Chapter Text
Despite Kacchan’s enormous presence at UA and in Japan’s media since he started the prestigious school, there were still some things no one knew about him. He wasn’t the very talkative type, anyway. Yet one would think with how nosey the local reporters were, they would find some of these unknowns about him a little faster. A little disappointing, since that’s kind of part of their job.
As Kacchan’s class began their second year at UA, Shinso had been talking to some of his old general study buddies, whom he still hung out with after transferring to the hero course at the end of their first year. Every year, the older kids were constantly curious about the incoming first-years, getting together to discuss who they think would stand out in the upcoming festivals and battles that term.
Shinso had just come back from a hang-out in the general studies section of the school, and showed up to Class 2-A’s homeroom. Class hadn’t started, though, since Eraserhead was nowhere to be seen yet. The brainwashing hero had an inquisitive look on his face as he walked through the door. Kirishima was the first one to notice it.
“Hey, Shinso! What’s that look on your face, man?”
Shinso nodded in greeting at the red-haired kid. “Hey, Kirishima. Oh, it’s nothing, really. I was just asking my other buddies about some of the new first-years in each of the courses. One of them said they met one named Kentaro Bakugou.”
The other students in the classroom gasped in surprise. Kacchan hadn’t shown up to class still, so he wasn’t vulnerable to all their questions just yet.
“His last name was Bakugou?” Kaminari exclaimed. “Are you sure?”
Shinso nodded. “We were wondering if he’s related to Kacchan.”
“Do you think it’s a cousin or something?” Mina asked.
“He also could just have the same last name as Kacchan, though,” Deku chimed in. “We don’t know for sure if they’re related.”
“Wouldn’t he have told us if he had a cousin going to this school?” Uraraka spoke up. “Wouldn’t he tell us if he even had a close relative in general?”
Tsu tsked in disagreement. “We don’t know that for sure, though. Kacchan isn't really one to open up.”
Shinso shrugged and crossed his arms. “My friend said he didn’t really look or act like him, anyway. He’s apparently lanky with brown hair. Pretty quiet guy.”
The class started to calm down as they slowly disbelieved the idea of Kacchan having a relative at UA.
Just then, Kacchan walked through the door with his usual slouched stomp-like walk. He noticed everyone’s eyes turn to him, and he frowned in annoyance.
“Why’s everyone looking at me? You all took drugs before class?”
“Shinso was just telling us about one of the new first-year students,” Iida said. “Kentaro, in general studies. His last name is the same as yours. Bakugou.”
Kacchan huffed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Kenko. He’s my stupid brother.”
The class erupted in gasps of shock.
“WHAT?!”
“You never told us you had a brother, dude!”
The explosion boy shrugged carelessly. “Who cares? We’re not close and he’s a loser like our dad.”
“That’s not what my friend told me,” Shinso stated. “He has a really cool healing quirk.”
The other students started talking excitedly towards Kacchan, who grumbled at the excitement.
“Can everyone shut up?” he snapped. “The only thing we have in common is our stupid parents. He’s a fucking nerd. He barely even got accepted into UA, and did it just to piss me off.”
“HELLO! Can everyone please find their seats before I get Cementos to do it?” Aisawa interrupted, suddenly appearing behind Kacchan.
The students sighed and dragged themselves to their seats. They really, really wanted to hear more about this brand new information. Who knew that the strong-headed explosion boy had a brother that no one even knew about until just now?
*********
Anything that had come out of Kacchan’s mouth about his brother wasn’t exactly true.
Kentaro, or Kenko, did in fact have an impressive quirk. Although looking a lot more like his dad, most of his mom’s quirk had been passed onto him, but with a lot more usefulness. The glycerine he secreted included immediate healing properties for not only himself but anyone he touched, too. Although it hurt at first, like rubbing alcohol, the end result was amazing. So amazing, in fact, that many of his teachers would compare him to Recovery Girl, excitedly saying that he could be her successor and become Recovery Boy in the future.
Kacchan hated any kind of attention his brother got from others. So he always made sure to outshine him. It was pretty easy to do, though, with his flashy ass quirk. When anyone would ask him if he’d team up with Kenko when they’d become Pros, he’d laugh, saying that he wouldn’t want to be held down by a weak sidekick.
Kenko didn’t find his brother that intimidating or cool, as opposed to most other kids. When they were little, sure, he looked up to him and wanted to play together. But he quickly figured out how mean Katsuki Bakugou was, and decided he wasn’t going to bother becoming very close to someone like that.
