A dull ache was the first thing Katsuki registered, a distant throb that was a pale imitation of the all-consuming agony he remembered. He blinked, his eyelids heavy, the light filtering into the room surprisingly gentle. He was lying on a soft bed, covered by a clean, lightweight blanket. The air smelled faintly of antiseptic and dried herbs. The infirmary.
He tried to sit up, and to his surprise, his body responded with only a mild stiffness, a lingering weariness in his muscles, but none of the shattering pain he'd anticipated. He felt… whole. More than whole. There was a strange, subtle energy thrumming beneath his skin, a vibrant vitality that was almost unfamiliar.
Mirajane's soft voice startled him. "Awake already, Bakugo-san? You've only been asleep for a little over a day." She was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, a book resting in her lap, her serene smile in place. She must have been watching over him. The thought was… oddly unsettling, yet not entirely unwelcome.
"A day?" Katsuki rasped, his throat dry. He pushed himself into a sitting position, testing his limbs. They felt… good. Remarkably good. Better, even, than before his ill-fated experiment with the Oppenheimer Smash. Stronger. As if the catastrophic damage and subsequent intensive healing had somehow… reset him, forged him anew, leaving him with a heightened sense of power. The magical energies from Wendy and Porlyusica, combined with his own resilient physiology, had apparently worked wonders.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed. His tattered clothes were gone, replaced by a simple, clean set of cotton pajamas that felt ridiculously soft against his skin. He scowled at them but didn't comment. Practicality first.
"Yeah," he grunted, his voice still a bit rough. "Feel… fine." He stood up, testing his balance. Solid. No dizziness, no weakness. Just that underlying thrum of enhanced power. He felt a familiar itch in his palms, the urge to do something, to test this newfound vitality.
Mirajane watched him, her head tilted slightly, a knowing look in her blue eyes. "Wendy-chan and Porlyusica-san are truly exceptional healers. They said your recovery was remarkably fast. You have a very resilient constitution, Bakugo-san."
Katsuki just 'tched'. He wasn't interested in compliments. He was interested in action. The memory of his last conversation with Makarov, his grudging agreement to 'try' this family thing, flickered in his mind, but he pushed it aside. That was for later. Right now, he needed to move, to confirm this feeling of enhanced strength, to reassert his dominance over his own body and his surroundings.
Without another word, he strode out of the infirmary, leaving a slightly surprised Mirajane behind. The guild hall was moderately busy, the mid-afternoon lull before the evening rush. A few heads turned as he emerged, his presence still a magnet for attention. He ignored them, his gaze already fixed on his usual target: the Request Board.
He scanned the monster subjugation section, his eyes sharp. He felt good, yes, but there was a lingering wisdom, a hard-earned lesson from his near-fatal experience. His body, despite feeling stronger, had been through a massive trauma. Pushing it too hard, too soon, with another magic-intensive onslaught like the Oppenheimer Smash or even the Incinerate-level attacks, would be foolish. He needed to let it fully consolidate its recovery.
"Body needs to rest more, for now," he muttered to himself, a rare concession to prudence. "But my Quirk…" A predatory grin touched his lips. His Quirk, the good old reliable nitroglycerin sweat, felt perfectly fine, perhaps even more potent than before, a byproduct of his overall system being supercharged. "Yeah. Just the Quirk for this one."
He spotted a suitable request: 'Rogue Land Sharks terrorizing the Sand-Swept Oasis – moderate threat, requires swift elimination before they contaminate the water source.' Land Sharks. Sounded suitably chunky, something he could get his hands on, something that wouldn't require the esoteric energy drain of his higher-tier 'Explode' magic. A good, old-fashioned Quirk-powered beatdown.
He ripped the parchment from the board. He didn't bother going to the bar to get it stamped this time. Mirajane had seen him take it; that was good enough. He was already heading for the door, the familiar heat beginning to build in his palms. He felt a surge of anticipation, the simple, uncomplicated joy of his own inherent power, ready to be unleashed. He might be trying this 'family' thing, whatever the hell that meant, but some things would never change. Katsuki Bakugo was a creature of action, of explosions, and right now, the Sand-Swept Oasis and its unfortunate Land Sharks were about to experience that firsthand. The subtle thrum of enhanced power beneath his skin promised a very satisfying hunt.
