Chapter Text
“Enough Kacchan! He’s crying, stop it!!” a scrawny kid stood in front of Bakugo Katsuki with trembling fists, “I won’t let you do anything else!!”
Katsuki grinned mockingly, “so you think you can play hero when you’re quirkless, huh? Deku!”
He leapt into the smaller boy and took pleasure in punching him in the face over and over.
They weren’t equals. Deku was quirkless. Katsuki was not. Therefore, Katsuki was superior.
It was just the natural truth of this world. It was a truth that applied beyond those two.
After the luminescent baby was born in China, quirks evolved everywhere into this superhuman society. Currently sitting at 80%, having a quirk was slowly becoming much more normal.
And with quirks, came heroes – the incredibly popular and powerful superhumans who fought and defeated ruthless villains. They emerged amongst the chaos of quirks appearing and acted like they were straight out of the comic books.
Everyone wanted to be like that when they grew up. Katsuki was no exception – gifted with a powerful quirk that could do anything, he was confident that he’d reach the top of the superhuman society with his natural talent alone.
Seeing heroes was so normal, and while a 14-year-old Katsuki was on the way to middle school; hands stuffed in the pockets of his black uniform; he passed at least four. Even if they were the less famous small fry.
Katsuki was living a life that made him happy and everyday got him a bit closer to his dream of becoming the greatest hero to ever live.
“Hey Katsuki! How’s it going??”
Katsuki turned around with a cocky grin, “well if it isn’t posse member A!!”
“How rude!!” Mr long teeth chuckled, as he fist-bumped him, “did you finish your homework? I kinda procrastinated.”
“Why the hell would I leave that last minute like a moron???” Katsuki retorted.
“Shit, I thought you’d be with me here,” his friend laughed, “I mean, obviously we’re aiming to be heroes, right? No one’s gonna care if I forget my maths homework on a Monday morning in the future!!”
“Heh, don’t lump me with you dreamers,” Katsuki chuckled, as they entered the premise of Aldera Middle School, “I’m planning to aim for the top flawlessly!”
Katsuki had a lot of potential. He had a strong support system within the adults. He had a powerful quirk called Explosion, where his sweat contained nitroglycerin-like elements for detonation. His grades were great and he had a crap ton of natural talent.
He had every ingredient to succeed.
~~~
“You guys are all third years now. It’s time to start thinking seriously about your futures!!” their teacher enthusiastically announced, slamming a pile of papers on his podium, “I would hand out these future career forms but… I assume you all want to be heroes!!!!”
Katsuki snorted, one leg on his desk; while every single extra in his damn class started cheering and exposing their weak as hell quirks like they were on a field trip. This was incredibly pathetic, almost laughable.
“YES! You all have wonderful quirks,” the teacher praised, and Katsuki can call bullshit right off the bat, “but you know that it’s against the rules to use them in school!!”
Honestly the fact that these people even thought they had the chance was stupid.
“SENSEI!! DON’T LUMP ME IN WITH THESE LOSERS!!” Katsuki laughed loudly, to disrupt the dumb celebration, “as if I have anything like their crappy quirks. Heh.”
A loud round of protests began ringing out, which was just fuel to his completely correct argument.
“SHUT UP!! EXTRAS SHOULD ACT LIKE EXTRAS!!” Katsuki bellowed, as he stood in his spot.
“Ah Bakugo, you of course must be aiming for UA High School,” the teacher acknowledged, and the class began murmuring amongst themselves.
Katsuki hopped on top of his desk with absolute glee, deciding to set the stage for these losers.
“AH, THE STUPID CHATTERING OF EXTRAS! I ACED THE MOCK EXAM!! I’M THE ONLY ONE HERE WITH THE STUFF FOR UA!!” Katsuki exclaimed with pride, “I’LL EVEN SURPASS ALL MIGHT AND BECOME THE BEST HERO OUT THERE!! NOT TO MENTION I’LL BE ONE OF THE RICHEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!!”
“Oh. You’re also going for UA, aren’t you Midoriya?”
Katsuki froze. He then craned his neck towards the small, cowering boy sitting behind him. Covering his head with his arm and trembling. Making his presence small.
This was not the material of number one. This was quirkless Deku.
