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It's a completely normal day at UA. The sun is shining- thereby blinding every unfortunate student who had the bad luck to sit next to the window, because UA's architects apparently valued aesthetic over cornea function- the birds that woke Midoriya up at the ass crack of down are still chirping merrily through those nasty shit windows despite them being bulletproof, and Aizawa is twenty-five minutes late to the first period, which means he will keep them after school that day for fifty.Iida is sitting unobtrusively at his desk- or as unobtrusively as he can, anyway, given that he's still bristling with the urge to yell at Bakugou to remove his shoes from his desk, god what a heathen- when Midoriya abruptly slides open the door. Now, Midoriya isn't the type of person to be late, which is why Iida had originally thought the boy was sick or something. He'd even contemplated going to the store to buy some microwavable chicken noodle soup after classes so he could bring it to his friend's dorm later, which is why Iida starts as soon as Midoriya begins walking through the door."Midoriya! I had not expected you to be here today! Your lateness is most uncharacteristic of you, and must I remind you that it should not be a trait belonging to any UA stu-""Iida-kun, congratulations," Midoriya abruptly cuts in. Iida blinks again, taken aback, because Midoriya rarely ever interrupts anybody- "I listened to your voice for about half a second and almost gave a fuck. You know, telling somebody not to be late sort of loses the charm after the thirty-second time you belt it out in front of the entire class."And with that said, Midoriya walks casually over to his desk, parks himself into the seat, and drops his bag beside him. It takes about the same amount of time that Midoriya was listening to Iida for the class to absolutely erupt."ROASTED." "What the fuck, did Midoriya just-?""Is he sick?""He's definitely sick, I don't think I've ever seen Midoriya even say crap, let alone drop an f-bomb-""And on Iida, no less-""Who is he and what's he done to Midoriya-""Looks like the shit nerd finally grew some fucking balls," Bakugou snorts, kicking his legs up on the desk. "About time."Suddenly Midoriya whips to stare at Bakugou. He's not glaring or widening his eyes, but there's a sort of scrutinizing, whirling intensity to the forest green gaze that would make even All Might feel slightly perturbed. All Bakugou does is narrow his eyes and stare back- "what, you fucking nerd, have something to say?" "You know, Kacchan-" Midoriya suddenly squints his eyes, scrunching up his face. "Actually, I don't know why I call you that. I've always thought it's a cute name but for someone like you, it really doesn't match, at all. So if I really pick a name that's more appropriate given your behavior, I feel like it should be something that Kaminari said a while back- now, what was it called again? Crap stewed in sewage?" He picks a moment to mull, and Bakugou is so flabbergasted for a second, seeing the blunt and offensive words coming from a boy that used to stutter at his shoelaces that he can't even muster the control to think anything, let alone talk. Then Midoriya snaps his fingers. "Ah! Right! Garbage stewed in sewage, although I can't really determine which one you'd be more of. Garbage or sewage? Which one's worse? Technically speaking sewage is, so I suppose that'd be your personality, with garbage being your face.""WHAT'D YOU SAY TO ME YOU DAMN NERD-""Ah, right, I forgot. You also seem to have hearing problems. Most of the time when I talk to you, all you can do is roar at me angrily, and I guess that's only a natural response if your hearing is bad. You know, to respond more loudly to a person that was speaking at a reasonable volume."Bakugou's desk explodes. He leaps up, lunging forward to grab Midoriya's head-The well-conditioned remainder of Class 1-A lunges just in time to restrain him, with Iida grabbing Bakugou's head and physically pulling him back, Yaoyorozu casting a net out of her body to keep the boy from toppling atop of and subsequently throttling the not-so-innocent-anymore-greenhead, Todoroki encasing his hands in ice with rapid speed to keep them from detonating. (After three charred shirts' worth of experience, he's learned that when Bakugou lunges at people, his hands start crackling before the rest of his body even moves.) Kirishima's grabbing his arms with a Quirk-enforced grip, and even Mineta has pulled out a few of his purple balls to cement Bakugou's feet to the floor. As it is, Bakugou's nose is literally an inch away from Midoriya's; his eyes bulge like that of a provoked bull's, his nostrils are flared, and his entire body is writhing against all of the holdings to crush Midoriya's face against the wall.Midoriya continues the lambast, completely unfazed. "And that's apparently your favorite response to everything, as well. Since childhood, you've always seemed most prone to responding to a peaceful, ordinary situation with complete violence. I've never understood why- perhaps it's because you're simply too easily provoked? Or is it because you have a thirst to prove to others to back down? Or maybe..." a hint of a smile tugs at his lips, wonder swirling in his eyes as he looks up to gaze nonchalantly at his childhood 'friend'-"it's because, deep down, you feel insecure about everything and anything that has a brain. Which would make it tempting for you to beat me up the way you did all the time when we were kids."Like a switch, the room loses its loose, uncaring atmosphere. The class suddenly goes quiet.Even Bakugou's eyes widen, and at the sudden mention of their previous behavior-their previous roles, a history that had been seemingly discarded come to UA- his body goes limp for a split second.Midoriya continues babbling, apparently oblivious to the havoc he's just wreaked upon every member of the class. "About that. Did you know how inconvenient you were to my Mom? You know, hospital fees don't come easy and neither do doctor's trips, so after a while, she became a self-taught medic. Bought a bunch of gauzes to fix ankles that you'd sprained, always had extra bandages to cover up black eyes because you know, when you get beat up, passerby stare like the one who gets beat up is the freak. Well, if nothing else, I guess I learned to stop caring about what everybody else thought." An easy grin comes onto his face. The temperature in the classroom has dropped like Todoroki's just overdosed on his Ice Quirk. The room is rock still.In the silence, Bakugou swallows. His eyes haven't stopped glaring at Midoriya since the second he started talking, and now in the silence, Bakugou opens his mouth. When he speaks, his voice is dangerously low, a dark spitting of words:"and why. Why should I give half a shit about all that? The past is in the past, fucking Deku. I thought you were at least strong enough to have gotten over this shit."The group that had been restraining Bakugou moments before has lost all thought of their previous motive of merely preventing Aizawa from giving them another lecture and punishment of washing the toilets for half a month. The chilling implications of this quickly gone-wrong conversation instead make Kirishima turns to stare at Bakugou in shock, and next to him Uraraka's hands silently rise to cover her mouth, eyes staring disbelievingly at Midoriya's jaunty smile-even Iida's at a loss for words. Todoroki's left side bursts very obtrusively into flames, his gaze positively lethal as he turns to stare at Bakugou, expression venomous. Midoriya grins. He seems completely unbothered and it's giving Yaoyorozu chills down her spine as she stares at the greenhead to wonder just what has been lurking behind her classmate's pure smiles and sweet, caring nature. This is a Midoriya she's never seen before, and yet the face matches the eyes, the syntax of his words rippling alongside the easy loping of his tongue, and all she can do is feel her heart valves beat against each other in a disjointed rhythm.
This is what Midoriya's gone through?