---
Katsuki reached the massive guild doors, his chosen request clutched in his hand. He didn't pause, didn't look back. The internal debate about using magic versus his Quirk had been swift and decisive. His body needed a gentler re-entry into combat, and his Quirk felt eager, almost humming with a refined potency.
He crouched just outside the entrance, the familiar stance coiling his newly restored energy. The air around his palms began to shimmer with heat, the distinct, sharp scent of his nitroglycerin-like sweat already potent. There was a purity to this, a rawness that connected him to the core of his being, to the power that was intrinsically, undeniably his.
"Explosive Speed: Turbo Cluster!" he roared, emphasizing the Quirk-only nature of it in his mind, if not aloud.
The series of detonations that erupted from his hands were the classic, fierce orange-yellow of his Quirk, unadulterated by the azure tinge of his 'Explode' magic. They were, however, noticeably more powerful, more concussive than before his near-death experience and subsequent supercharged healing. The ground beneath him cracked with greater violence, the upward thrust more ferocious. He shot into the sky like a cannonball, a fiery orange comet arcing towards the distant Sand-Swept Oasis, leaving behind a trail of black smoke and the astonished gazes of several Magnolia townsfolk who were becoming reluctantly accustomed to his dramatic departures.
Inside the Fairy Tail guild hall, Katsuki's abrupt exit, so soon after waking from a day-long, injury-induced coma, sent a fresh wave of bafflement and disbelief through the assembled members.
Mirajane had emerged from the infirmary moments after him, a mixture of exasperation and reluctant admiration on her face. She'd seen him take the job request.
"He's… gone again," she announced to the nearest cluster of mages, who had been curiously watching the infirmary door. "Took a subjugation request for Land Sharks in the Sand-Swept Oasis."
A stunned silence fell over the group, quickly followed by a cacophony of incredulous exclamations.
"Again?!" Macao sputtered, nearly choking on his drink. "But he just woke up! Porlyusica said he'd be weak as a kitten!"
"Weak as a kitten that can apparently still launch itself into orbit with pure explosive force," Wakaba retorted, shaking his head in disbelief.
Lucy, who had just arrived with Natsu and Happy, looked aghast. "He didn't even eat breakfast! Or… or anything! He was asleep for over a day! How does he even have the energy?"
Natsu, however, was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, his eyes shining. "Awesome! That's Bakugo for ya! Always ready for a fight! No wonder he's so strong!" He sniffed the air. "And his explosions smelled… extra explodey this time!"
Gray, leaning against a pillar, actually facepalmed. "That guy is certifiably insane. Recovering from near-death by immediately going to fight more monsters? Does he even understand the concept of rest?"
Levy McGarden, ever the pragmatist, consulted a mental map. "The Sand-Swept Oasis… that's a decent flight. And Land Sharks, while not S-Class threats, can be tricky in their element. He's not easing back into it, is he?"
Even Erza, who had been quietly observing the commotion, allowed a rare frown to crease her brow. "His resilience is beyond anything I've encountered. To recover so swiftly from such catastrophic injuries and immediately seek out further conflict… it defies conventional medical understanding." She paused, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. "Or perhaps, for him, combat is a form of recovery. A way to reaffirm his existence, his strength."
The sentiment echoed through the guild. They were beginning to understand, albeit slowly, that Katsuki Bakugo operated on a different set of principles than most. His drive was relentless, his pain tolerance apparently superhuman, and his need for action almost a biological imperative.
Cana Alberona took a long swig from her ever-present barrel. "Well, one thing's for sure," she slurred slightly, a grin on her face. "Life's never gonna be boring with that human firework around. I'll drink to that!"
A few of the more boisterous members cheered in agreement. Katsuki's latest act of unbelievable recklessness, or perhaps unbelievable resilience, had just added another chapter to his rapidly growing legend within the chaotic halls of Fairy Tail. He was their resident enigma, their walking explosion, and apparently, their fastest-recovering patient. The only thing they could be certain of was that he would return, likely with more trophies, more scars, and an even bigger chip on his shoulder, ready to defy their expectations all over again. And despite the headaches he caused, a small, undeniable part of them wouldn't have it any other way.
