die if I let go!”
All Might blinks, as if the thought had just occurred to him. “Fair point! ” He turns to scan the skyline, apparently finding an appropriate place to land, and smiles. “One second, citizen!” He tilts his body to the side and snaps his fingers, and their direction suddenly changes. Seconds later, they hit the ground, and Katsuki feels like he might puke.
He steps onto the top of the building with shaky legs. It takes him a second to get his bearings, but as soon as he does, a wide grin makes its way over his face.
“That was so cool! You’re even more awesome than I thought, All Might!” He yells out, turning to his idol. All Might smiles back at him, but there’s something wrong. He’s definitely panicking, Katsuki realizes.
“Yes, I get that a lot! Most citizens haven’t seen too many Heroes up close! ” All Might turns and points at the door to the roof. “Now, I have to get going. Knock on that door a few times if it’s locked, someone will come get you.”
With that, All Might turns around, and Katsuki starts to panic himself. No. He has to at least ask him. He has to at least get the words out.
Right before All Might takes off, Katsuki yells. “Wait, All Might! I’m Quirkless!” Katuski sucks in a breath as he steps forward, before yelling. “Can I still be a Hero without a Quirk?”
All Might pauses, turning his head to look back at Katsuki. “Kid… ” He trails off, probably lost in thought. He was busy, after all.
Katsuki should probably shut up, but with his idol right in front of him, with the best Hero to ever live right here, he has to ask. “No one else thinks I can do it. All the other kids in school treat me like shit, act like I’m not worth anything.” He pauses, before adding a quick “Besides Izuku, I guess”.
He swallows. He’s nervous, he realizes. It’s only now starting to dawn on him how important this is. All Might is in front of him, and he’s about to get his opinion on if Katsuki can be a Hero. It’s almost terrifying. Katsuki’s gaze drops from the Hero, and he continues. “I… I’ve wanted to be a Hero my whole life. I’ve spent a lot of time training, trying to be the best I can be. And I’m strong now! I know I am. I kicked most of those Quirked kids asses without one, so I have to be able to beat Villains, right?” Katsuki takes one more second to steel himself before raising his gaze.
Whatever he was thinking about before that is lost to time. All he can do is stare at the empty husk of a man in front of him. He was shriveled, like a skeleton. He had long, stringy blonde hair, and he was smoking.
Katsuki, naturally, just stares at him like a fucking idiot for a few moments. “What the-? Where the hell is All Might!?”
The skeleton sighs. “I’m still here, kid.”
Katsuki just stares. “You… You’re All Might? But that doesn’t make any sense! You look like you’re about to collapse right now!”
“That’s probably because I am.” The skeleton-no, All Might says. He takes a step forward before squatting low to the ground. He looks Katsuki up and down, before speaking. “Listen closely, kid.”
Katsuki watches as All Might lifts up his shirt. He almost gasps when he sees it. All Might’s chest is destroyed. There’s a huge chunk of his flesh missing, scars running around his left side around an obvious point of impact. It’s red, scarred, and Katsuki feels slightly nauseous looking at it.
“Pretty gross, huh?” All Might begins, “I got this in a fight with a Villain about five years back. Nearly died, too. My stomach and lung were basically completely destroyed. Even with the most advanced surgeries in the world, I barely survived. Nowadays, I can only be All Might for three hours a day. The rest of the time, I’m like this.”
He meets All Might’s eyes. They’re piercing, almost cold. Katsuki feels his limbs growing heavy, almost like lead. “But… but you’re All Might! You beat every Villain without breaking a sweat! You’re the strongest there is!”
Surprisingly, All Might nods. “I am. And even the strongest Hero in the world can almost die against a Villain.”
All Might lets the words sink in, and Katsuki reels at the revelation. Even in his worst fights, he never thought All Might could lose. He was All Might, after all. He never lost to anyone!
“How… how do you do it?” Katsuki asks. “How do you go into fights so fearlessly, when…”
All Might looks over Katsuki, his eyes softening. “There’s plenty of fear there, kid. Always is. Fear you’ll mess up and get yourself killed. Fear you’ll fail to save someone. Being a Hero means fighting through that fear, putting on a smile to save everyone.”
Katsuki nods, like what All Might was saying were the most important words he would ever hear. They very well might be, all things considered.
All Might stands. He approaches Katsuki slowly. “There are some Villains, some threats you can’t handle without a Quirk.”
It’s like a bullet through his heart. He knows what All Might’s answer is, but he doesn’t want to believe it.
Despite how much he wants him to stop, All Might continues. “You look like you’ve got guts, kid, but running into danger and getting yourself killed without a plan isn’t heroic, it’s reckless. Without a Quirk, being a Hero is too dangerous.”
