Work Text:
“Did you tell Midoriya to kill himself?”
“Yes.”
It had been such a simple question.
It was partnered with an even simpler answer.
A yes or no question, a yes or no answer.
No excuses, no defense, no attempt at underplaying or making it seem less horrific than it was.
Pure truth, directed towards his one of closest friends.
He didn’t expect to be forgiven instantly, why would he? Why would anyone forgive him after admitting to doing that , saying those things to someone? He didn’t expect his friends to ignore that it happened, he wasn’t that blind to reality, he knew they wouldn’t be able to forget being told that, they wouldn’t forget him admitting to that.
What he had expected was for them to see that he’d grown, to stay with him and see him grow further. He expected them to understand that the past doesn’t equal the present and that who he was when he was in middle school was not the same person he was now, a few months away from 18.
He expected them to be his friends.
Apparently, though, he expected too much..
Walking into class the next day he thought he would be hounded by overprotective friends who wanted to tear into him, demanding an explanation and hundreds of apologies for their green-haired friend.
He could already see Uraraka yelling at him, challenging him to a fight during their lunch break like she did whenever the two of them had an argument they couldn’t resolve.
They would be mad at him, he was not doubting that, in fact, he was expecting it. But they would understand that he wasn’t the same person anymore, they would know that the last 2 and a half years have changed him so, so much.
He thought wrong. He trusted them too much.
Walking into the classroom, he noticed three things very quickly.
- Everyone was in class.
He always arrived early, often getting to class even before some of his friends woke up, because of this he spent most of his mornings finishing up homework and watching everyone trickle into class. This time though, he was the last to arrive, bar Mr Aizawa who managed to drag himself into class, not 15 minutes after Bakugou sat down.
Still confused at the full class that usually had a certain group of 5 arrive right on the bell, he ignored the strange behavior in favour of listening to Aizawa give the morning announcements.
- All of the desks had been moved
Bakugou was observant, he watched and observed both his peers and his environment, so when he was seated, he became acutely aware of the change in the tables. The ones surrounding him had been positioned as if to cage him in, giving his friends the ability to stand and surround him as quickly as possible if he were to make the wrong move.
But, the desks just outside this ‘circle’, those had been pushed (only an inch or two) away from his. No one else would notice it, but he had spent 2 and a half years in this same room every day and could’ve walked the room blindfolded if you asked him to.
- Midoriya wasn’t sitting behind him.
Everyone had been sitting in the same places since they walked in on day one, and yet he couldn’t hear Midoriya’s mumbling from behind him as Aizawa finished talking. Someone was behind him though, he could feel the pair of eyes burning into his head, daring him to even shift in his seat (A distant part of his brain registered the other 17 pairs of eyes that were also burning into him).
The bell for their next lesson rang just as Aizawa fell into his sleeping bag. Moving to stand, he started to collect his books, wanting to put them in his bag so he didn’t have to carry them all the way to English.
Before he was able to get out of his chair, however, something stopped him. It had happened so suddenly that it wouldn’t be until later that day he would realise what had actually occurred in those few seconds.
The few seconds he was restrained started to be stretched into an indescribably long amount of time. Everything seemed to freeze, his senses, his body, time, everything.
Something tight and slimy had curled around his neck, forcing him to stay still as his throat started to close up. He felt like he was choking, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t feel, he was drowning in air.
Nothing was covering his eyes but he couldn’t see, he couldn’t hear, everything sounded foggy and so, so loud at the same time. Everything was bright yet so blurry that he couldn’t make out his own hands in front of him.
He needed to calm down but the pressure on his throat was starting to shift from feeling like slime to a hand, (a large, scarred hand he remembered as clear as day) and suddenly all the feelings doubled down. His throat closed up completely, making it even harder to breathe than before, while a loud ringing filled his ears. The edges of his vision started to fade into black as the rest of his vision blurred into only small patches of colour.
A green blur passed through his vision, too fast to make out and gone as quick as it had appeared. Followed quickly by multiple other ‘blurs’ which he realised must have been his friends.