"Yes, Kacchan, the past is in the past. There's nothing we can do about it now." He crosses his legs, tilts his head to prop it against his hand as he analyzes Bakogou's features. "That's why we have to move on, put things behind us... Only, that's difficult to do when sometimes you look at your classmate's face and remember him telling you to commit suicide."Bakugou starts. "Taking a swan dive off of the roof. Well, at least you had the sympathy to conceal it with pretty words." His smile goes toothy. "Didn't know there was much inside you that still remembered what a swan looked like. I'm pleased that you mustered up enough brain power to use it in your insults. You know, I was considering it for a while- don't give me that look, Kacchan, you don't know the power of words." He leans forward. "And I'm here to teach you.""Do you know what it feels like? Having teetered on the edge of self-inflicted harm, death, loss, everything you wouldn't want to inflict upon anybody but apparently yourself? I was standing there for a long, long time, Kacchan, and you made every attempt to kick me to that ugly monster living. Right. In. Here." He jabs the top of his head with his pointer finger, pulling it back only to stab it once more, very harshly, into the side of his head. He repeats the action, and while it's just the force of a single digit everybody in the class winces with each gesture, even Bakugou, currently restrained in a membrane of netting. "Like I said, I have no idea what made you respond so violently to everything. Maybe it really was just an inflated and simultaneously insecure ego. That kept you punching and kicking and refusing my help even when, you know, all I wanted to do was just see if you were okay after a fall- never thought it'd warrant a lifetime of bullying, did I? I guess that's what keeps me up at night. The fact that my own nature makes people like you, people who used to be my friend, hate me. And, you know, at first, I thought, what if it's me? What if I'm in the wrong for trying to help others?" He stands up. Leans in toward Bakugou, stares at him in the eye, and for the first time in his life, Bakugou Katsuki flinches back from the dark pools glimmering in Midoriya's eyes. They tell of loss, of sadness, of reflection that's gone wrong and been warped into something dark and sinister that the blond has never even imagined before. "And so I guess I only have one question for you. One answer to satiate my curiosity. After my mom spent half of her wages paying for medicine so she could fix me up. After I learned how to ignore people's stares and whispers. After you made me consider suicide and wonder if I was wrong in the head for wanting to help people. After you did that all to me... ""Was it fun?"Bakugou's eyes are wide, scarlet orbs stuck in the unwinding road that is trapped inside Midoriya's head, leaking through his optical nerves, perturbing as a black moon. "I want to know, Kacchan." His smile is saccharine. Sickening, now. "Was it worth seeing me flinch every time you walked up to me? Did you like the feeling of power over somebody else, being able to kick somebody down without ever looking back? Did you enjoy it? Because I really didn't like what you did to me, so I sure as hell hope there was at least somebody who got anything out of it." Now his voice has turned dark. He turns to Yaoyorozu, and as calm as Yaoyorozu is, as stoic and sang-froid and reasonable, she can't help but recoil backward at the full intensity of his gaze toward her. He jabs a finger toward her- not accusing, but simply to focus his attention toward her face. "Thank you, Yaoyorozu-san. You know, I've always thought that you were very reasonable if a little bit underconfident. I want you to know that you have no reason to be- you're perceptive and as naturally gifted as anybody else in this class, so keep up what you're doing. Don't falter. Except I would appreciate it if you let down the netting- thanks for that, by the way- Kacchan might wake up sore tomorrow if you keep his body twisted in this same awkward position."Wordlessly she abides. Bakugou is released into a more natural position, gaze dark as he stares toward Midoriya. He's not saying anything, but his face tells of a storm- eyebrows furrowed, jaw set, teeth gritted like he's trying to decide which part of Midoriya he should go for first in a fight. Midoriya glances at Iida and Kirishima, and wordlessly they let go of the previously snarling redhead. Midoriya leans down and with a quick, unnervingly accurate swipe of his hands, powered by a minimum utilization of Full Cowling, shears the purple balls clean off the top so that a bare minimum of the sheetlike purple gel is coating the blond's shoes. The remainder of the rubberlike balls jiggle in place, still stuck to the ground. Midoriya turns as if to speak to Todoroki, but before he makes eye contact with the boy, he inhales deeply, face contorting with a brief look of concentration.Fortunately for him, Todoroki understands and doesn't need verbal orders. Wordlessly, he steps forward. He makes eye contact for a split second with Bakugou- there's his own contained fury, Bakugo's unspoken challenge, the withering gaze of heterochromatic eyes- and melts the ice off of the blond's hands. He drops them in disgust the second the blocks of ice evaporate into steam, and Bakugou jerks his own arms back like he's touched posion.Midoriya claps his hands, looking up at the front of the classroom, where there's apparently... nothing. He smiles innocently. "Aizawa sensei, I'm done now. You can come out if you'd like."The class starts at what appears to be empty space before their disheveled teacher abruptly drops down from the ceiling behind their SmartBoard. He flips once, landing in a perfect crouch before rising to survey his startled class, fixating fatigued, dry eyes on the greenhead seated in front of him, narrowed into a careful look of analyzation. Though his hands may be shoved into his pockets, his shoulders are taut, eyes radiating tension. Midoriya simply smiles. "Midoriya, come with me. Iida, you're in charge while I'm gone.""Sure, Aizawa-sensei.""Yes, Sensei! I will ensure to the best of my ability-" he casts a distraught gaze over the rest of his stone still class- "that I maintain whatever calm remains in this classroom." His glasses flash as he adjusts them with one hand.Midoriya crosses over to the end of the room, joining their dark-haired teacher. Aizawa's expression is unreadable, but his eyes fix themselves on Midoriya for a heartbeat long enough for everybody to know before they exit the classroom.There is something wrong with Midoriya. "I knew that villain had something to do with this," Aizawa mutters, sinking back into his chair. Midoriya hums pleasantly next to him, apparently unbothered by the whole ordeal. Aizawa, All Might, Recovery Girl, and Nedzu are all seated in the same room, a small, somewhat unnoticeable office tucked beside Recovery Girl's office. All Might luckily has a free period, and Aizawa's presence has been excused, as he's Midoriya's homeroom teacher who spends the most time with him at school and has a decent amount of information about the shit that's happening. For the time being, Cementoss has taken over Aizawa's class and is beginning their next lesson. Nedzu is sitting in a high chair next to them, swinging his hybrid legs and examining Midoriya in interest over a steaming cup of tea- as principal, he should be in his office, but a student becoming involved with a villain's quirk is a priority, so he's come to look after him to examine his condition for the time being. Recovery Girl has been called to see whether or not she can absolve Midoriya's latest condition. "Wait a second, let me get this straight," All Might coughs, and while there's no alarming spray of blood accompanying it this time, his grimace is a sign of being obviously bothered. "This villain- Yumiko Mitarashi- has been on the loose for the past week and a half, and while she doesn't kill people, her Quirk, Personality Thievery, is very impactful. And it's made Young Midoriya-" he looks briefly unsettled for a moment, eyeing his unbothered young pupil, who looks the exact same in physical stature and yet so different at the same time."Experience a personality flip. Almost a flip of 180 degrees, if you will," Recovery Girl sighs, glancing over at Midoriya. He's currently tilting his head back, and from the rolling motion of his eyeballs, it's evident he's scanning the ceiling to presumably count the number of ceiling tiles. "Mitarashi's Quirk literally changes all aspects of the afflicted person's personality. By taking and stealing the victim's natural personal traits, what's left in place are the emotions that the victim has either squandered emotionally and kept hidden from society-literally any attribute that typically does not appear in the victim's everyday behavior, in a manner of speaking. Of course, these traits and emotions have to present in the first place for them to be manifest in the new personality that Mitarashi's Quirk pulls out. If the victim hasn't ever repressed, well, anything, then once Mitarashi's Quirk hits them, the victim will be left completely unchanged. Basically, Mitarashi's quirk functions off of the parts of oneself that have been suppressed.""So the Quirk would theoretically work be most effective on somebody who's gone through a lot of pain and has hidden emotions," All Might deducts carefully, placing his fingertips on his chin. His brows are furrowed. "If a person who's always been given attention and has never felt emotionally neglected before were to get hit, then they'd probably be entirely unaffected. On the other hand, if the individual had many suppressed emotions and never had the time to speak of them, then once Mitarashi yanked away from their normal personality, they would still have a whole other personality to function off of." "Exactly," Nedzu chirps. "And that seems to be what's happened to your student Midoriya."Midoriya, despite being the topic of their whole conversation, seems perfectly content and wonderfully oblivious. Aizawa looks at his student, jaw locked.