The class laughed until they were wheezing. Katsuki didn’t.
“Huh?! Midoriya?! NO WAY!!”
“GOOD GRADES ALONE CAN’T GET YOU INTO THE HERO PROGRAM!!”
Katsuki didn’t find this funny. Because he’d been listening to this song and dance since they were kids. He was tired of it.
“Th-That’s not necessarily true…!” Deku mumbled nervously, “sure, there’s no precedent, but…”
“COME ON, DEKU!!” Katsuki slammed his hand into the nerd’s desk and set off an explosion from his palm, “FORGET THE CRAPPY QUIRKS, YOU’RE TOTALLY QUIRKLESS! AND YOU THINK YOU CAN STAND ON THE SAME STAGE AS ME?!”
Deku was sent flying back into the floor.
They are not equals. Deku is quirkless. Katsuki is not. Therefore, Katsuki is superior.
That was just how it worked.
“Wa-Wait, no, Kacchan,” Deku spoke frantically as he stalked towards him with annoyance – the nerd was shuffling backwards.
No backbone in his body.
“I wasn’t… saying I could compete with you! Not at all!!” Deku’s head bumped the wall behind him, “I mean it! It’s just… been my dream. Since I was little. And well… there’s no harm in trying…”
He didn’t even seem sure of himself either. Because it was darn obvious that Deku needed to stop clinging to childish dreams in his state.
“TRY?! TRY WHAT?! THE ENTRANCE EXAM?!” Katsuki roared, “YOU’RE TAKING THE ENTRANCE EXAM JUST TO TRY?!”
It was pathetic. It was actually pathetic. And it made Katsuki so angry.
“WHAT CAN YOU EVEN DO?!”
~~~
Katsuki couldn’t concentrate in class after that. He was physically trembling with fury. He was confident in everything he did. He was the best!
And yet Deku had the gall to act like he could be better. He always had that gall, and it pissed him off.
That’s why, when class finished, Katsuki went straight to that nerd’s desk and snatched his notebook off him.
“Ah!” Deku squeaked.
“We ain’t done here, Deku,” Katsuki announced harshly, before reading what was on the cover itself. Hero Analysis for My Future #13.
“What’s that, Katsuki?” his long-fingered friend asked, Katsuki showed it to them, “for my future? Seriously?! This guy, Midoriya…”
“C-Come on. Give it back!!” Deku tried.
Katsuki exploded the piece of trash in his hands.
“HUHHHH!??” Deku cried, shaking and tearing up, “WHY…?!”
Katsuki grimaced at the behaviour. He couldn’t stand this guy.
“The best heroes out there, well… they showed signs of greatness even as students,” Katsuki calmly explained as he tossed the useless garbage out the window, “I’ll be the first and only hero from this crappy public middle school! The first to win the honour of becoming a student at UA High. Guess I’m just a perfectionist!”
He took two steps and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
A gentle hand that seared with his quirk.
“In other words,” Katsuki smiled mockingly, leaning close to his face to spell out the words, “don’t you dare get into UA, nerd!”
Deku let out a stifled breath as the blond released him.
Katsuki was just about tired of having this guy follow him around. Hopefully the message got through his thick skull this time. God knows how long Katsuki’d been trying to shake him off. Being associated with this nerd is already damaging to his mental health.
“Jeez… typical. Come on, say something…” his long teeth friend commented.
“He can’t say anything. He’s so lame. Even as a third year, he can’t face reality,” his long-fingered friend smirked.
Katsuki stopped his walk out of the classroom, because the extra was right. Deku can’t face reality. He hasn’t been able to since they were kids. No matter what Katsuki did to remind him.
“You wanna be a hero so bad? I’ve got a time-saving idea for you.”
To hone it in, Katsuki decided to push the nail in further this time. Further than he had ever done before.
“If you think you’ll have a quirk in your next life, go take a swan dive off the roof!!” Katsuki suggested, and right as he saw Deku’s expression of rage, he set off his explosions as a threat, “yeah?”
Deku simply shivered as Katsuki left the classroom.
~~~
Deku, or Midoriya Izuku, was this kid that grew up in Katsuki’s neighbourhood. He was every single descriptor of a people-pleaser and a wimp – even back then. While Katsuki stood loud and strong, Deku was always behind him with a dumb smile.