Falling to the ground, suddenly he could breathe again.
The ringing in his ears lingered as the black in his vision retreated. Everything was still blury but the shapes were coming back into focus. Gingerly he stood against his desk to try and regain his lost balance.
Reaching for his neck, he found something slimy coating it. The lack of an arm holding him from behind did nothing to get rid of the phantom pain from the hand that had been choking him.
One last blurry figure left the room, startling him slightly. His jolt caused the thick slime on his neck to drip onto his arm and for a few quick seconds, he was in middle school again, restrained and left for dead by heroes, who were watching from the sidelines.
Pulling himself back to reality, he gave himself a few moments to get his breathing under control and wipe away the thick slime with his blazer. Iida would complain that he wasn’t wearing it but at the moment he couldn’t care less. The remaining panic overtaking any logic left in his mind.
Moving to leave and try to get to English before the final bell rang, he gently closed the door. Quickly he risked glancing back into the classroom, watching as his sleeping teacher continued to lay on the floor behind his desk, oblivious to what had just occurred.
By the end of the day, he had realised what was happening. At the end of every lesson, Asui was keeping him restrained like some kind of rabid animal. The teachers hadn’t noticed of course, most of them too consumed in their grading or having left as soon as the bell rang.
By the sixth time he was ‘restrained’, the panic had not lessened a bit. His fear hadn’t raised one concern amongst his friends but maybe they hadn’t noticed. Maybe this was their way of getting back at him for being such a horrible person and they just didn’t know how unimaginably bad this was to him.
But then again, maybe they did. And god, that possibility made him feel so much worse.
It was fine though, he deserved this. Years of punishments he had never received needed to happen at some point. It didn’t matter how much mental and physical pain he was in, this had been coming for years.
Karma had finally caught up to him, but it was fine, he was fine.
He deserved it.
After everything he had done, he definitely, truly deserved it.
By the end of the next day, he knew his punishment wouldn’t be ending anytime soon.
Why had he been expecting revenge over years of torment to end after one day? How would that have been fair?
It was fine though, he deserved it.
Week 3 started with him taking a deep breath and walking to class. Already used to the silent common room, he barely blinked as he walked through the empty dorm building.
It had only been a few weeks but there were only a few months left before they graduated. Just a few more months of this torture punishment and he would be able to walk out and into the world.
Just a few more months.
Week 3 ended with him hidden carefully in the corner of his room. Hiding between his bed and the wall as his friends pounded on his bedroom door, demanding to speak with him. His oversized hoodie did nothing to help him hide, there was no way he would be able to go down to the common room to make himself dinner tonight.
As the pounding died down, he moved towards the door. Pressing his ear to the wood, he tried to find any sign that his friends were still outside, waiting for him. He could hear frustrated swearing as they tried the door handle, only to realise it was locked (he had luckily never given anyone the key).
10 minutes later, he could still hear people talking. Resigning himself to a sleepless night, he moved towards his wardrobe and pulled out a backpack. Quietly, he filled it with supplies. Another hoodie, some water, his math homework, a half-eaten muesli bar from lunch made its way in there as well (it's difficult to find the motivation to eat when you can’t sit in the cafeteria and are forced to hide eat on the roof).
Automatically he moved to leave through the door before walking into the chair he had propped under the handle.
He had forgotten about that…
Suddenly, he remembered Kirishima, he could break in his door even with the chair there. Pulling the backpack over his shoulders, he grabbed the edges of his desk, shuffling it into place, quickly replacing the chair. No one was getting past that hopefully so maybe he could keep his room empty of his friends for just a bit longer.
Stepping back, he realised his mistake too late. He had barricaded his door so how was he supposed to get out of the dorms? Looking around his room in a panic, he saw it. The window.
Eyes jumping between the door and his window, he had to make a decision.
His friends or a four-story-high climb down to the ground?
Sparing one last glance at the door he climbed out of the window, bag secured tightly over his shoulders and clipped on across his chest, gym pass tucked safely into his pockets.
Hanging from the final window ledge, he prepared to drop to the ground. The ground floor didn’t have any ledges or footholes so he would have to fall and roll to avoid breaking his legs.