Out of all the people to get hit, Midoriya...
Normally, if I had known more about the specifics of Mitarashi's Quirk before, I would've been almost relieved to hear that Midoriya got hit with it instead of anybody else. He's always been earnest, open in class, and with the way he acts, you'd think he just lets out whatever's on his mind. But to think that this is what has been literally suppressed... Cynicism, boredom, spite, anger. "I never would've thought young Midoriya had so much locked inside of himself," All Might said worriedly, lacing his fingers together and leaning forward. "He's always been so open." Aizawa nods, absentmindedly corroborating the idea. "Any idea on how long the Quirk lasts?""Indefinitely." Four heads all turn in tandem to look at Midoriya, who snaps back to attention once he realizes that he's been made the subject of a conversation. A sardonic grin tilts his features. "Why, hello. From the way you four were talking, it seemed like you were set on ignoring me and treating me like a suddenly disabled specimen. Nice to know I've been considered another talking human being again."Aizawa swallows. All Might spits blood in surprise. Recovery Girl frowns. Nedzu tilts his head, and when he speaks his voice is suddenly unbearably soft."Midoriya, as a group we never meant to make you feel that way. We were simply trying to discern what's caused your sudden change in personality- we never meant to isolate you or your emotions.""And yet you did. No matter how unintentionally." His grin hasn't faded, and All Might takes it back- there is absolutely nothing similar between this boy, sitting in front of him, jarring grin warping delicate features, hair mussed black, eyes shining with a dark, jaded gleam, and his young pupil, a boy with eyes like metaphorical stars and a smile that could put the sun to shame. Nothing. "Isn't that kind of ironic, though, Principal Nedzu? With that scar-" he taps the side of his temple, mirroring the slash on Nedzu's furry white face- "I've always wondered what you've gone through before. What humans must have done to you before your Quirk manifested-""Young Midoriya!" All Might snaps, a tone of jarred disgust fluctuating in his voice. "That's your Principal you're talking to, you must show-""Respect?" Midoriya turns to him, almost lazily. "The exact thing you were ignoring earlier?"He taps his fingers listlessly against the side of his wrist. "You know, All Might, I've always wondered what would've happened if that Sludge villain hadn't escaped from your bottle. Yes, Kacchan wouldn't have been televised and interviewed as an unfortunate victim, but you also probably would've never made me what I am now. You would never have even considered me as a potential Hero- in fact, you would've just skimmed right over my presence, completely ignored all the thoughts that'd been swirling in my head so I could rot in a pit of slow deconstruction. There's nothing quite so crushing as having your lifelong idol sentencing you to a remainder of a lifetime of police duty."All Might flinches. Midoriya continues, oblivious, or perhaps delighting in, the misery he's inflicting upon his teacher. "It's always plagued me, this hidden thought, y'know? How many other Quirkless people have you left alone, ignored, trampled? Or just normal people, at that? You've been the Symbol of Peace for so long I wonder if you even ever really see yourself as human anymore. Do you ever look at a civilian with hope shining in their eyes, admiration lighting their face up, and remind yourself that you're actually bioiogically the same as them? Or do you place yourself on a pedestal above them and justify your separation with I'm saving them, can't get too close? Because I think that's exactly where you were- up high, stuck on that pedestal with no regard for a Quirkless boy- when you first found me."All Might looks simultaneously thunderstruck and crushed. "Oh, my," Nedzu says calmly. "You just gave your favorite teacher quite the lecture, Midoriya-kun. I don't think he's been spoken to like that by a fellow peer before, much less a student.""Really?" Midoriya inquires, mild interest disguising his suddenly sharp eyes, and Aizawa can see a little bit of the old Midoriya shining through there, with inquisitive expressions and thoughts, ever-moving, striking like lightning. "Then it's a good thing I just did. Somebody needed to inform him of that." Aizawa looks at All Might carefully. The man looks like he's just gotten the breath knocked out of him by a live bear, and is trying to regain some semblance of composure; while it'd be heartless to ignore him in any other situation, there's still a pressing problem in front of them that deserves topmost attention. So Aizawa turns to Midoriya and chooses his words carefully, allowing him to guide the direction of their conversation so that All Might can recover, quietly, without anymore lashing from Midoriya. "Midoriya. What did you say about the length of the Quirk?"Midoriya shrugs, examining a speck on the window."It lasts indefinitely. That's part of what makes Mitarashi so powerful. Her Quirk sometimes can't ever be undone.""What?" All Might gasps. From an outsider's point of view it might look almost funny, the Symbol of Peace- in his deflated mode, to be fair- gaping at a fifteen-year-old boy."What are the requisites for that possibility?" Aizawa inquires sharply, his tone disguising the sudden welling of alarm pooling in his chest. In his head there's a feeling that's taking place, akin to a skyscraper capsizing inwards- he feels like he's been sucker punched, and the idea that one of his favorite students is never going to get back is, bluntly put, wrecking. Midoriya still doesn't seem very interested in him, eyes turning downward to examine his nailbeds. "Mitarashi-san didn't explain it perfectly, but I'm pretty sure I can fill you in on this much. You're going to have to find a way for the old me to want to come back again.""What do you mean?""People need resolutions. When they don't get the sense of closure they need, some part of them is squandered, stored away, left to suffer in agony." Midoriya's grin is waifish, evil, villain-like almost as he turns to look at Nedzu- "And that's exactly what happened to my old self. For parts of him, there has been no sense of closure that he needs. There are a lot of parts of him that have been stored away and are suffering because he hasn't got the attention he deserves, the apology he needs, the acceptance that's required for fundamental human growth. To make him come back, you're going to have to give him the sense of closure that he and I both deserve.""But statistically speaking, that's nearly impossible to do," Recovery Girl reasons. "We have no idea how many emotions or personality traits Midoriya-kun has been suppressing, and for what reasons. To find out what traits you've been holding back, then track them back to what's made you