---
The journey to the Sand-Swept Oasis, fueled solely by his Quirk-powered Turbo Cluster, was indeed marginally slower than his magic-enhanced flights. Katsuki noted the difference with a critical internal assessment; the raw, concussive force was immense, perhaps even more so than before his 'Oppenheimer Smash' incident, but it lacked the searing, almost frictionless velocity that his Incinerate-level magic provided. Yet, there was a different kind of satisfaction in it, a primal connection to the familiar power thrumming in his palms.
As he flew, he continued to experiment, a habit now deeply ingrained. He focused on the feel of his Quirk, the way the nitroglycerin-like sweat beaded and ignited. He remembered the enhanced control his 'Explode' magic offered, the ability to manipulate the shape and direction of the blasts with greater finesse. A thought sparked: could he apply that same shaping principle, that mental focus, to his Quirk without necessarily superheating it into azure flames? Could he refine the raw power of his sweat-explosions using the control aspects he'd learned from his magic, rather than just its raw heat?
He tried it, subtly altering his mental commands as he adjusted his trajectory, focusing not just on raw output but on the form of the explosions. To his surprise and grim satisfaction, it worked. The blasts from his palms became tighter, more focused, the propulsion cleaner. He could achieve sharper turns, more precise bursts of speed, with less wasted energy. It wasn't as dramatic a shift as the Incinerate function, but it was a significant qualitative leap in his Quirk's efficiency and control.
"Heh," a low chuckle rumbled in his chest. "So, the magic bullshit isn't just for fancy blue flames. It teaches the old dog new tricks too." He didn't need to heat his Quirk up to Incinerate levels to benefit from the enhanced control his burgeoning magical understanding provided. He could simply apply the shaping principles, the focused intent, to his standard explosions. This was good. This made him even more versatile.
He arrived over the Sand-Swept Oasis, a surprisingly lush patch of green surrounding a sparkling blue watering hole, a stark contrast to the endless dunes of golden sand that stretched in every other direction. He spotted his targets almost immediately. The 'Rogue Land Sharks' were grotesque creatures, their bodies a bizarre fusion of shark and mole, with powerful, clawed forelimbs for digging and a massive, finned tail for propulsion through the sand. Their wide maws were filled with rows of needle-sharp teeth. A pack of them, at least half a dozen, were currently terrorizing a group of large, gazelle-like creatures at the water's edge, their sandy bodies moving with surprising speed.
Katsuki didn't bother with a subtle approach. He descended like a meteor, landing with a Quirk-fueled blast that sent a shockwave of sand and displaced air outwards, scattering the gazelles and momentarily stunning the Land Sharks.
One of the larger Land Sharks, probably the alpha, recovered quickly, letting out an aggressive, guttural hiss and charging towards him, its claws tearing through the sand.
Katsuki met its charge with a predatory grin. This was exactly what he needed. Pure, physical confrontation. He sidestepped the creature's clumsy lunge, his movements fluid and economical. His hands shot out, not to blast, but to grapple. He seized the Land Shark by its thick, rubbery hide near its gills, his grip like iron. The creature thrashed, its powerful muscles straining, its sandpaper-like skin abrasive against his palms.
He remembered the Joint Training exercise, his improvised move against Uraraka and her team. The Explode-A-Pult. It had been effective then, a raw application of his power. Now, with his enhanced strength and refined Quirk control, it would be devastating.
He planted his feet firmly in the sand, his muscles coiling. He channeled a massive amount of his Quirk's explosive energy into his palms, not as a continuous blast, but as a single, focused, propulsive detonation.
"Explode-A-Pult!" he roared.
The explosion that erupted from his hands, directly against the Land Shark's body, was immense. It wasn't designed to incinerate, but to launch. The Land Shark was violently catapulted through the air as if fired from a cannon, a stunned, thrashing projectile. It flew a good hundred meters, arcing high above the oasis, before crashing down into a distant sand dune with a sickening thud, sending up a huge plume of golden sand. It didn't move again.
Katsuki felt the recoil shudder up his arms, but his stance held firm. The move was significantly faster, the explosive force far more concentrated and powerful than the version he'd used against Class B. His enhanced physical strength, a residual benefit from the healing, also played a part. The remaining Land Sharks, witnessing the brutal, effortless dispatch of their alpha, hesitated, their primitive brains struggling to comprehend the sheer force they had just witnessed.