He had fallen from further and come away walking, he would be fine.
Landing into a roll, he came out unscathed minus some grass burns on his knees. Turning towards the entrance to the dorms, he prayed that his fall had been silent enough to not disturb whoever was in the common room.
Walking quickly past, he heard his friends scream out. Changing his direction to go towards them, he paused. Someone shouting UNO reached his ears and suddenly he realised they weren’t in danger, they were having another game night. Part of him wept at not being invited (he had started to go at the beginning of second year) but it was fine though.
He deserved it.
Dragging himself forward, he moved away from the dorms and towards Ground Beta.
The one thing he could reliably tell you about UA was that their pest control was shit. Not with bugs, they kept those out, but the larger animals roamed the grounds at night just like he was doing.
A rustle from a bush next to him brought him out of his thoughts. Silently, he squatted down, reaching out to move the leaves to look into the bush. Just before his hand met the leaves, a small head poked out, the fuzzy animal pushing itself into his hand.
It shouldn't have been surprising, cats always loved him (probably because he naturally ran hot).
He wasn’t sure what had shocked him more, the random cat or the fact that this random cat was the first living thing to come close to him in weeks.
The first living thing to make direct contact with him in weeks.
His parents had never coddled him, neither of them were the type of people who enjoyed hugs or touch. Coming to the dorms had sent his mind through a hurricane as he was exposed to hugs and small, soft touches. It had been weird and uncomfortable for a while but he had grown to appreciate his friends' subtle comforts.
Letting the cat crawl out of the bush and around his legs, he realised just how much he craved it.
Just how much he needed some kind of physical comfort, something to remind him he wasn’t fighting solo.
As if sensing his inner turmoil, the calico cat jumped onto his back, lying across the back of his shoulders before falling into his hoodie. The soft fur kept him grounded, a stark contrast to the slime that had been there a few hours ago.
Standing up, the cat safely in his hood, he continued his trek to Ground Beta.
Finally reaching the doors, he scanned his pass, watching as the doors opened with a creek. Stepping across the boundary he turned, making sure no one was following him, and walked into the blacked-out city, feeling himself become calmer in the deserted setting, away from everything and everyone.
Letting the door close behind him, he walked.
And walked.
And walked.
He walked until his feet hurt from the cut-up rubble that was scattered across the ground.
He walked until the edges of Ground Beta were out of his view.
He walked until he reached the center of the city, the heart of a ruined town.
Finally, he stopped and looked up. Standing before him was the tallest building in Ground Beta, Originally it had been the second tallest, but he had blown the roof off of the first one a few weeks before the end of first year. Someone else blew the roof off of this one, but it had stayed standing, leaving the top floor open to the elements and with a perfect view of the night sky.
Poking its head out of his hood, the cat looked around curiously, brushing its ears against his cheek before leaping down and running towards the building. Stopping at the cusp of the doorway, it turned and looked back at him, urging him to follow.
Stepping through the door frame (door lost to the rubble), he followed. At this point, what did he have to lose?
Watching its tail disappear up the torn-up stairs, he rushed to follow. After a few stories, he caught up, the cat swishing its tail angrily as it stared down the broken stairway. There was no way forward.
Tentatively, he reached down and used one arm to pick up the cat (he had to find a name for it, he can’t just keep calling it cat). Letting the cat climb up his arm and back into his hood, he looked up towards the next story.
Slowly, he set off his quirk, letting it propel both him and the cat onto the next floor. Luckily, he could see a second staircase across the room so he didn’t have to risk hurting the cat with his unstable quirk again.
“Don’t try to use me like an elevator again Inu.” Reaching behind him, he picked up the cat, holding it in front of him as he spoke.
Inu licked his nose.
Scrunching it up in disgust, he put the cat down, watching it walk up the stairway again. Fiddling with his backpack, (It was new, smaller than his original one but at least this one was fireproof) he followed.
Too caught up in his own thoughts, he only came back into the real world when something brushed up against his leg.