hold them back, is a nearly impossible task.""Exactly. That's why I said her Quirk lasts indefinitely. It might never be undone," Midoriya says, a tone of glee in his voice. He looks almost happy, clasping his hands to his chest in childlike, disgusting joy. "Actually, it can be, quite easily," Nedzu speaks up, suddenly. Like Midoriya, he's a thinker. There are almost visible cogs working away behind the mouse's eyes, chugging and slugging through rapid flurries of thought. "From what I've heard from Aizawa, you suddenly gave out an uncharacteristic lecture to your friend, Iida Tensei, as well as your fellow classmate, Bakugou Katsuki, the latter of which was noticeably longer."Midoriya's eyes narrow."So it makes sense to reason that the sense of closure you were so avidly describing before is found in an individual you've lectured-because when you lecture somebody, you want them to reflect on their behaviors and past actions. You and Bakugou-kun live quite close to each other, and one of your first trips of the school year to Recovery Girl here was because of a confrontation with him. I have reason to say that one of the people you need closure with is Bakugou-kun. Aren't I right?"The greenhead's teeth are almost gnashing, now. Finally, his face relaxes and he sinks back, smiling. "Wow, Principal Nedzu. Looks like your Quirk really is no joke, huh?""I'll take that as a yes. That means Bakugou Katsuki is one of the people you need closure with. And considering that you gave him quite the lecture the very first time you spoke to him after getting hit with this Quirk- that means you can't control what you say when you meet one of these designated people, I suppose?" Nedzu's eyes are flashing. "Then, in that case... All Might, you're one of the people Midoriya needs closure with, as well."All Might, who has just recovered from one onslaught, looks like he's gotten hit with a truck for the second time. He stares for a second, looking as flabbergasted as Aizawa feels, who is blinking rapidly as if he's overused his Quirk. For a heartbeat, All Might looks a bit devastated- and then resigned."That makes sense," All Might says softly. "There have been so many things I should have but never said to you, Midoriya-kun."Midoriya snorts. "You're going to have to try a lot harder than that if you want the Quirk to fade.""Indeed. Mitarashi's Quirk gets more complex the more complex her victim is." Nedzu takes a sip of his tea. "I assume Midoriya has a couple of people he needs to attain closure with. For the sake of security purposes, I'd want somebody to oversee this process in case of some nasty Quirk aftereffects, but I don't know if that would disturb the emotional recovery that is needed for Mitarashi's Quirk to fade. For the time being, however, do you mind keeping an eye on Midoriya-kun to make sure he doesn't do anything unpredictable, Aizawa?""No," Aizawa responds. He's judging Midoriya very carefully. The boy hasn't made eye contact with him since he's gotten hit with the Quirk, and if what Nedzu's saying is correct, then could that mean...?"Excellent," Nedzu announces, clapping his small paws together. He's still scrutinizing Midoriya very, very closely. "From what it looks like, Midoriya-kun, we've already determined two of the people you need closure with. From Mitarashi's past victims, it seems as if most of them have found closure by themselves, so it's likely that you only need closure with a few people as opposed to many.""And Mitarashi's other victims have brainwashed to do her bidding," Midoriya drawls. "Is that what you're worried is going to happen to me, Principal Nedzu?""Is it?" Nedzu inquires sharply, turning the teacup over in his paws. "From what I hear, she can be quite persuasive.""She is. But no." Midoriya taps his fingers against the edge of his chair. His eyes are narrowing. "That woman has gone through a lot, experienced many hardships. But it doesn't justify her current actions or past crimes. If any of UA's staff finds her, then I will not hesitate to help apprehend her to ensure that she sees the error in her ways.""That's relieving in itself," Nedzu states. He steeples his fingers together. "And if you're sticking with us to this one, then it seems as if your senses of right and wrong have been left intact, even if your personality has been altered somewhat.""Altered a lot," Midoriya corrects him, grinning. "But you're right about the moral part of things. Mitarashi's Quirk can, but in this case, hasn't upended my sense of what's right in the world. For that to happen, I'd need to have originally had some pretty strong doubts about good and bad before the Quirk hit me. But I didn't. So even in the scenario you can't get rid of the Quirk, you'll still be left with Midoriya Izuku, a U.A student aspiring to be a pro hero, to save others from villains and wrongdoing... It'll just be with a personality twist, so the Pro Hero to be is still a Pro Hero to be, just a little bit different than when you first met him.""Thank you for the clarification, Midoriya-kun." Nedzu locks eyes with Aizawa and it's clear from his expression, carefully blank as it may be, as to what the hybrid is thinking. "With that said, I feel it most appropriate for you to take him back to class, Aizawa. We'll look into Mitarashi some more to determine the exact nature of her Quirk, but for now, I believe it is best for Midoriya-kun to keep in the classroom. He is, after all, a Pro hero to be." "But-" All Might protests. "You will have your moment of closure with Midoriya-kun when the time arrives," Nedzu states calmly, sipping at his tea. "And don't you have classes with him later today, anyway? There will be a plethora of opportunities. Besides, these things cannot be forced. Simply locking you in this office with Midoriya-kun will not provide you with ample time to see what he could possibly need closure about, and it might make Midoriya-kun even more frustrated."There's a look of faint protest that fades into resignation on All Might's features. He sighs, sinking back into his chair. "Understood."Nedzu nods. "Aizawa?""Got it," he says promptly, standing up. "Come on, Midoriya. You've missed half an hour of class and Cementoss has begun his next lecture."Midoriya's eyes widen, and the yearning for information, learning, is apparently another trait that has not been robbed of him. "But today was the discussion about Quirk politics in the post Juuman- dangit!" He pivots abruptly and sprints straight down the hallway without so much as a beat of hesitation, which isn't too unlike Midoriya normally, except for the fact that Midoriya would usually pause to thank his teachers. Aizawa sighs, nursing his temples. It's going to be a long day.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
"I'm sure you've all noticed one way or the other by now, but Midoriya has been hit by a rogue Villain's Quirk," Aizawa states plainly in front of his class.
"KNEW IT."