Before Katsuki manifested his quirk, he begrudgingly put up with the behaviour. After all, their neighbourhood was small and friendly – and their parents knew each other too. Deku was grouped with the other extras in his group.
The long-fingers and long teeth still followed Katsuki around in middle school to feel superior. Katsuki could see that now. But he didn’t particularly care, because they could see his strength.
But Deku did not, even if it was right in front of his face. But for some reason… that didn’t seem to matter to the snot-nosed nerd.
“Izuku! You really can’t do anything, can you??” Katsuki chuckled, as he performed some tricks with a ball. He had just watched the nerd stumble around with it and took over.
“Woah…” Deku was mesmerised.
~~~
“Y’know,” Katsuki smiled at his friend group in the playground, “Izuku can be read as Deku!!”
“Woah, you can read kanji, Kacchan?”
“What? You can’t??” Katsuki questioned, sneaking a glance at Deku’s pouting face, before he started walking ahead of his group, “and Deku means someone who can’t do anything!!”
“Knock It off…” Deku mumbled.
“Wow, Kacchan. You’re so smart!!”
~~~
“Wow Kacchan. How many skips was that?!” a friend asked, while their group skipped pebbles over a river.
“Seven!!” Katsuki answered excitedly, “how about you, Deku?!”
“None…”
It was proven time and time again. Katsuki could do anything, and Deku could do nothing.
~~~
“Oooh. Another impressive quirk!!” their kindergarten teacher beamed, as Katsuki showed off his explosions to the class, “you could be a hero with a flashy quirk like that, Katsuki!”
Makes sense!! I’m awesome! I’m better than anyone else!!
Katsuki could do absolutely anything, and even the adults agreed. It was obvious to anyone that he was just destined to be great. He was perfect after all. Even when he was a kid, literally everyone thought so too.
~~~
“Your quirk’s so cool Kacchan. I hope I get mine soon!!” Deku admired bashfully from behind him as they walked through a forest alone to explore.
“Whatever you get, no way it’ll beat mine,” Katsuki chuckled happily.
And he was correct. He was more correct than he expected to be.
~~~
“Did you hear? Deku doesn’t have a quirk.”
“Eh?”
“That’s right, he’s quirkless.”
“Sucks to be him.”
Deku couldn’t say anything. Couldn’t do anything. Forget standing next to Katsuki, he was far below him. It was to be expected – Deku was someone who didn’t have anything.
Deku’s not awesome at all.
But Katsuki was. He was perfect.
~~~
Katsuki had taken his friends over a wooden log that bridged over a creek in the forest they went to explore in. They’d been playing Hero Agency, when Katsuki slipped off the edge.
“Woah!”
He was falling and his heart was thumping in his chest. The next thing he knew, he splashed into the shallow water.
It hurt, and it hurt a lot. But Katsuki never cried when it did. He knew how to be tough.
“I bet he’s fine! Kacchan’s so strong!!”
“Get back up here, man!!”
“Oh. Yeah, I’m okay…!” Katsuki laughed nervously.
And yet…
“Are you okay? Can you stand?”
Deku was in front of him, his voice filled with worry and his eyes filled with pity. He had one hand extended to him, and he stood over him.
Katsuki blankly stared at that hand.
“Hope you didn’t hit your head!!” Deku mumbled.
Deku’s the one that constantly needs help. Why was he the one trying to help Katsuki?
Frustration took over, when he thought of the answer.
It hurt. But that didn’t mean that he needed help. He never needed help, he was strong!!
So why did Deku look at him like that???
Why did he still try to help when Katsuki didn’t need it?
Did Deku think he was weak?
Did Deku genuinely believe that he could do something for Katsuki when he couldn’t even lift himself?
If Katsuki needed help, the last person he’d ask is Deku – let alone anyone else.
He would be able to handle it himself; he was strong!!
They weren’t equals. Deku was quirkless. Katsuki was not. Therefore, Katsuki was superior.
That’s why Katsuki slapped Deku’s hand away that day.
~~~
“Haven’t you known him since you were kids?” teeth questioned.
“Yeah, you went too far today,” fingers responded, referring to the swan dive comment.