Looking down he saw Inu, looking back up he saw the sky. He was on the roof, well, not quite the roof. The roof had mostly caved in, leaving only two of the walls partially standing and the room open to the elements.
He was on the top floor, watching the fading clouds after following a cat up flights of stairs for 10 minutes while his friends played UNO in the dorms.
Moving over to the ledge, he pulled out his homework, letting the setting sun provide the light he needed to finish off the last few math problems on the worksheet.
Letting the cool breeze flow through his hair, he leaned back, legs hanging off the edge of the building. Inu, taking the opportunity, crawled onto his stomach, using him as a personal heater.
It was only a few more months, then he would be out.
Watching the clouds shift, he wished he had wings. Maybe then he could fly with the stars, with the clouds. Being able to fly wasn’t a dangerous quirk, not like his.
Imagine the view of ground beta from all the way up there, able to see from one wall to another as you sored up with the birds.
Reaching up, he tried to imagine the feeling, the freedom that it would bring. Dreaming was dangerous, but just this once he let himself indulge.
Letting his arm fall back he felt the sharp pain of the rubble cutting into his arm. Not bothering to move, he let his arm lay in pain.
He deserved this.
The sting reminded him where he was, alone while his friends enjoyed their lives.
The sting felt nice, the reminder did not.
Sitting back up, he looked over the abandoned city, Inu rolling down into his lap as he did so. Reaching next to him, he pulled out his spare hoodie, putting it down beside him to give Inu a safer place to sleep.
Standing up, he looked over the edge, the view extending as he leant over, holding onto nothing as he stared.
A meow snapped him away from the edge.
Inu was in the corner, scratching at a large pole that was resting against the wall. The bottom half covered in rubble, it extended diagonally up and off the building.
Up and up and up.
Glancing back down, he stepped away, instead stepping towards this beam, this chance to get higher than ever before.
Leaving his backpack and hoodie on the floor, he started to climb up the rubble, reaching the large beam quickly. Reaching for the first part of the metal, he stopped. He could go back down.
Down to the floor, to the ledge, to the ground below.
Or, he could go up.
Up to the sky, to the freedom, to the hope.
Was it worth the effort?
Was going further worth more than going back down?
Could he make it to the top or would he fail, only to land onto the ground below as if he had never even tried?
Steadily, he climbed. Hands took harsh grip onto the sides of the beam, eyes trained ahead as the ground got even farther away.
He climbed.
And climbed
And slipped.
Hands catching him before he could roll off the edge he winced as he used his injured arm to pull himself back up, away from the enticing fall.
Taking a breath, he climbed again. Not stopping until the beam did.
It took a lot of effort.
It took a lot of strength.
It took a lot of restraint to not let himself fall, to not let his tired arms let go.
It took a lot of hope to ignore the temptation of the easy solution, the short-term fix.
It took a lot, but he made it. Finally, he was at the top.
Kicking his legs over the end of the bar, he balanced on the edge, perched on the highest point on campus. He could see the edges of Ground Beta and further still, the roofs of the neighboring buildings peeking over the walls and the open fields of the training areas stretching along the horizon.
Sitting there for a few minutes, hearing aids turned off, the silence comforting against the wind, he took in the view. Steadily, the sun began to set. He watched as the orange glow filled the world. Beams of light tracing the streets and slipping through the cracks in the buildings, illuminating every inch of this broken city beautifully.
Taking another breath, he took it all in.
The feeling of being so high up was intoxicating, it was like nothing he had ever felt before.
He felt…
Free.
He could tip to the side and find out what it felt like to fall if he wanted to. The cavernous fall, still as enticing as it had been earlier, but he couldn’t, not when freedom felt this good.
Even though the voice in the back of his head was telling him to fall, he couldn’t, he wouldn’t. He had places to go, heights to reach, and points to prove.
He had hope.
Looking back towards the building, he realised he would have to leave soon. The setting sun meant curfew would end soon and he didn’t want to give the teachers another reason to hate him.
