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The streets were packed, but a boy moved through them like he didn't notice a single soul. His black uniform was neat despite how lazily he carried himself, his were hands stuffed deep in his pockets, with his shoulders slightly hunched.
A mess of spiky blonde hair sat atop his head, catching the light whenever he passed under a streetlamp or neon sign. In one hand, he carried a bag, not over his shoulder like most students would, but gripped loosely at his side, swinging slightly with each step.
Then, he turned.
The crowded street faded behind him as he stepped into an alleyway, the city noise dulling the deeper he went. The walls narrowed around him, covered in old posters curling at the edges, and the air was heavier here, thicker, carrying the faint scent of damp concrete. A single overhead light flickered weakly, barely holding back the dimness.
Still, he kept walking.
'Finally... I found it.' The boy scanned the alleyway, his gaze flicking over every shadowed corner. He'd been searching all over the city for this exact spot, retracing steps that weren't even his, and now—finally, he was here.
There was a reason for it, too. He wasn't just wandering around for fun. He was looking for the bottle. The one filled with sludge. The one All Might had dropped while flying over the city.
His shoulders rose with a slow exhale. He wasn't exactly thrilled about what came next. The idea of a sludge monster forcing its way down his throat wasn't something he was eager to experience. But if he didn't want to stray too far from the plot, then he didn't have much of a choice.
Sure, he could make someone else do it. That would be the easier way. But it wouldn't be right. And if that person died because of it..that blood would be on his hands. The only reason he was willing to do this was solely because he knew Bakugo survived. But there was still a chance, however slim, that he didn't.
It was a risk. But one he had to take.
If he played it safe, he'd survive for now, but Deku wouldn't get One for All. And if Deku never got One for All, that meant later down the line, he'd be dead..crumbled into dust by Shigaraki.
Or… he could survive now and survive later.
Yeah. He'd go with the latter.
Everything came back to this moment. If Deku was going to get One for All, then this had to happen. And once Deku had it? Well… maybe he'd just snag a piece of his hair while he was sleeping. Take One for All for himself.
The thought made him smirk.
He took a deep breath, preparing himself. This wasn't going to be fun. Not at all. But if it meant securing his future, securing his survival, then he'd endure it.
Bakugo walked further into the alley, until he came across a dumpster. His gaze flicked downward, landing on a discarded Coke bottle lying right beside it. Unlike any ordinary bottle, this one was filled with a thick, green sludge.
His brows furrowed. "Tch."
Letting out a sigh, he rolled his shoulders before pulling his foot back. If this thing was going to try and take over his body, he might as well get a solid hit in first.
With a sharp inhale, he launched his foot forward, slamming it into the bottle with full force.
The plastic container shot through the alley, the cap popping off midair. It tumbled a few meters ahead before skidding to a stop. And from where he stood, he could already see it, the green sludge oozing out, spilling onto the pavement like something alive.
The sludge moved.
Not just a slow, sluggish drip, but an actual, deliberate shift—like it was waking up. It twitched, expanded, then started to bubble.
Bakugo narrowed his eyes. His instincts screamed at him to move, but he held his ground, watching as the green substance began pulling itself together, forming something vaguely humanoid.
A pair of glowing yellow eyes snapped open.
"Well, well..." The voice slithered through the alley, wet and distorted, like someone gargling thick liquid. The creature twisted its shapeless mass, stretching itself out, its slimy form shimmering under the dim alley lights. "That wasn't very nice, kid."
Bakugo's hands twitched in his pockets, fingers itching to spark. "Yeah?" He scoffed, tilting his head. "Then do something about it..."
The sludge grinned, or at least, its mouth curved into something like a grin. "Oh, I plan to."
And then, it lunged.
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Deku kept walking, his grip on the signed notebook tightened, the edges of the pages crumpling under his fingers. The ink of All Might's signature stared back at him, mocking him. 'Even... the best of the best said it.'
His chest tightened, a dull ache pressing against his ribs. Every time he replayed those words in his head, it felt like another knife twisting in his gut. His dreams, his entire reason for living, weren't just crushed. They were obliterated.
Tears welled up in his eyes, his vision blurring. Snot dripped from his nose, mixing with the shaky breaths he could barely control.
He wanted to be a hero.
He wanted to be a hero so bad.
But the world didn't care. It never had.
Fate had already decided, he wasn't worth being a hero.
And right now, he hated it.
He hated this world.
He hated how unfair it was.
"Don't cry! I already knew this was the case… Maybe, maybe that's why I tried so damn hard…" Deku grumbled under his breath, dragging his sleeve across his face to wipe away the snot running from his nose.
He sniffled, walking completely aimlessly. His fingers tightened around the notebook in his hands, the only thing keeping him grounded. 'This world is so damn unfair…'
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion rocked the streets. Deku barely flinched. His dull eyes turned to the side, barely registering the black smoke curling into the sky. A crowd had gathered up ahead, their excited and panicked voices blending together.