"Oh no, is Deku-kun gonna be okay...?""-it must have something to do with personality-""-maybe that's why he flipped his shit with Iida-"It's the fifth period. Aizawa's excluded Midoriya from the class; the boy is currently waiting outside before Aizawa gives him the okay to let him in. As for now, extenuating circumstances prevent the boy from entering the classroom, as Aizawa explains what exactly had happened to the greenhead-and he thanks the lords above that U.A's walls are bullet, sound, and Quirk-proof. There was no way in hell he wanted to deal with whatever Midoriya was... now, and give a lecture about the very boy at the same time. It'd be kind of like screwing him over twofold, talking about him behind his back and talking about a him that wasn't really him, something he couldn't control.The sound in the room is rising from a gentle murmur to a growing tide."All of you shut up," Aizawa deadpans, and the room falls deathly quiet from his single brief statement. He continues on, unfazed. "The responsible Quirk is unique in two ways- one, in that it didn't deal Midoriya any physical damage. His entire body has been left intact and for the most part, unchanged." Lucky for both him and Midoriya. One more bone for the boy and he'd probably have beaten roadkill in the number of injuries sustained, and one more bone broken in Midoriya's body under Aizawa's supervision would mean Recovery Girl would probably murder him into a little puddle of blood once and for all."However, it has completely altered his personality. The responsible quirk, Personality Thievery, typically nullifies the victim's typical characteristics by drawing out underlying features that the victim has been keeping hidden from the people around him. In other words, one's typical personality is replaced by another personality based off of self-suppressed emotions. The Quirk has been reported to make the victim more unstable, although Midoriya seems to be relatively unaffected in this regard." Murmuring has risen up again. "The second reason this Quirk is unusual is because this Quirk's effects may last indefinitely.""What?" Uraraka screeches, at the same time Iida lets out an uncharacteristic squawk. Even Todoroki makes an undignified sound at the back of his throat, eyebrows knitting. "Silence," Aizawa glares, and the word is unusually formal coming from him, so everybody in the class figures their teacher must be so tired he's resorting to vocab he doesn't coherently slip into-they fall silent even more quickly than before. The man's dry red eyes lift back up to roam over the class, and there is an unusual, pressing and strangely meaningful weight attached behind his stare."There's a catch. The only way for Midoriya to return to his normal condition is for him to attain a sense of closure to whatever emotions he'd been suppressing in the first place. For him to attain that sense of closure, he needs to have closure with somebody he has suppressed emotions because of- judging from the outburst in the classroom beforehand, we've already identified one likely suspect." His red eyes narrow on the blond sitting unabashedly in front of him, and the entire class simultaneously turns to stare at Bakugou.He glares straight back at the classroom set of eyes staring at him."What?" He spits out seethingly. Aizawa sighs. He wishes for once in his life that things could just come easy. He drags a hand momentarily down his face before staring at Bakugou with the deadest eyes he can muster. "Bakugou Katsuki. We need to talk individually once this lesson is over, but for now, it will suffice to say that the history you and Midoriya must have had is not only clearly inappropriate but also hindersome toward both your and Midoriya's development as individuals. In that regard, it would be in your own interest to return Midoriya to his normal state as quickly as possible, which can be done in a way that aids seeking closure." "Like fuck I am!" Bakugou practically roars. "I'm not doing crap for that nerdy little shit! He's the one who got hit with a Quirk, not me- he's the one who should be strong enough to haul his ass out of it."Kirishima frowns. "Yo- that's not cool at all, man." Bakugou snarls at him, their typical camaraderie apparently forgotten. Iida nods, firmly standing up. "I agree with Kirishima-kun!" He pounds his fist against his chest in what kind of resembles a salute. "As a classmate and valued friend of his, I believe it is one of class 1-A's topmost priorities to return Midoriya-kun to his normal condition. It is critical we attend to this matter with both diligence, precision, and emotional perceptivity- and no individual, including you, Bakugou-kun, should be so removed from Midoriya-kun's current state!" With that said, he turns up his nose, utilizing his height advantage, and performs the most Iidalike glare possible toward Bakugou.Bakugou growls in response, a low, pugnacious sound curling at the edge of his throat. "I don't give a damn about that shitty nerd!"Aizawa narrows his eyes. He's been watching the way smoke is curling off of Bakugou's palms, currently shoved in his black pants-they're probably singed on the inside now, and the man's mind whirls in thought as he takes in the almost desperate look in Bakugou's eyes, thinly veiled behind his typical look of anger and pride. While his posture is normal, there's tension lined in every crack and seam and fiber of his body, as if there's something he's trying to suppress himself. I thought those two were repairing their relationship after their fight, Aizawa thinks slowly to himself. Their inappropriate skirmish at Ground Beta had been childish and unnecessary, but at the same time he'd reluctantly admitted that they both seemed to be improving after that- Bakugou talking more openly to Midoriya, the green haired boy more willing to speak up his thoughts and being less timid around the explosive blond. He'd even seen Bakugou grudgingly point out one of Midoriya's weaknesses in his Shooting style, and the boy had eagerly taken up his comments. Bakugou's always been insecure around Midoriya-although he might appear to have a superiority complex the size of a mountain, the way he acts actually suggests he's harboring a massively large inferiority complex. Coupled with his pride and fierce desire to win, he's always viewed Midoriya as complicated and somebody he can't look in the eye- when they opened up to each other at their fight, I thought Bakugou had begun to realize that feeling that way wasn't a weakness. He'd begun to accept the parts of himself that had feared Midoriya by helping the boy, which is something he would have never done in the past. With all that in mind, the current Bakugou should want to help Midoriya by returning him to his natural condition. And yet... he's not.
There's something I'm missing.
Aizawa makes a note to try and figure out what the puzzle piece is in his later discussion with Bakugou. Watching the boy's scowling, unyielding face, he drags a palm down his face, but his class has begun to speak up again- shit, is that flame from Todoroki? He doesn't need that anywhere near Kaminari's arms, which had started to spark alarmingly, and considering that even Yaoyorozu has begun to look slightly skittish, her skin glowing in preparation for her Quirk, he stares his class down and positively growls, "Shut. Up." His eyes glow red, hair rising, and everybody's Quirks are abruptly gone. He glares at them all, smoking them with his eyes, and then removes his Quirk from usage, leaving them all feeling like children that have just been violently thrown into, submerged, and abruptly yanked out of a freezing ocean. "Understand this. The Midoriya you are meeting now is the opposite of the Midoriya you typically know. But that doesn't mean it's not Midoriya- you are witnessing the emotions he has been suppressing since the beginning of what is possibly his entire life. Do not make light of his current feelings.""It is of the utmost importance that you keep this in mind. He is not the normal Midoriya, so you must treat him as such if you wish for the normal Midoriya to return- by respecting these emotions he has suppressed, and acknowledging them in ways he clearly did not expect from any of us in the past. Your behaviors must accommodate this mindset, and all teachers will have in mind this same understanding and act accordingly- it's necessary if any of you truly wish for Midoriya to return to the way he is."That said, he turns his head and barks, "Midoriya! You can come in now."The glass door slides open. Midoriya walks in. The class gazes at him with new, inspecting, almost wary eyes.He looks different and the same at the same time. While there's obviously been no drastic physical change, his eyes are somewhat deadened. Hair still a green mess around his pale, freckled face, it makes everybody in the class jolt with the realization that while, sure, Deku's features had been plain, there was always something about his appearance that drew them in like a