He also needed to find something to eat, not having been able to make dinner had left him hungry and the half-eaten muesli bar in his bag would not be enough to last until the morning (assuming he was able to make breakfast when he woke up). He needed something…
Mei.
She was probably in the workshop but she would have food. Thinking about his options, he tried to find a solution that wouldn’t interrupt whatever she was doing.
No one wanted to talk to him... except for her, he didn’t want to ruin that.
After spending one lunch break in Power Loaders workshop (the door to the roof was locked), she had found him and talked his ear off, it had been a nice change to the silence. A few times he would comment on what she said, give her ideas for new inventions.
She was the only person who talked to him and talk she did.
Was it selfish to say he wanted someone to talk to him and not at him?
It didn’t matter either way, the girl had found him eating lunch on the roof a few times and stayed with him while showing him how her new ‘babies’ worked. She was a welcome distraction and a friend he was grateful to have (he managed to stomach his lunch when she was around).
Watching as the sun finally dipped below the horizon, he shut his eyes, the cool breeze making him feel alive as he allowed himself to smile with the growing stars.
Opening his eyes, he twisted over, slamming his hand onto his alarm to cut off the loud ringing. It wasn’t loud enough to wake anyone else on the floor, but it was still annoying for him.
The irritating noise didn’t end though, soon replaced by his phone buzzing, he groaned. Why didn’t he just put it on silent? And why was he getting so many notifications?
Turning his phone on, he was blinded by the sudden light.
Just below the 6am display there was a string of notifications, each one replaced with another before he got the chance to read them.
Sitting up, he pulled on his glasses and started to sift through them all.
A few were expected; threats and insults from the public who found his number online somewhere as well as some from various students and his friends. There was also a message from his mum about an up-and-coming photoshoot he was modeling at and one from his dad telling him the same thing with less swearing weaved in.
Quickly blocking the new numbers and deleting their messages, he moved onto the notifications coming from his news app. His account had been tagged in thousands of posts, all of which were linking various new articles. His inbox was full of similar stuff, people he didn’t know sending him the articles or threatening him (again). This couldn’t be good, the last time he was ‘big news’ he had been kidnapped.
Opening the first article he read the title and promptly dropped his phone.
Hero Student Bakugou Katsuki; villain or hero?
Unable to steady his racing heart and disjointed breathing, he tried to read the article, not getting further than the first paragraph. Someone had told the media about the ‘swan dive roof’ incident and now his face was all over every social media platform in the country, again.
He was being painted the villain, again.
Bakugou Katsuki: A True Villain?
UA Student Really A Villain All Along?
Closing the app he started to swipe away the notifications, but more and more articles popped up. Defeated, he turned off all notifications from the app, hoping to get some kind of relief.
This was it, Aizawa would see this and expel him on the spot. No agency would want to take in a villain and no hero would be willing to work with someone like him. His dream was fading to dust before it could even begin. It was fine though,
He deserved this after all.
They weren’t wrong, he was a villain.
Huddling up in his blankets, he tried to stay calm. Soon his teachers would be breaking down the door and dragging him out of the front gates by a chain, muzzle locked over his mouth.
Was he really a villain? He had gotten better, hadn’t he? Why couldn’t anyone see that he had gotten better?
A short clang of metal hitting metal stopped his thoughts, Mei had messaged him, she was the only one who had that ringtone. Pulling his hand out from under his refuge, he moved to read her message.
Mei-onnasie: bro! youre on the fucking news!!!!
Mei-onnasie: you probably already know that though!
Keeping his shaking hands as steady as he could, he replied, if only to reassure her that he wasn’t dead.
Kat-chup: Yeah, someone told the media about the whole ‘swan-dive’ thing.
Mei-onnasie: have you read any of the artiticles?!?!?!?!
Kat-chup: No, they’re all talking shit about me, why would I read that?
Mei-onnasie: no dude! you’ve got it all wrong!! theyre all talking about how much youve changed!!!! the titles are just their to get clicks!
Kat-chup: what?
Mei-onnaise: yeah dude! Everyone is hella excited to see how much you grow throughout youre hero career!!! look!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!