Deku didn't care. He just wanted to go home. Maybe if he slept, he'd wake up to find that all of this was just one horrible, twisted nightmare.
BOOM!!
Another explosion erupted, shaking the ground beneath him. Deku couldn't see what was happening through the thick crowd, but that blast, he knew that blast.
It was Bakugo's.
His body moved before his brain could catch up. He bolted across the street, weaving through people as he tried to get a better view. His heart pounded in his ears, drowning out the noise around him.
When he finally got close enough, his stomach dropped.
A group of Pro Heroes stood nearby, frozen. Kamui Woods. Mt. Lady. Death Arms. Backdraft. Slugger. Their expressions were tense, their eyes locked on the chaos ahead. They weren't moving. They weren't doing anything.
Deku's breath hitched. 'Why are they just standing there?'
He pushed forward, standing on his toes to see past the wall of bodies in front of him.
And then..
His eyes went wide. 'The sludge monster from before!' Deku's hands flew to his mouth. All Might let him go? No… did he drop him? That means—' His stomach twisted. If All Might had dropped him, then this… this was his fault.
"Why are the heroes just standing there?" someone in the crowd muttered.
"I dunno… maybe they're waiting for someone? Doesn't look like they can do anything," another voice responded.
Deku barely heard them. His thoughts were running wild, drowning everything else out. ' Bakugo… He's going through the same thing I did. He's suffering..Because of me.' His fingers dug into his face, his nails pressing hard against his skin. If this was his fault… then it was his responsibility to fix it.
The blonde was thrashing, explosions bursting from his hands in rapid succession, but it wasn't enough. The sludge had him locked down, squeezing tighter with every desperate movement. His face was twisted in a snarl, but even from here, Deku could see it..Bakugo was panicking.
'It's my fault… and I can't do anything.'
The thought clawed at his mind as tears welled up in his eyes.
Deku and Bakugo had known each other since childhood. But as the years passed, that friendship had rotted away, piece by piece. Ever since Bakugo awakened his Quirk and Deku didn't, things changed. He wasn't a friend anymore, just someone to look down on, to push around.
Deku never said it out loud, but he hated Bakugo. Hated the way he looked at him, talked down to him, treated him like dirt no matter how kind he tried to be. To Deku, Bakugo was selfish. Arrogant. A cocky bastard who cared about nothing but himself.
So then..
Why was he running toward him?
His feet moved before he could think. His body wasn't listening to him. He shoved past people, teeth sinking into his bottom lip, ignoring the shouts behind him.
He hurdled over the caution tape.
Then he sprinted, full speed, straight for the sludge monster.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU IDIOT! STOP!!"
A loud burly voice, rang out from behind him. Deku ignored it.
His feet barely felt the ground as he ran, heart pounding in his ears. His fingers fumbled at his backpack, unzipping it in one frantic motion before throwing it with everything he had. The bag hit the sludge monster's face, bursting open mid-air. Books, sharpeners, pencils—all of it scattered, uselessly raining down onto the street.
But he didn't stop.
"KAC-CHAN!!"
Deku screamed his name as he lunged forward, hands digging into the sludge, trying to pry it away from Bakugo's mouth. His nails scraped against the thick, slimy mass, but he didn't care.
He had to save him...!!
The sludge monster growled, its gooey mass shifting as it tightened around Bakugo's body. The muffled sounds of Bakugo's struggling breaths barely reached Deku's ears.
Deku's hands burned. The sludge was thick, suffocating, slipping through his fingers no matter how hard he clawed. His lungs screamed for air, but he didn't stop. He couldn't.
Bakugo's eyes, wild, desperate, shifted to somewhere in the crowd. And for a split second, Deku saw it.
Fear.
Not anger. Not rage. Just fear.
'He's going to die.'
Deku bit down on his lip, hard enough to taste blood. He pushed forward, ignoring the way his arms trembled, ignoring the fact that his body felt small and weak against something so massive.
It didn't matter.
Because his body moved before he could think, before he could remind himself that he was Quirkless. Before he could remind himself that heroes were supposed to have power.
"Damn brat!!" The sludge monster's voice rumbled through the air. "You again?! Just DIE ALREADY!!"
A tendril of sludge shot toward him.
Deku barely saw it coming.
The tendril lashed out, coiling around Deku's body before he could react. " DIE TOO, YOU BRAT! " The villain's voice was filled with twisted glee, his sharp canines gleaming as he dragged Deku into the sludge.
Deku's fingers clawed desperately at the sludge, but it was useless. The thick, suffocating mass pulled him in, wrapping around his limbs like heavy chains. His vision blurred. His lungs burned. The world around him was fading—
'No… I don't want to die!'