magnet, like he had a pull the way the Sun trapped planets in an orbit. And that something was his eyes- deep green, glistening, alive with a positive energy and sparking with the thoughts no other man harbored.Now they're somehow dead in comparison-skillful, calculating, and cold, holding none of the warmth that all of them had grown to associate with Midoriya, holding none of the caring that seemed inherent and so positively enveloping. They could make shudders rise on chilled skin, stoke a sensation of dread in even the most removed of hearts. Class 1-A, feels, frankly, robbed of a luxury they never realized they even had, simply by looking at the boy in front of them- where had the old Midoriya gone? Midoriya's hands are shoved into his pockets, back slouched slightly. A smirk curves the corners of his lips. "Hi, class," he says, voice dripping with sarcasm. "New transfer student from the old, dusty thing called Midoriya's brain. Nice to meet you, stare all you want, it's not like I don't have my original brain and eyes."The class jolts to attention. Midoriya snorts, walks over to his desk, and plops into his seat behind Bakugou. The blond is positively shaking- with what, Aizawa isn't sure, but that tension he'd observed before is making his student's very veins stand out against clenched hands. Midoriya is apparently oblivious, humming to himself nonchalantly as he removes a couple of his booklets and takes out a pencil."We're resuming class. Midoriya, page 37 on the second Biomechanics chapter," Aizawa drawls, turning back to the board. The second the bell rings and Aizawa rolls out of the door in his yellow cocoonlike sleeping bag, Bakugou is out of his seat like a gunshot. The people around him start- Kirishima reaches out a placating hand- but Bakugou merely flings it aside, hissing, as he stomps toward the door. Midoriya snorts. "Coward."Bakugou's back stiffens. He halts in his spot, shoulders rising, the edges of his shoulder blades cutting into the back of his uniform, and then he whirls. His eyes are full of rage, teeth gnashing, and his gaze is positively blade-like as he stares down at Midoriya. It's akin to the look of a mad dog- snarling, all sharp teeth and malevolent eyes, muscles poised to tear muscle from sinew, heart from blood, and if this was normal Midoriya he would be scampering away with a hasty apology. But it's not. "What did you say to me, you shitty nerd Deku?" Venom drips off his tongue."Wow, so creative," Deku drawls. "Same nickname since over ten years ago. You'd think a brain might actually crop up in that head of yours after a decade. I guess it takes too much energy trying to shove both your ego and something that bears a semblance of coherency and self-control in that head of yours, huh? And maybe that's why words don't go to your head. Can't hear them."Bakugou lunges. This time nobody can stop him. There's a boom, a blinding flash, and the sickly sweet scent of nitroglycerin rising in the air alongside the smell of burnt smoke. When the smoke clears, Midoriya's desk is a charred, smoking mess. It's sitting broken on the floor, disassembled by the force of Bakugou's explosion. Midoriya himself is nowhere to be found, but Bakugou snarls lowly in his throat, "Deku," like he knows. And he does. Because a second later, Midoriya is dropping behind him, having flipped over the explosion seconds before Bakugou's fist landed."And that's another school fee out of your mother's paycheck," Midoriya sighs. Then his glare tightens. "Or not, because civilian taxes fund UA and this school is rich as shit. Can't believe that hard earned money of lower class families is going toward all the little tantrums you throw."Bakugou lunges around, and his hand is bunched around the front of Midoriya's shirt in an instant, dragging the greenhead forward. "Shut. Up.""Iida, go get Aizawa-sensei. Now," Yaoyorozu murmurs. Midoriya's face is cool. "Here we go again. Doesn't this bring back memories? Ten years ago, beating me up, laughing at an abuse of power like it's a funny thing.""I SAID SHUT UP!" Bakugou roars, jerking his head up violently, and in a heartbeat, Midoriya's hands have gripped his wrist and snaked around his elbow in a complicated, twisted grip. With a jerk of his hands so that the positioning is suddenly locked on the inside of his wrist and the outer rim of his elbow that controls the movement of his forearm and upper body, it's not even a second before Midoriya pushes down, and Bakugou is thudding to the floor. "That's it," the blond snarls, doing a kickup to land on his feet. Midoriya is watching him, cold amusement dancing in green eyes, as Bakugou lunges forward once more and promptly destroys three more desks, which are luckily vacant. Midoriya does a backflip out of the way, and then when the blond is yelling something vile about being a coward and running away, Midoriya's unlocked the window and slid it open. He's perched on the ledge like a bird, nimble and lithe and too quick for anybody to catch, and he turns around to flash Bakugou a look that's dark with lethal eyes, flashing cold and ominous."If you're not too much of a coward to follow me, Bakugou." Before anybody can react, he's leaped out in a blur of green. All anybody can see of Bakugou is the look of murderous rage in his eyes before he follows in a heartbeat, explosions propelling his form, and the two are rapidly vanishing flecks in the distance. The class is silent. "They're going to fight on campus," Kaminari starts. The entire class has been sitting almost frozen in silence, like the rapid scenes of an unfolding horror movie have been taking place in front of them that they register but can't quite disrupt. He abruptly jerks up. "Guys, they're going to fight on campus. One more time and Aizawa's going to freaking expel them, we gotta do something!" He blinks, acknowledgment registering on his face as he takes in an empty seat. "Wait, where's Uraraka, Iida, and Todoroki?""Iida went to go get Aizawa-sensei. Uraraka's getting All Might. I gave Todoroki a tracker that he attached to Bakugou when he was following Midoriya," Yaoyorozu explains. Her brow knits. "Everybody, I know it's tempting to want to do something. But I think it might be Aizawa-sensei's intent to have them fight it out by themselves.""What?" Kirishima yells in disbelief. "They're gonna throttle each other! Do you remember what Bakugou did to Midoriya in just a training exercise? Midoriya's gonna end up in the hospital with half his body burnt and broken again, and you think Aizawa's okay with that?""Midoriya is stronger now," Yaoyorozu explains calmly, although her knitted brow gives away her brooding anxiety. "Aizawa-sensei knows that as he is now, Midoriya's going to want- no, need to either confront Bakugou, either physically or verbally. I believe it is Aizawa sensei's intent to let them confront one another so Midoriya can attain the sense of closure that he needs. That's why he left the room so quickly despite knowing that Midoriya is unstable right now- in ordinary circumstances, knowing this, he would definitely supervise Midoriya to guarantee everybody's safety, but I think he wants Midoriya to let his feelings out, which he can't do properly when he's surrounded by others. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been emotions Midoriya felt the need to suppress in the first place.""Then why'd you give Todoroki-kun the tracker, ribbit?" Tsuyu croaks, placing a finger to her tongue in question."Todoroki-kun was worried for Midoriya's wellbeing," Yaoyorozu explains firmly. "As we all are. However, I believed it most appropriate for him to go because he might be the one to temper down both Midoriya and Bakugou's attacks if they do end up.. fighting. His ice will provide a significant cushion against Midoriya's blows and he may be able to hold him down with fire, whilst ice is a natural obstacle to Bakugou-kun's explosions. Of course, the other two went to go fetch the teachers in case this gets serious- I assume they will be somehow supervising them to ensure that nobody gets seriously hurt. But this is a step that I believe must be taken if we truly wish for Midoriya to be freed from the Quirk." "Wow, Yaoyorozu," Sero states, slightly disbelievingly. "It's like this was all a ruse to get Bakugou to confront Midoriya.""That's exactly what it is," Yaoyorozu states. Everybody in the class starts. "Bakugou would have never willingly confronted Midoriya on his own with intent to help him, did you see his first reaction? Aizawa-sensei acknowledged that after hearing Bakugou, and while he's usually above manipulation, this time it's for the literal safety of one of his students. A confrontation between those two is inevitable, so Aizawa-sensei attempted to speed up the process by, if you would, letting Bakugou-kun naturally fall into place. He was giving us hints at it earlier- did any of you recognize?"
Your behaviors must accommodate this mindset, and all teachers will have in mind this same understanding and act accordingly...