Katsuki just cracked his knuckles, a dangerous glint in his crimson eyes. "Alright, who's next, you sandy bastards?" His Quirk felt good, responsive, a familiar weapon now honed to an even deadlier edge. This was going to be fun.
---
With the alpha Land Shark unceremoniously launched into the next dune, the remaining pack members, though momentarily stunned, regrouped with guttural hisses and aggressive postures. They began to circle Katsuki, their sand-churning movements attempting to disorient him, their beady eyes fixed on him with feral intent. The ground beneath his feet was already soft, unstable.
Katsuki sneered. "Trying to play games in your own damn sandbox, huh?" He wasn't about to let them dictate the terms of engagement. He needed to control the terrain, to disrupt their coordinated movements.
"Land Mine Blast!"
He slammed his palms down onto the sand, channeling a series of rapid, contained explosions directly into the ground around him. The effect was instantaneous. The sand erupted in a series of violent geysers, creating a chaotic, uneven field of miniature craters and shifting dunes. The Land Sharks, caught in the churning, unstable ground, stumbled, their coordinated encirclement broken, their movements becoming awkward and panicked as they struggled to find purchase.
The disruption was all the opening Katsuki needed. He spotted one of the larger Land Sharks trying to regain its footing, momentarily isolated from the others. "Explosive Turbo!" he barked, and with a focused, directional blast from his palms, he shot across the disrupted sand like a rocket, closing the distance in a heartbeat.
The Land Shark, startled by his sudden, high-speed approach, barely had time to react before Katsuki was upon it. He didn't give it a chance to attack or flee. He grabbed its thick, thrashing body, his grip like a vise, and with a savage grin, prepared to unleash another devastating close-quarters technique.
He remembered the refined control, the micro-explosions he could generate. He began to rotate his palm against the creature's tough hide, a series of tiny, almost invisible sparks igniting, creating a small, superheated, oxygen-rich pocket directly against its skin – a technique he'd honed for maximizing concussive force in point-blank situations.
"Point-Blank Howitzer Impact!"
The explosion, though contained by the creature's own body, was devastating. It wasn't a wide-area blast, but an incredibly focused, internal detonation that pulped organs and shattered bones. The Land Shark convulsed violently, a choked, gurgling sound escaping its maw, before going limp in Katsuki's grip. He tossed its lifeless body aside with a grunt of disgust.
That was the signal for the remaining Land Sharks. Their pack leader was gone, another of their strongest dispatched with brutal efficiency. Panic began to set in. They tried to scatter, to burrow back into the safety of the deep sands.
Katsuki wouldn't allow it. He was a whirlwind of orange-yellow explosions, a blur of motion against the golden sands. He used his enhanced Quirk control to its fullest, each blast precise, each movement economical. He hunted them down one by one, using a combination of short, powerful bursts from his Explosive Turbo to close distances, and brutal, close-range concussive blasts to finish them. He wasn't just fighting them; he was thrashing them, working out the lingering stiffness in his muscles, reveling in the familiar, visceral feel of his Quirk in action.
The Sand-Swept Oasis, once a tranquil watering hole, was now a chaotic tableau of blast craters, scattered sand, and the twitching remains of Land Sharks. Katsuki stood amidst the carnage, his breathing slightly heavier but his body thrumming with a satisfied energy. His Quirk felt strong, reliable, a comfortable extension of his will. The brief rest and the subsequent supercharged healing had indeed left him in prime condition.
He surveyed the scene, then located the remains of the alpha he'd launched earlier and the one he'd just dispatched with the Point-Blank Howitzer. He efficiently collected his proof of subjugation – a few of their largest, distinctively serrated teeth, which were surprisingly tough. He didn't linger. The job was done.
With another powerful, Quirk-fueled "Explosive Speed: Turbo Cluster!", he launched himself from the ravaged oasis, leaving behind a scene of devastation that would puzzle desert travelers for weeks to come. He angled himself back towards Magnolia, the familiar weight of monster trophies in his pockets, a grim satisfaction settling over him. He'd proven, once again, that his Quirk was more than enough to handle the lesser threats this world threw at him. And the pay for this job would go towards replacing his damn clothes. One step at a time.