Katsuki feels himself start to tear up. He stares at the ground, unmoving, before he feels a hand on his shoulder. All Might gives it a comforting squeeze.
“I know it’s hard to hear, kid, but I don’t think you can be a Hero.”
Katsuki can’t hear what he says next. All Might starts walking away, saying something about the police or dreams, but Katsuki can’t be bothered to pay attention. He barely catches the Hero swearing him to secrecy about his injury. Katsuki supposes he should take that seriously. He just stares at the ground, blankly, as he tries to process what All Might had told him.
He couldn’t be a Hero. He was too weak. He wasn’t good enough. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he struggled, Katsuki’s dream was impossible.
He broke down into tears.
Izuku’s eyes dart around the shopping district, searching for any interesting details. It was a pretty boring day, at least compared to what had happened earlier. It was always interesting to watch Kacchan fight. Most people underestimated him, and while not having a Quirk was a huge weakness, that didn’t mean Kacchan was helpless. He’d probably beat most random citizens in a one on one fight, because he had actually bothered to learn how instead of leaning on a crutch.
It was too bad it wasn’t enough.
Izuku sighs, letting his eyes fall to the ground. It felt almost unfair. Izuku knew it was just genetics, that no one could really do anything to change it, but he still felt like it was wrong. If you were just looking at how hard people worked, Kacchan probably deserved to be a Hero. He had worked harder than anyone, worked harder than even Izuku, to get where he was today.
Izuku’s mind trails back to Shikichi, and how he had talked about how he was going to be a Hero someday, too. Izuku can’t help but chuckle at the thought. Shikichi was a weakling. It was pathetic, honestly. If it wouldn’t hurt his chances at getting into UA, he probably would have kicked his ass before Katsuki had to do it for him. People like him really thought they were special just because they were born with a halfway decent Quirk. Izuku was born with an actually impressive Quirk, and he knew that even that wasn’t enough on its own. You didn’t just need a Quirk, you needed drive. You needed to work hard to get to the top, even if you were born perfect. Talent only opened the door, only gave you a chance. You would still have to struggle to capitalize on that chance.
Izuku wouldn’t waste the chance he’d been given.
His thoughts are interrupted by a viscous fluid crawling its way up his leg. Izuku looks down to see some sludge moving in a way that couldn’t be natural, and suddenly, there’s sludge everywhere. Izuku realizes it's a Villain, and he activates his Quirk to try and defend himself.
About thirty seconds later, all hell breaks loose.
Katsuki stares at the ground as he trudges his way home. He felt broken, like there was some part of him missing. Bitterly, he realizes that there is something missing. He was born wrong, broken. Quirkless.
His pity party is interrupted by the sound of a large explosion. There’s a crowd of people gathered around a shopping center, as well as a few police officers holding them back. He realizes with a start that there’s a Villain attack.
He’s conflicted. On one hand, it was always nice to watch some Heroes kicking ass. On the other, it would probably just make him feel even more depressed realizing he would never be as good as them. He debates it with himself for a while, but eventually his curiosity wins out. He takes a few steps towards the shopping center to see what’s going on.
He almost can’t believe his eyes when he spots the Villain. It’s the sludge villain, the one who attacked him earlier. The one All Might defeated. Why the hell were they out again? There’s no way they beat All Might, he was way too strong! The only way they could have gotten out was if All Might dropped him, and-
And he would only do that if he had to worry about a civilian. One who he shouldn’t have even had to think about, because they had stupidly hitched a ride with him somewhere else.
Katsuki feels like he might throw up. It was his fault All Might messed up. He’s the reason the sludge villain got out and was attacking a civilian. He’s the reason that the kid with the green hair-
Wait. Katsuki looks at the boy in the Villain’s clutches again, and he can’t believe what he sees. No. No no no no no!
He was going to die. Izuku was going to die and it was his fault.
No, calm down. The Heroes are here. They’ll save him. Izuku will be fine, the Heroes will save him, just like All Might did. Katsuki’s eyes scan the area, looking at each of the Heroes. Mt. Lady is blocking any damage from hitting the bystanders, but she was apparently too big to fit into the shopping area. Backdraft was trying to put out the fires and stop them from getting worse. Kamui Woods was evacuating civilians, but he couldn’t get too close to the sludge Villain thanks to all the fire. Death Arms was… just sitting there? He probably couldn’t hurt the Villain with his punches, but still. He wasn’t doing anything.
The Heroes were either too busy containing the damage or too weak to fight the Villain. Izuku was alone. No one was going to save him. A mix of emotions swirl in his stomach. Fear, panic, but most of all, anger. The Heroes should have saved him. They should be better.