"Oooh...." Ashido breathes in understanding."It is uncharacteristic of a man of his curt nature to emphasize something," Tokoyami agrees, dipping his beak. "I admit I thought it was somewhat unusual and thus brushed it aside at the moment, but in retrospect, I can see what he had in mind.""That's why we didn't stop Bakugou," Yaoyorozu explains. "I think Iida caught on. We're just lucky Kirishima didn't jump up this time," she adds, shooting the redhead a meaningful stare."Hey! I was just tryna keep them from fighting... which is usually a good thing," Kirishima mumbles, then awkwardly rubs the back of his head. "I guess it's a good thing that I was a bit slower than normal this time. Since I was kinda fazed just listening to Midoriya talk. Like. What the hell, guys."Everybody silently agrees with that sentiment.The second Midoriya lands at Ground Beta, he spins around, body crackling with Full Cowling's energy, and sends a punch so strong just the blast of air sends Bakugou tumbling back. The blond flips in the air and lands on the ground, growling low in his throat. With a roar, he thrusts his hands behind him and detonates out two explosions rapidly, so that he's flying in Midoriya's face in the blink of an eye. "You Goddamn IDIOT DEKU," Bakugou roars, throwing a right hook. "You were stupid enough to let yourself get hit by a PERSONALITY QUIRK?!"Midoriya avoids the blow only for him to realize it was a feint. Bakugou's left leg has already set in motion, swinging from the side to land what would be a devastating blow against his side if Midoriya doesn't leap up and jump- in a swift movement, he seizes the tops of Bakugou's shoulders and catapults over the boy, flipping over and through the air, but Bakugou grabs the wrist of a hand that is just a little bit too late to leave his skin. With a fierce growl, he pivots on his right foot and brings the the boy swinging back- despite gaining muscle, Midoriya's still three inches shorter and unfortunately thin- and then proceeds to hurl him toward the opposite direction, an explosion searing his skin. Midoriya lands on his hands and flips in a couple of back handsprings. He's apparently unfazed, despite the explosion that had added momentum and damage to the throw that sent him skidding across the floor. But he hops calmly to his feet, brushing off his hands. A lazy grin stretches across his face. "Now then, Kacchan, should we get started?""Don't fucking underestimate me, nerd," Bakugou spits dangerously. "You're the one that has All Might's power, and you still couldn't fucking beat me just a week ago."Midoriya hums. "I remember you got pretty injured yourself. The only reason you won that one-if you could call it a win- was because we were both sky high, and your explosions were more suited for aerial momentum than my Quirk. I won't be making that mistake again." "Then you'll make another one facing me. Don't forget your place, Deku-I'm stronger." "Oh, physically?" Midoriya taunts. "I guess you've had that preconception wrapped around your little head ever since we first met each other. Otherwise, why would you have pummelled me into the ground every chance we got? When you thought it was fun to fracture my wrist and gave me a swollen ankle in the fourth fucking grade- Bakugou Katsuki, do you enjoy confirming that notion, or do you just like beating me up?"Bakugou's teeth are gnashing together, face crimson, veins pulsing at the side of his throat. He looks physically pained and furious, all at once, and for a second both of them stand there, tension pulsing practically visibly between them like a heat wave. Deku waits with narrowed eyes for Bakugous's response. And then Bakugou explodes."ALL THIS TIME, I KNEW YOU WERE THINKING OF THAT, AND NOW YOU'VE FINALLY SAID IT, THANK FUCKING GOD! SO NOW WILL YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP?" He apparently doesn't hear the contradiction in his own words- all that's happening are explosions, going rapidly off and off and off, searing the ground, turning the grass bold black."You made my life a living hell for over a decade, and now you want me to shut the fuck up?" Midoriya's laugh is acerbic, bordering on hysterical as he throws his head back. The laughs, ragged and trembling and sounding more jerked out of his throat with hooks and a chain than anything, are over far too soon for the bout to actually be genuine. His eyes are piercing when he leans back, grilling Bakugou with his gaze. "You don't know anything about what it's fucking like, Bakugou Katsuki, to sit in the fucking sidelines too goddamn terrified to say a word because the words have been burnt in your head not to." Bakugou is vehement and swears up a storm in a second, thunder meeting lightning as he screams, rages, roars, bellows. "I never burnt ANYTHING INTO YOUR FUCKING HEAD!! All this time, no matter what I did to you, you NEVER CHANGED. You were ALWAYS THE ONE WHO WAS SO FUCKING UNFAZED, ACTING LIKE YOU COULD CHANGE ANYBODY AND SAVE EVERYTHING EVEN THOUGH YOU WERE FUCKING QUIRKLESS. EVEN THOUGH I WAS STRONGER THAN YOU FROM THE START! EVEN THOUGH YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO LOOK AT ME! YOUR NATURE NEVER CHANGED NO MATTER FUCKING WHAT, SO DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING SAY THAT I WAS ABLE TO CHANGE YOU!" "Change me? You couldn't change me?" For the first time, Midoriya's voice is a hoarse croak. "What do you-""YOUR FUCKING SMILE. Do you know how fucking infuriating your goddamn smile is even though you're always so weak? You've always thought you were better, better than me, than everybody else by smiling when you know that you've-""BETTER THAN YOU?" Midoriya shrieks. "That's your fucking justification? You thought my goddamn attempt to cling onto whatever illusion of happiness there was left in this stupid fucking world was me saying I'm better than you?! That my smile was me saying you can't change me? Well-" his smile turns Bakugou's stomach, even as the boy breathes heavily- "you did, Bakugou Katsuki. You did. Because I have fucking scars."In a frenzy, he jerks up his sleeves and practically shoves his wrists and forearms in Bakugou's direction. Bakugou blanches, blood leaking rapidly out of his face. Midoriya's teeth are trembling, he's gritting them so hard. "Like it?" He hisses, and his voice has suddenly gone soft. Dangerous. Like the edge of a blade, caressing in its coldness, a second before it cuts you and drains life from limbs. Midoriya's trembling finger reaches up, traces particularly long burn on his forearm that extends from upper wrist to elbow, gone white from time. "Second grade. After offering to help you stand at that stupid fucking river. You thought it was appropriate to burn me. I couldn't wear short sleeves for a month after that and it was the middle of fucking July, a day before my birthday."Bakugou's gone rigid. He stares at the thing, Adam's apple suspended in his throat. Midoriya lifts the hand to place it in a scar seared at the bottom of a pulsing blue vein, shaped like an exploding star, white and ringed with angry red marks that look to have been dug there. "Middle school. Second year. Handed you homework sheets coz I sat in front of you, was forced to admit I still wanted to be a hero, and you beat me into the ground while the teachers weren't looking. Goddamn, how I fucking hated everything that day- mom had gotten home middle of the night. Came back from school. If I didn't want her to burst out crying and spend all of her fucking money she just lost sleep for to take me to the hospital, I needed to buy the burn medicine myself. Gauze for weeks and nobody could know why." He lowers shaking hands, turns to examine his broken arms. They're a faded patchwork of scars- covered from years' worth of bullying, damage, words twisted till they're sharp like knives. They rim the tops of his wrists, circling over and over like a ring of white bracelets, but there's nothing pretty about this jagged white decoration of burn and hurt. It's a lost mapwork of pain buried beneath memories of sleepless nights, the feeling of bone-deep exhaustion, one taunt away from tipping over and falling into something dark and monstrous, roaring inside his head.Just looking at it evokes a sense of pain, frustration, and he wants to scrub at his skin till all the marks fade away, and he doesn't know how many times he's tried for him to finally learn that he will never, ever, get them to go away. Finally, he pushes down his sleeves, settling arms at his sides, staring at Bakugou steadily."Did you ever even think about how badly it hurt?" His voice is flat. "Or were you just too pissed at my smile?" Bakugou's stare is still trapped on the promise of Midoriya's sleeves, the image seared into his mind. He will never forget- this promise, the proof of a lifetime of bullying. He meets Midoriya's gaze. "I knew about it. And I did think about it. Nights after nights. Wondering why you wouldn't change, hating the memory of you."Midoriya's eyes are narrowed, scrutinizing. "I don't fucking know what you're looking for, Deku. If it's a pretty apology with a nice little bow, that's not fucking me and I don't have it," he spits out. "No fancy