---
Katsuki's return to the Fairy Tail guild hall was met with a slightly different atmosphere than his previous entries. The initial shock and bafflement at his rapid recovery and immediate departure for another job had given way to a kind of grudging, head-shaking acceptance. This was just who he was, apparently. A force of nature that operated on its own relentless, explosive timetable.
He strode in, covered in a fine layer of golden sand that shimmered in the guild hall's light, the faint scent of ozone and something vaguely reptilian clinging to him. He ignored the stares, the nudges, the quickly silenced conversations that his appearance invariably triggered, and made a beeline for the bar.
Mirajane was there, a small, knowing smile on her face as she saw him approach. She didn't even feign surprise this time. "Welcome back, Bakugo-san," she said, her tone light. "The Sand-Swept Oasis, I presume?"
Katsuki just grunted, dumping the job slip and the handful of large, serrated Land Shark teeth onto the bar. "Done. Pay up."
Mirajane efficiently processed the request, her eyes briefly examining the impressive teeth. "Swift work, as always." She counted out the Jewel, once again in notes, and slid it across the counter. "Will you be staying for a meal this time? Or perhaps a… brief respite?" There was a hint of playful challenge in her voice.
"No time," Katsuki snapped, scooping up the money. His gaze flicked towards the infirmary door. "Got business to take care of."
Without further explanation, he turned and headed towards the back of the guild hall. He reappeared a few moments later, carrying a bundle of fabric – the tattered, scorched, and utterly ruined remains of his first set of Heart Kreuz attire. The dark grey material, once so impressively resilient, was now barely recognizable.
He didn't pause, didn't say goodbye. He marched straight out of the guild hall, the bundle of wrecked clothes under his arm, his expression one of grim determination. The other guild members watched him go, a collective eyebrow raised.
"Heart Kreuz again, you think?" Lucy murmured to Levy, who was sitting beside her.
Levy nodded. "Looks like it. He did say he'd pay for his own gear. I guess he wasn't kidding."
Natsu, predictably, was already halfway to the door. "Maybe I can watch him bargain! Or fight the tailor! That'd be awesome!" Erza, however, caught him by the scruff of his neck with a stern glare before he could make good on his escape.
Katsuki, oblivious or indifferent to the speculation behind him, was already halfway to the merchant district. He had money in his pocket, albeit not as much as he'd like, and a clear objective. He needed new clothes, clothes that could actually withstand the upper limits of his power, or at least, clothes he could replace without feeling like he'd been completely fleeced.
He arrived at Heart Kreuz Tailoring, the familiar crossed-heart emblem above the door. He pushed his way in, drawing the immediate attention of the same stern-faced head tailor he'd dealt with before. She looked up from a complex pattern she was drafting, her expression unreadable as she saw him, then her eyes fell to the bundle of ruined fabric under his arm.
A single, perfectly sculpted eyebrow rose. "Ah. Bakugo-san. You return… sooner than anticipated." Her gaze on the shredded remains of her previous handiwork was sharp, critical, yet held a flicker of something that might have been professional intrigue. "It appears your… 'robust usage'… exceeded even my more generous estimations of durability."
Katsuki dumped the bundle onto the counter with a thud. "Yeah, well, that 'Oppenheimer Smash' thing was a bit much, even for this crap." He wasn't apologizing. He was stating a fact. "I need new gear. Same design. But this time…" He leaned forward, his crimson eyes intense. "…you're gonna make it tougher. Triple the enchantments. Quadruple 'em, if you have to. Use whatever damn dragon hide or meteor rock bullshit you've got in the back. I don't care what it costs, as long as it doesn't fall apart if I sneeze too hard." He gestured at the pile of his earnings. "I've got this much. If it's not enough, I'll get more. But I need it done right. And I need it done fast."
The head tailor looked from Katsuki's demanding face to the pile of Jewel, then back to the ruined clothes. A slow, almost imperceptible smile, the kind a master artisan gets when faced with an impossible but fascinating challenge, touched her lips. "Meteor rock, you say? An interesting proposition, Bakugo-san. Very well. Let us discuss the… extreme reinforcement options. It seems my reputation for durable apparel is about to be truly tested."
Katsuki smirked. This was more like it. A challenge accepted. He was going to get his gear, and this time, it would be an armor fit for a walking, talking apocalypse. Or, at the very least, something that wouldn't leave him half-naked after a particularly enthusiastic training session.