They were both walking behind him, and as Katsuki held his empty can in hand; he kicked a stone.
Sure, maybe he was a bit much there. But what else was he supposed to do? That Deku was a cockroach otherwise. It was a message for him to give up; it’s not like that idiot was the type of person to jump.
“It’s his fault for messing with me,” Katsuki complained, destroying his empty can with his explosion, “seeing him so full of stupid dreams like when we were kids just pisses me off.”
He smelled nicotine and snapped.
“THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO STOP SMOKING!!” Katsuki shouted, turning around and chasing away the stupid smell from his uniform, “GET CAUGHT AND IT’LL GO ON MY RECORD TOO- “
“H-Hey…” the two of them pointed past him in…
Fear?
Huh?
“A body…with a good quirk…”
Katsuki didn’t know what happened. Next thing he knew, he was swallowed by green slime. It was sticky. It was disorienting. He couldn’t hear anything.
He couldn’t breathe.
~~~
Fear was such a raw emotion, Katsuki truly learnt it for the first time in the middle of town, as he was drowning in sludge.
His pupils were wide as he struggled and fought and scratched and writhed in the wet grasp of this villain who held him captive. He even set off his explosions and physically felt the sludge villain flinch off his palms. It gave him leeway to breathe, even if it was for a second or two.
He was screaming.
He was trying to breathe.
He couldn’t breathe.
This villain was trying to kill him and take his body.
He could feel the awful tasting sludge inside his mouth, blocking his airways.
Katsuki wasn’t going to die here.
He wasn’t that weak.
He had an entire future ahead of him.
But he couldn’t breathe!
He couldn’t breathe and it was terrifying.
“AAAAAAAARGHH!!!!!”
As if I’d let this sludge man take my body for himself!!!
“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!”
He was still screaming; he was stifling a gag reflex.
A crowd was gathering, as the villain trying to occupy his body began attacking buildings. He had half the mind to realise that his explosions were starting fires and causing damage, but it didn’t matter.
Not over the fact that he couldn’t breathe.
He couldn’t breathe.
He needed air.
A hero had saved his two friends.
More heroes were moving citizens away from the crossfire.
Even more were getting rid of the fires.
Everyone else was being saved.
And Katsuki still couldn’t breathe.
“Argh!!!” Katsuki closed his eyes tight as the sludge villain released his explosions into the market ahead. He felt nauseous. He was in pain. It hurt.
His suffocation made tears of despair well up behind his eye lids.
He was so scared.
He was weak.
Why was he so weak? He was supposed to be perfect.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Katsuki was supposed to flawlessly enter UA and then become the greatest hero. He wasn’t supposed to be caught by a villain and choke to death!
He wasn’t supposed to die like this.
And why the hell couldn’t he breathe!?
He was drowning in green. He tried to spasm out of the hold. He needed air again. He needed to get out of here and live. The ringing in his ears was too much for him. He set off more explosions, and it didn’t work.
Why wasn’t anything working???
How long… has he been spluttering like this?
It feels like it’s been hours. Even if he knows he wouldn’t be able to live that long, he still felt like everything was far too slow.
And yet his breath escaped him too quickly. His eyes were blurry with tears, and he was about to pass out. The crowd were just gawking at him.
Great. Everyone would watch this pathetic moment; this was the shame of his life – Katsuki decided.
He needed air. He needed help.
He needed… help?
A scrawny kid jumped out of the crowd. He looked terrified, he looked puny. And the mop of green hair was all too familiar, because even in his worst moments he couldn’t escape it.
“It’s that kid!” the villain acknowledged.
“Deku…?” Katsuki gasped.
Why was he here?!
What could he possibly do?!
Is he trying to show Katsuki up even here?!
Was Deku trying to hone it in?!
“You’re dead,” the Sludge Villain spoke with malice.
Katsuki was about to watch Deku die.
And even in his dying moments, Deku would tell Katsuki that he was inferior to him. That they aren’t equals. Because Deku is quirkless and Katsuki is not. But even if Deku was quirkless, he was still superior to him. Because unlike Katsuki, Deku would never be here; pathetically needing to be saved.
That’s what this guy was trying to tell him.
But, WHY HERE?! WHY AT THE COST OF HIS LIFE?!
