It all starts with a simple question, “Why do you want to be a hero?” Mina’s the one who asked. It’s the first week of school, and Class 1-A is on a bus going to some mysterious location that Aizawa refuses to tell them about. They’ve been on the bus for about an hour, and it doesn’t seem like they’ll be arriving any time soon. “I know it’s super generic, but I just really want to help people!” Most of the class agrees with Mina that helping people is their main motivation to become heroes. Notably different answers include Mineta’s “I want to be popular with the girls!” delusion, Iida being inspired by his brother, and Uraraka wanting to earn enough money to give her parents a comfortable life. Predictably Todoroki opts out of answering. Finally, Bakugou is the only one who hasn’t answered. With pretty much the entire class looking at him, he takes a deep breath and says, “I want to make up for the fucked up shit I did when I was younger and fight quirk discrimination.”
The whole class stares at him in shock. “DUDE THATS SO MANLY!” Kirishima yells. “Kinda unexpected, though, given his personality,” Kaminari adds. “WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY PIKACHU!!” While Kirishima does his best to prevent Kaminari’s murder, Iida says, “That is a very admirable motive, Bakugou! Fighting discrimination is one of the heroic things a person can do!” He gestures wildly with his hand, just barely missing Aoyoma’s face. “I agree with Kaminari. It is kind of unexpected, kero.” Tsuyu chimes in. “HAH!” Bakugou turns toward her. “WHY THE FUCK IS IT UNEXPECTED?!”
“You have the perfect quirk for heroics. You don’t have a ‘villainess’ quirk or a mutant type quirk. What motivation could you have to fight discrimination?” Tsuyu states bluntly. Bakugou flinches, then whispers, “I knew someone, we used to be friends. We’d basically known each other since birth, then I got my quirk, and he was diagnosed as quirkless. Ha! Diagnosed like it’s a disease, even just the phrasing pisses me off. I was constantly praised for every little thing I did, and in my cruel little mind, I decided that if I was the best because of my quirk, he was the worst because he didn’t have one.” Bakugou pauses, unsure if he should continue.
On the one hand, they’re going to find out anyway, on the other hand, he really doesn’t want them to hate him. He hates himself enough already. Steeling himself, he continues his explanation. “It started with jokes. No one said a thing. Not the teachers, not the other students, hell, not even my own parents. I was five years old, and what this behavior was telling me was that I wasn’t doing anything wrong. It progressively got worse by junior high he had no friends, no self-esteem, and was covered in cuts and bruises. All he had left was his dream. I was pissed. I’d been trying for years to break his spirit; I realize now that it wasn’t that I hated him; I was scared. I knew how dangerous hero work can be, and he didn’t have a quirk, so he was just going to die. I didn’t want to lose my first, and only, friend. However, I wasn’t exactly good at expressing emotion. Believe it or not, I was worse than I am now. So I bullied him. I tossed cruel words his way, beat him up, broke his stuff, yet he still didn’t break. Then one day, I went too far. I took his notebook, blew it up, and threw it out the window. Then I told him to kill himself.” The whole bus gasps, even Aizawa, who was supposedly asleep, tensed after hearing those words. Before anyone could yell at him, Bakugou kept going. “I’ve never regretted anything more in my life. If I could, I’d change everything. After that, I left and started to head home. However, on my way home, I got caught up in a villain attack. I was being suffocated. I was going to die, and there were at least four heroes just standing there and watching because their quirks didn’t fit the situation. Then who busts out of the crowd, the guy I told to kill himself. He rushes at the villain and throws his backpack, hitting them in the eye. He then tries his best to claw the villain off of me. After that, it’s kind of a blur. I remember All Might showed up and saved the day. I remember being praised while my ex-friend was scolded. I remember seeing the look in his eyes and being shocked because I’d never seen them so dull. Not even immediately after I told him to kill himself. I went home. The next day when I got to school, I heard gasps. I looked up, and there he was on the roof, shoes off, and ready to jump. I ran forward, I even used my quirk, but I was too slow. He crashed into the ground in front of me. I know it’s at least partially my fault, but something else happened that day. I might have cracked his spirit, but something else broke it. Doesn’t mean I’m not responsible, though.” As soon as he finishes his story a loud thwack echoes through the silent bus. Uraraka slapped him. “YOU MONSTER! YOU DON’T DESERVE TO BE A HERO YOU’RE A VILLAIN!” Tears stream down her cheeks as she screams at him. “YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT?! THERE IS NOTHING I REGRET MORE THAN WHAT I DID TO HIM! YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT I DON’T DESERVE TO BE A HERO, BUT THERE’S NO OTHER WAY TO MAKE THIS UP TO HIM! HE’S DEAD, SO I CAN’T GET ON MY KNEES AND BEG HIS FORGIVENESS! ALL I CAN DO IS FULFILL HIS DREAM FOR HIM AND SAVE AS MANY PEOPLE AS I CAN!” Bakugou is breathing heavily, tears falling to the ground with a broken expression. “I knew this would happen if I told you, but I knew you’d find out anyway. I decided to just tell you. Get it out of the way before I get attached.” Still crying, he rummages through his bag and finds his earbuds. He pops them in and drowns out the argument his class is having. Exhausted from the emotional strain he put upon himself, he is eventually lulled to sleep by a familiar kind presence.
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