Mei-onnaise : www.hero-news-now.com/article_5318008/Bully-Turned-Hero:Bakugou-Katsuki/full_true-01134/
Letting a bubble of hope build inside his chest for just a second he clicked on the link and let the article load.
Bully turned hero: A story of success
In his early life, the young Bakugou Katsuki was not considered a hero, spending his time bullying someone claiming to be his childhood friend…
…Most would call this child a villain, but watching his growth while attending US highschool, it is obvious that this young man has become nothing less than a true hero…
…his story is proof that people can change and the public is waiting to see his debut in the coming months.
Phone falling from his hands again, he felt relief flood his system.
They knew. They knew he had grown and by god did it feel good for that to be seen by someone. The whole world had been watching him get better and they believed in him. Maybe with the media backing him up his friends would understand.
Another chime from his phone had him looking at his notifications again. It was his mum.
Oven Mit-suri: hey Brat, we’re setting up a media conference, come over today and answer some of these stupid reporters questions.
It's my Kat-chen: Yeah, yeah, old hag. I’ll be around at lunch.
Rolling out of bed, he staggered towards his closet, still in shock. Pulling out a pair of black cargo pants and a plain hoodie, he got ready for the day.
Backpack on, he made his way towards the window, unlocking it and swinging his legs off the edge. He had to get off campus before his friends broke down the door looking for him.
Hood covering his face, he avoided the busier streets, instead walking down side streets and slipping through shortcuts he found as a kid.
Knocking on his front door, he checked the time. Mid-day, right before lunch, just like he said. Opening the door, his mother quickly ushered him inside and threw a suit into his empty arms while pushing him into his room to change.
Looking at the suit, he almost decided to burn it, throw it away, and just head downstairs in a pair of loose jeans and a t-shirt. Instead, he pulled on the white shirt, tucking it into the pants, and prepared to face the reporters that were starting to build in his living room.
Forgoing the tie and leaving the buttons around his neck undone, he walked downstairs.
Stepping into the living room, he expected it to be filled with hungry reporters, drooling at the chance to get the juicy details on whatever they could.
Luckily for him, there was only one reporter in the room, a woman he recognised as the reporter his mum brought to almost all of her fashion shows. Behind her, a small drone was floating, a camera attached where its ‘head’ would be (Mei would love to get her hands on it).
Sitting down, he prepared to answer any and all questions that were sent his way. There was nothing left to hide, someone had already spilled his secrets, all he could do now was own up to it and push past it.
“So, Bakugou Katsuki how have you been?…”
A few questions later and a night spent at home, he was on his way back to the dorms.
His luck had run out though because, despite the news talking about him all weekend, his friends still refused to talk to him, some not even meeting his eye anymore. His one saving grace was that Aizawa had agreed with the media and hadn’t expelled him when he got back. Small victories.
A few months later, he found himself in front of the cameras again, this time with a crowd seated in front of him.
Graduation, he had finally made it. All the evenings he had spent in ground beta and the lunch breaks in Power Loaders workshop (per Mei’s insistence) had helped him focus on his grades, boosting them until he climbed from third, to second, to first in the class. None of his classmates had been too happy about that, but he couldn’t be prouder.
And now look at him, top of the class and having to give a speech at his graduation.
Walking up to the stage, felt good.
It felt great.
“Fuck yeah! Get up there Kats!” Mei screamed from her row, other support students around her wincing at her volume. Trying to hide away from the attention she drew.
He smiled.
The rest of the evening became a blur of glares and congratulations. Most of his time was spent accepting his well-deserved awards and ignoring his classmates scathing remarks each time he walked past them.
Soon enough, it was over. He was out and ready to take on the world. The media that was crowded outside, watching as he left, head held high and signature smirk on his face.
A small part of him relished in the way the cameras followed him as he strolled out of the front gates. He could feel the rage rolling off his classmates as the media completely ignored them in favour of following his career.
In favour of watching him grow into one of the best heroes Japan would ever have.
In favour of trusting him, of trusting Pro-hero Dynamight, with their safety and protection.
Yeah.
He deserved this.