Katsuki flinched as Deku tossed his belongings at the sludge villain’s face. The slimy guy reeled back.
Katsuki was able to breathe, and he took in a fresh gulp of air and-
“KACCHAN!!”
“YOU! WHY!?” Katsuki cried in frustration, as Deku began desperately clawing at the slime to let him out.
“MY LEGS JUST STARTED MOVING! WHY? I DUNNO!!” Deku justified, tears in his eyes betraying the absolute fear he had running through him, “YOU… YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU WERE CALLING FOR HELP!”
That’s-
“STOOOOP…. ITTT!!!” Katsuki began suffocating again, and he was losing consciousness. His vision darkened as the sludge villain struggled to readjust his grasp on him.
If Deku died trying to save Katsuki here, then he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. No matter what that meant.
“Just a bit longer, so stop getting in my way!!” he shouted and Katsuki writhed within him. The villain was about to attack Deku himself, using his arm.
But he was stopped.
“The lesson I left you with… I should practice what I preach!!”
All Might…?
“A PRO SHOULD ALWAYS BE READY TO RISK HIS LIFE!!”
Katsuki lost consciousness, but the attack’s name echoed through his mind regardless.
“DETROIT SMASH!!!”
~~~
When he woke up again, he couldn’t breathe.
No, that wasn’t true – he realised with a jolt. And then he sucked in a large amount of air to prove it to himself.
“The kid’s awake!!”
“That was amazing!!”
Katsuki was startled, as adults and heroes all over surrounded him. He looked around for All Might. He instead found Deku being scolded.
“You were real tough out there!! And that quirk is amazing!!”
Katsuki wasn’t listening to the praise. Not when his mind swirled with shame, embarrassment and residue fear.
“Consider becoming my sidekick once you go pro!!”
It was in front of All Might. Katsuki was weak and pathetic in front of his favourite hero.
That thought made him reel in shame the most.
~~~
Deku had gone ahead after that. Katsuki had taken a while longer to be released – he was immediately roped into interviews with news reporters. But he was so disoriented that he could barely answer the questions. He still felt incredibly nauseous.
So, they felt bad and let him go. Another failure to the list.
But he wasn’t… he wasn’t Deku.
Katsuki chased after him. He knew where Deku lived thanks to knowing him since childhood, so it wasn’t hard to catch the guy on his way home.
“HEY DEKU!!!”
Deku turned around, surprised. And one look of his face finally let Katsuki gather his thoughts together.
He hated him. He really hated him.
“I… I NEVER ASKED YOU TO SAVE ME!! AS IF YOU COULD!! HUH?! I COULD’VE BEATEN HIM MYSELF!”
Katsuki trembled with terror. Because that was a lie. He tried his hardest to and still couldn’t breathe.
He couldn’t breathe.
“HOW DARE A QUIRKLESS FAILURE LIKE YOU PITY ME. TRYING TO WIN ME OVER?! DON’T YOU DARE MOCK ME!!” Katsuki growled, turning around with uncontained fury, “STUPID NERD!!”
He stormed off angrily. But he couldn’t breathe.
And once he turned the corner and paced a few steps further, he clutched his chest and took a huge breath again.
He could breathe. It was over.
And he was dangerously close to crying uncontrollably. This was the worst day of his life.
He was supposed to be tough and strong. And yet he did everything wrong. He got caught by a villain and nearly died. He damaged the town and Deku came in to try save him. Deku was still acting like he was better than Katsuki – and well, with how weak Katsuki felt – it’s like he was being proven right. And then of all heroes to save him, it had to be his idol.
All Might saw him at his worst and got him out of there. That was their first meeting.
A few tears escaped his eyes, and he desperately tried wiping his eyes to stop it.
“Damn it,” he muttered quietly, turning away from this parent and child duo walking home from school.
As if the day couldn’t get any worse.
His flawless record was forever blemished – because the world knew that Katsuki wasn’t perfect.
But it won’t stay that way. Katsuki could still be the greatest hero. Never again, would he be so weak that he was at the mercy of villains.
He was going to beat all of them.
And he was going to show Deku who was better. He was going to show All Might that he could seriously surpass him.
This was the story about how Katsuki became the greatest hero.