Instead, Kenko dedicated himself to helping others. With the help of his quirk, he was noticed by some of the prestigious pro hero schools in Japan. When he was offered a full-ride scholarship to UA, Kacchan became furious.
“Just have him go to one of the lesser-known bitchass schools instead!” he yelled at Kenko and their parents.
“Katsuki, language, please,” their dad pleaded.
Their mom looked with widened eyes at the scholarship offer. “Kentaro, this is amazing. Please tell me that UA is your first choice. If not, make it your first choice.”
Kenko sighed and looked over to his fuming brother. “I don’t want to go to the same school as him.”
“Oh, shut it!” their mom exclaimed and slapped a hand against the dining table. “I don’t care if you both hate each other! Katsuki, take whatever hero complex you’re in the middle of and shove it up your ass, okay? And Kentaro, don’t give a shit about what your brother thinks. He did this same crap when Deku went to UA, too.”
“Honey, language…”
“You want to become a great healer, right?” she continued, ignoring her husband’s soft pleas. “Then let this school help you with that. You can even intern with Recovery Girl, they’re saying.”
Kacchan scoffed. “Oh, this is some bullshit, Mom. You don’t give a shit about any of that! You only care that you don’t have to pay for his tuition.”
Kacchan wasn’t totally wrong there. The full-ride scholarship was a huge plus to the entire thing. But their mom also knew that Kacchan had been holding his younger brother back from his full potential in many ways, too. So after some thought, Kenko decided to attend UA, after all. But the thought of going to a hero course that was filled with other Kacchan-alikes sounded like hell. So he decided instead to join the general studies section of UA. He knew he didn’t have a very offensive quirk, anyway, which was a huge plus to becoming a fight-type hero. He never wanted to be one of those heroes, anyway. He was much better on the defensive side of things.
****
“Katsuki Bakugou apparently has a younger sibling named Kentaro! He is a current first-year attending the same school as his elder brother, in the general studies section! Who knew!”
Reporters and cameramen flooded the entrance to UA’s campus. After Kacchan had nonchalantly mentioned his brother was in fact Kentaro to his class, the news quickly spread throughout the school and into the masses of the public. This was big news, after all! The reporters and journalists were pretty hungry for just about anything, though.
“Oh, look! I believe that’s Kentaro coming out of the school right now, with some of his friends! Let’s hope he says hi and talks to us for a bit!”
As the entrance doors creaked open, news women and men rushed over to Kenko, who stumbled back in surprise with his friends.
“What’s happening?” one friend exclaimed.
“Is this what happens to all first years?”
“KENTARO BAKUGOU!” one news lady yelled out with a big grin, shoving a microphone in his face. “What’s it like being Katsuki’s brother? Do you two fight often?”
Kenko’s jaw tightened as he looked right past the woman’s eyes.
“Wait, what?” one friend asked, looking up at the brunette. “Your last name is Bakugou? You’re Katsuki’s brother?”
Kenko sighed and closed his eyes. “I wish I wasn’t.”
“I thought you said your last name was Kato,” the other friend said questionably.
“I lied.”
“It sounds like there’s some tension in the Bakugou household!” the reporter said, beaming with excitement. “Not very surprising, though! Hot heads seem to run rampant in this family!”
“Kenko’s nothing like Kacchan, though,” the first friend explained to the lady. “He’s the most laid back guy I ever met.”
“We just met him a few weeks ago, Yuto. And he lied to us about his last name.”
“Oh, right.”
Kenko grunted with crossed arms. “Can we leave, guys? I don’t want to talk to these reporters.”
“WAIT!” the reporter lady pleaded, shoving her microphone even closer to Kenko’s face, much to his frustration. “Can you please give us something? Everyone’s asking about you. You’re a mystery to us.”
“Yeah. I like it that way.”
Just before Kenko pushed the microphone out of his face, the woman grabbed his arm. He looked down, scrunching his eyebrows in annoyance.
“Please.”
He looked into the reporter’s eyes with a deadly glare that could only resemble to her the infamous scowl that Katuski would normally give to anyone and everyone. His two friends stepped back in surprise, as they had never seen until now their friend give such a mean look before.
The reporter let go of her grasp quickly with widened eyes. “I, uh…I apologize.”
“The only thing I have in common with that jerk is having the same parents. I don’t associate myself with that douchebag.”