shit. I just- it's-""You owe me this much, Katsuki." He doesn't notice, but a shudder wracks Bakugou's frame at the sound of his whole name, Midoriya's order spoken straight. "You don't have the right to turn away from your feelings. Not when I showed you what the result was.""I know that- goddamn." His face contorts a little, and his gaze is trapped on the ground. "Don't order me around. Shit. You're just- you're-" a shudder wracks his whole body, this time, and explosions are going off in his fists, but Midoriya doesn't flinch. Finally, Bakugou jerks his head up, rounds on him, spits out words like they're ensnared in his mouth, trapping his tongue, wields them the way a suicide bomber would let loose a grenade in clenched iron fingers."I was fucking jealous of you, okay?" The words are out of his mouth before he even knows the shape of them, and they sink like iron on Bakugou's tongue, and now there's no going back- he can feel them, hear them, taste them rippling like acid on his tongue, shredding what's left of his dignity to pieces, and it hurts. He lets out a scream, and this time he turns around and a huge explosion blows everything in the next sixty feet to smoldering ashes. The trees are smoked black, and Bakugou's scream has melted straight into the sound of the explosion til everything, everything, everything is sizzled black, as if Bakugou's trying to do the same to his brain, hurt and explode and destroy til nothing is left and he is free of these chains, emotional, disgusting thoughts and worries and fears that don't match his goals and powers for Number One. He is victory, he is the absolute best and he can't let himself fall prey to these goddamn stupid things- but wrists, scarred and broken, flash in his mind, and he swallows it all down, numbs himself as best as he can. Panting, he swivels around violently, stabbing a finger in Midoriya's direction vehemently-almost accusing.Midoriya looks stunned. "It was you, okay?" Bakugou's voice is almost desperate. There's a tone of bleeding hatred to it- for himself or Midoriya, Midoriya isn't sure. "It was always, always you. Getting up even though you were Quirkless. Smiling even though you were useless, just a good for nothing. Standing back up no matter how often I beat you down. And that entire time I knew in the back of my mind- I knew that I didn't know, didn't know how you were doing it, how you could still fight on when you were so clearly weak, when you had no reason or way or mode to fight- and you were just supposed to look at me."Another explosion is ripped out of his palms. A nearby, startled bird squawks and flies away. Midoriya considers doing the same, only he's standing there and can't move, mouth slightly agape. Bakugou swallows and continues on, hating everything; he doesn't need to say it, the expression on his face translates the sentiment easily enough. "Only me, and you ended up getting a fucking Quirk, and even without it, you always won. Not just because All Might chose you. But because you always helped people when you couldn't even fucking help yourself, and goddamn it- how was I supposed to become a fucking hero, the fucking number one, if I didn't even know how you had that strength?"His voice cracks. He continues on, steamrolling through his words like they're acid on his tongue, and if they slip back into the recesses of his mind they might take him and melt him and even if that's preferable Bakugou can't keep them stored in his head for any longer."I hated you. I hated you so much for that but it wasn't- it wasn't hate. It wasn't hate at all, I just told myself it was annoyance and sickness that turned into hate but it wasn't. It was- I was-I didn't understand. You fucking, goddamn, enigma of a shit of a human being, Deku, I didn't understand."Me? Midoriya thinks, astounded."I was jealous and you-you... Fuck. Fuck it all, you made me scared. Of myself. That I was weaker than you. And that you knew it, every time you had the nerve to smile in my face, when you had the goddamn capability to run to me like you could save me from that stupid sludge monster, every. Single. Time."He peers up, eyes roiling. "Even last week, when you fought me but didn't want to, because- you were trying to fucking help me, weren't you? Some goddamn shit about how you were the only one who could handle what I was feeling." Midoriya does, almost distantly, recall that the desperation and empathy he'd felt boiling inside him as he'd finally decided to activate Full Cowling in their fight. "What the fuck ever, nerd, but even that- even that fucking fight-" his hands are gripping hard hard hard into his palms, blood dripping down his nails. Midoriya stares, wordless. "And since then- every fucking time I look at your goddamn face- it just-""ARGH!" Then his hands are exploding again, and he leans forward and Midoriya didn't know when he got so close, but he can almost feel the breath pulsing on his face. Bakugou's screaming again, and everything around him explodes but strangely Midoriya's not hurt, and then when it fades, his hands are seized so tightly together it looks like he himself is trying to keep from exploding, the way every muscle in his body has seized. Like trying to keep in a chain of words, he glares at Midoriya, positively venomous, gem red eyes shining with what Midoriya always assumed was hatred, but now he recognizes the pain in Bakugou's eyes. He recognizes the insecurity."Fuck it," Bakugou finally swears. "Fuck it. You know what? Fuck it all, fuck this class, fuck your stupid Quirk, fuck you, Midoriya Izuku, and don't- don't just-"His voice is cracking. Midoriya can't move- he feels something inside him shift, there's shock swelling in his ribcage, and he can't- he really can't-"Stop it, Deku-" his voice is trembling and he looks like he's on the edge of either blowing everything including Midoriya up, this time, or detonating himself inside- "Stop fucking looking at me like that. I don't need your goddamned help!" Midoriya's still thinking. He can't feel anything. He can only stare."God-god-" Bakugou's face has turned white. It's something like fear. He almost looks sick. His hands are clenching and unclenching, shifting rapidly, and he looks like he wants to run away but can't bring himself to because if he does his world might flip and upend and when Bakugou Katsuki wakes in the morning he might no longer be Bakugou Katsuki. Because all the nerd is fucking doing is staring at him with fucking doe eyes, shimmering and thinking and Bakugou wants to scream, MOVE! SAY SOMETHING! RESPOND! There is no way, no way, he just said what has been biting his mind for the past decade and watching it, letting it, burn everything before him to shit. And that is what finally spurs him to action, because yes, he needs to find out what remains of his dignity and make Deku swear not to tell anybody about this shit. But he also needs to get the fuck out, the way every nerve in his body and mind is screeching at him to, because he doesn't want to see the shredded remains of his dignity and pride play out on that stupid nerd's face, and he also cannot let himself speak anything more. He's turned around, almost takes a step away from the greenhead, when he hears it."Kacchan," Midoriya whispers.He halts. Frozen. Spins around."What the hell did you call me?""Kacchan." Midoriya's eyes are a little bit greener now. A little bit less dead. His eyelashes are fluttering, almost; "Kacchan, I-"Then his eyes close. An inhalation through the nose, and Bakugou's staring, confused and uncomprehending, eyes narrowed, and when Deku opens his eyes a smirk is on his face. The eyes have returned. Cold. Dead. Green.But maybe still a little bit more green than before. A little bit warmer."You know, Katsuki, jealousy isn't a good luck on you," he remarks snidely, lifting a hand to press it to Bakugou's forehead, wrinkled in disbelief. He furrows it out with his knuckles, none too softly. "Gotta get those wrinkles out before you turn into a grandpa at the age of sixteen." Bakugou's face flushes a deep red. Midoriya cackles, believing he's just set off the blond on another one of his impending rages and leaps out of the way just before another explosion takes place. Followed by another. And another. Midoriya, Full Cowling activated to take cover, peers interestedly at the smoke, before Bakugou's voice shouts out: "YOU FUCKING DEKU!""Catch me if you can, Kacchan!" Midoriya's laughing, dancing back in the air, forearm curled around the trunk of a tree. His eyes flash in amusement. "Even if it's not a fight..." a wicked gleam lights up in his eye, a tongue pulling up past his teeth to poke at the corner of his mouth. -"and you think you're stronger, we'll see who's faster. Race you back to school."Bakugou's face contorts. He's glaring at Midoriya for a second- Midoriya wonders if he can really just laugh this off, if his calculations are wrong, if Bakugou really isn't ready to just give a heart-out like that and return to normal function alongside Midoriya, and he wonders if wow, everything really has been screwed up (did he just offend Bakugou by basically gifting him with no legit response) and-"EAT MY FUCKING DUST, NERD."