He didn’t know why he did it. He was scared and desperate. He just couldn’t watch Izuku die.
Katsuki’s feet moved on their own.
Izuku’s eyes meet Katsuki’s, and he can see the panic in them. He struggles, trying to pull himself out from the sludge Villains grip, but Katsuki knows better than anyone that it was a fruitless effort. Katsuki pushes himself further, pushes his legs harder, and ignores the cries of the Heroes telling him to stop.
“Kacchan! What the hell are you doing!?” Izuku yells through the sludge gripping his form. Katsuki meets his eyes.
“I don’t know.” Katsuki says as honestly as he can. He grabs chunks of the sludge Villain and peels them off, trying to free Izuku. The other boy just stares at him like he’s an idiot. Katsuki supposes he probably deserves it, considering how stupid what he’s doing is. Trying to save someone without a Quirk…
Katsuki pushes those thoughts away and grabs more of the sludge Villain, forcing his body to move despite the effort. The sludge was heavy, and it was fighting against him as he tried to pull it off. He was panicked, scared, still a bit mad that he was the only one trying to save Izuku. It’s not like it matters, though. He’s not strong enough-
“Texas Smash!” A familiar voice rings out. Katsuki’s heart skips a beat, but before he can even think about anything, the sludge Villain practically explodes. Sticky chunks of his body splatter everywhere, and Izuku falls to the ground, sputtering for air. Katsuki dives towards him instinctually.
“Izuku, you ok?” Katsuki asks. Izuku stares past him, which almost pisses Katsuki off, but then he remembers that All Might is standing right behind him. He’d probably ignore Izuku if All Might showed up, too, so he downgrades from pissed off to just frustrated with him.
Eventually, the nerd shook himself out of his stupor. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.”
A drop of water falls on Katsuki’s head. He’s confused for a moment, until he realizes it’s raining. There’s a hole in the sky, the clouds having moved upward as if punctured. Katsuki realizes with a start that All Might changed the weather with a punch. He almost couldn’t believe it.
Katsuki stares up in wonder before he feels someone put a hand on his shoulder. He turns around to see Death Arms glaring at him.
“What the hell is wrong with you, kid?”
For the next half hour, the Heroes chewed Katsuki out. It probably wouldn’t have been so bad if they didn’t spend the whole time sucking Izuku off for how cool his Quirk was. Apparently, Izuku had used his Quirk to try and escape, which is what caused the fires in the first place, but they didn’t seem very concerned with that.
Figures. As far as most people were concerned, Izuku was in an entirely different class of human. More evolved. It leaves a bad taste in his mouth, but it’s not like there’s much Katsuki can do.
He’s almost home now. The sun has almost set, and he’s probably missed dinner at this point. The hag would be mad at him, but he wouldn’t get in trouble, especially once he finished explaining why he was late. She was going to be really annoying to deal with, though. He knows she’d chew his ear off about how dangerous what he did was and how he needed to be careful and blah blah blah. It was exhausting. Not to mention he didn’t get any homework done today, so he’d have to spend even more time working tomorrow. Pain in his ass…
Katsuki comes to a stop in front of his house. Izuku is standing there, as if he’s waiting for him. They lived close by, but the only reason he’d be waiting here was if he wanted to talk to Katsuki. Great. Just great.
Izuku watches as he approaches. As soon as he’s within reasonable distance, Katsuki speaks up, trying to shut down the conversation before it starts. “How many times do I have to tell you to piss off before you take the hint, huh?”
Izuku’s gaze hardens, but he doesn’t budge, because of course he didn’t. “Kacchan, you could have died today.”
Katsuki sighs. “I know, the Heroes already finished chewing me out. I don’t need you barking up my ass, too.”
The nerd’s expression goes from steely to an outright scowl, which means he’s definitely in for it. “Kacchan. I mean it. You could have died. And if you keep trying to play Hero, you’re going to run out of what little luck you actually have.”
Katsuki tries to walk past him, but Izuku moves to stop him. He stands in front of Izuku for a moment, scowling, before spitting out a sentence. “You were about to die, to.”
Izuku takes a deep breath. “Just… stop putting yourself in danger, ok?”
“What was I supposed to do, huh?” Katsuki glares at Izuku. “Just watch you die?”
Izuku responds immediately.
“Yes. ”
An uncomfortable silence fills the air. Whatever anger Katsuki had dissipated immediately. Izuku just keeps glaring at him.
“Izuku, you can’t mean that.” Katsuki’s voice is smaller than he wishes it was.
“I do.” Izuku interrupts him. “There’s no reason for us both to die just so you can play Hero for a few minutes.”