Bakugo was still there, trapped. If he blacked out now, neither of them would make it. He struggled harder, kicking wildly, but the monster only tightened its grip.
Then..
A rough hand gripped his arm.
Deku barely had time to register the sensation before he was yanked out of the sludge with an overwhelming force. Air flooded his lungs as he gasped, his body flying backward..
And then he heard it.
"The lesson I left you with…"
A voice, powerful and strong, rang out, despite the rasp beneath it.
"I should practice what I teach!!"
Deku's head snapped up just in time to see him.
All Might stood tall, his body tensed like a coiled spring. His fist was cocked back, veins bulging through his arm, muscles flexed to their absolute limit. Despite the splurt of blood escaping his mouth, his grin remained unwavering.
"A PRO SHOULD ALWAYS BE READY TO RISK HIS LIFE!!"
The very air around them seemed to shake from his words. And then..
"DETROIT…!!"
His arm shot forward, faster than Deku's eyes could track.
"SMMAAAAAAAAAAASSSSHHHHHH!!"
The impact was instant.
A deafening shockwave tore through the area, sending a whirlwind of force in every direction. The sludge villain exploded apart, sent hurtling into the sky in fragmented pieces. Fires that had been raging moments before were snuffed out in an instant. Dust, debris, and loose papers were caught in the sheer power of the strike, flying outward like a storm had just passed through.
Deku lay there, breathless, his mind struggling to catch up to what just happened.
All Might had saved him.
All Might had saved Bakugo.
And in a single, overwhelming punch, he had saved the entire city block.
" HE CHANGED THE WEATHER WITH A SINGLE PUNCH! "
A voice from the crowd cut through the stunned silence, and just like that, the tension snapped. Cheers erupted from all around, a wave of excitement and awe crashing over the scene.
All Might stood tall, steam rolling off his right arm, his fist still clenched from the impact. But his eyes...his eyes weren't on the villain.
They were locked on Deku.
No one could tell what he was thinking, but there was something in the way he stared. A flicker of recognition. As if, in this moment, he had found exactly what he had been searching for.
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" Gah... "
Bakugo rubbed at his throat before spitting to the side, his face twisting in disgust. The sludge had left a foul taste in his mouth, like every rotten, spoiled, bitter thing in the world mashed together and shoved down his throat.
" You were real tough out there, kid! Some Quirk you got! "
A voice came from behind, some no-name hero patting him on the back. Bakugo barely spared him a glance. He wasn't worth the attention. If they weren't important, then they weren't worth his time.
His gaze drifted instead to Deku.
The poor guy was getting chewed out by the pros, scolded for charging in like a reckless idiot. But he knew that wasn't the reason.
This world, for all its superpowers and hero worship, was still rotten. The way people looked down on Quirkless people, like they were nothing, like they didn't belong. If they weren't human beings too.
'Took the bastard long enough... thought I was actually gonna die.' Bakugo rubbed his throat once more, the lingering discomfort making his scowl deepen. His body still felt off, like he could still feel that damn sludge squeezing him. But he had to give credit where it was due. As much as Deku pissed him off, the idiot had more guts than any of the pros standing around. Maybe even more than All Might.
Brushing the grime and dust off his clothes, Bakugo pushed himself up and took a few steps toward the commotion. Deku was getting chewed out, a swarm of voices berating him all at once. The poor guy looked like he was barely holding himself together.
"The hell are you scolding him for?" Bakugo cut in, slicing the others.
The pro hero Death Arms turned, his muscles flexing as he started, "Because he could've endangered himsel—"
"Doesn't matter," Bakugo cut in. "He had more balls than all of you combined. And you guys call yourselves pro heroes?" His glare swept over them. "Give the guy a break. Even though he's not even as strong as you, he still tried to save me."
Silence. Death Arms stiffened, his mouth opening slightly before shutting again. He had nothing to say.
Bakugo didn't wait for a response. He brushed past the hero, making his way to Deku, who was still staring at him like he'd grown a second head. Without hesitation, he extended a hand.
"Thanks..." he muttered, avoiding eye contact. "I'll repay you later."
Deku blinked, his brain struggling to process what just happened. He wasn't used to this—Bakugo acting like this. His body moved before his mind caught up, and shakily, he took the offered hand, giving a small, uncertain nod.
He wanted to barf from how corny he was acting, but whatever. If he was gonna start being at least a little nicer to Deku, he'd just have to suck it up. Swallowing the bitter taste in his throat, he pulled Deku up and held his stare for a moment before turning away, grabbing his bag without another word.
'Now that's out of the way... it's time to prepare for the entrance exam.'
The plot was finally moving. Now, it was time to start grinding.
Ten months. That was all he had. Ten months of non-stop training if he wanted to crush the entrance exam. Whether he could take first place like usual was up to him and he wasn't about to settle for less.
He had to be the best.
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