Katsuki clenches his fists. Of course that’s what this was about. “Shut up, Deku. You really think you’re that much better than me? I know you would have done the same thing if I was the one who got caught! You’re probably just upset you’re not as strong as you thought you were, huh?” Katsuki sneers as he speaks, and from the way Izuku’s brow furrows, he can tell he’s getting under his skin.
Katsuki feels his body lurching forward before he realizes that Izuku’s grabbed his shirt. “Dammit, Katsuki, can’t you think about someone besides yourself for once in your pathetic life?” Izuku yells in Katsuki’s face, glaring. “You’re really going to make Aunt Mistuki bury her kid just so you can feel better about yourself? Just get over yourself already and accept that you’re not good enough!”
Katsuki doesn’t respond. Izuku stares at him for a bit longer before dropping his shirt. His gaze shifts away.
“I’m leaving.” He says, voice almost completely devoid of emotion. Katsuki watches him walk away.
Once he’s gone, Katsuki sighs. What a piece of shit. Like he wasn’t going to be putting his own life on the line in just a few years. Katsuki knows Aunt Inko is going to be worried sick about him every day. He’s going to give her a heart attack, at this rate.
He starts the relatively short walk to his house, before being interrupted once again by a loud noise.
“I am here!” All Might barrels down the side of the street, as imposing as ever… Right before deflating back down to his skeletal form and falling flat on his face.
Katsuki blinks. “Aren’t you not supposed to walk around like that? It’s a big secret or whatever, right?”
The skeleton of All Might coughs up some blood before putting on a sheepish smile. “I should be a bit more careful, I suppose.”
The symbol of peace was kind of an air head, wasn’t he? Katsuki pushes the thought to the side as his curiosity wins out. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
All Might smiles, pushing himself back up to his feet. “I came to speak to you, Young Bakugo.”
Katsuki can’t help but groan. “Oh my god. Look, I’m not in the mood for another lecture, ok? I know I can’t be a Hero, I know what I did today was dumb or whatever. Everyone’s told me already, just leave me alone!” He yells the words out, frustrated.
Katsuki tries to walk away, but he’s stopped by All Might putting a hand on his shoulder. “That’s not what I’m here to do, Young Bakugo. I wanted to apologize to you.”
He stops, and turns to look at All Might. “Come again?”
“I was wrong about you, Young Bakugo. When you stepped up to save your peer, you reminded me what it meant to be a Hero.” All Might looks at Katsuki as he speaks. Slowly, a wave of pride washes over Katsuki. This can’t be real, right? “I, and all the other Heroes, stood paralyzed against the Villain. We were unable to take any risks, afraid that any wrong turn would lead to more suffering. While caution is warranted, being a Hero often means going past your limits. Pushing past what you can do to become something greater. And you, Young Bakugo, you headed that call. You are, in your own way, a Hero.”
Katsuki wasn’t about to cry. He definitely, super wasn’t about to cry for the second time that day. “I… Thank you, All Might. That…” Katsuki pauses to wipe at something that’s dripping down his face that definitely isn’t a tear. “That means a lot to me.”
The hero continues smiling at him, before taking a step back. “In fact, you’ve inspired me so much, that I think you might be the person I’ve been looking for all these years.”
What the fuck was that supposed to mean? Katsuki stays silent, hoping that All Might will explain himself. The Hero takes a step back, spreading his arms as he speaks.
“As strange as this may sound, my powers aren’t natural. I wasn’t born with this Quirk, it was given to me. Passed down from my mentor to me, as it was passed down from her mentor to her, and from their mentor to them, through eight generations.” All Might begins monologuing.
Passed down? Could a Quirk really do that? All Might smiles. “I see you’re confused. Don’t worry, that’s a natural reaction to receiving this kind of news.” All Might straightens his back. “But more importantly, this Quirk carries a heavy burden. It is powerful, but it comes with great risks. One of which is the necessity of finding a successor, a next holder to pass the torch onto. This power is called One for All, and my time bearing this torch is coming to a close.”
Katsuki thinks he might be getting the picture, but he’s too scared to make that assumption. He can’t get his hopes up, not after having them dashed just earlier today.
“Young Bakugo, I would like to pass this torch onto you, if you would accept it.”
Katsuki stares at the man in disbelief. This can’t be real. All Might had chosen him. A Quirkless boy he had only met hours ago. It seemed impossible. This had to be a dream.
Unaware of his confusion, or possibly simply not caring about it, All Might continues. “Will you accept this burden, Young Bakugo? Will you choose to be a Hero?”
Katsuki doesn’t hesitate.
“Yes.”