Katsuki shoved the last of his classmates away from the first year that they had been trying to beat to the ground, "And just stay the *^$!@ away from her already, dumbasses."

Fingers glared at him, but Katsuki just glared back harder until he gave up and turned away, gathering up his lackeys and retreating into a corner of the schoolyard reserved for the cool kids, a corner of the yard that Katsuki himself had been conspicuously absent from the past few weeks.

Mitsuki(proudly): Good job, Katsuki.

Bakugo: Tch, whatever.

He glanced over at the villains posing as his teachers, unsurprised to find them completely ignoring everything that had just happened. Katsuki had half-expected them to turn on him the second he started standing up to his own past behavior and was worried he'd have to have Amplifier write a letter to UA explaining a bunch of black marks on his record, but apparently they were too spineless for that. If they started reporting him for stopping the abuse, he could easily report them for allowing the abuse in the first place. It was mutually assured destruction.

Nezu: Oh that sort of destruction is certainly interesting to deal with.

That didn't mean they hadn't tried to maintain the status quo, though. Katsuki didn't think he'd ever forget being called into the principal's office the day after he'd defended a kid in another class who could grow his fingernails faster than normal.

"Really, Bakugo, I am sure that the other student appreciated you stepping in, but you really shouldn't be wasting your time on such trivial pursuits." The principal had said, a slick smile on his stupid little face. "Kids play around, I'm sure you understand, having done so plenty yourself, so don't you think you should be focused on preparing for UA? The entrance exam is only a few months away, after all!"

Spinner(scowling): Oh shut up you.

Katsuki had simply given him a look that could kill, all respect gone from his voice as he responded, "I am preparing for UA."

Joke: And that's a part of it!

The and this is a part of it went unspoken, but from the fear that crossed the principal's eyes, Katsuki could tell he'd gotten his meaning across. He'd left the office without being dismissed and none of the teachers had called him out on his changed behavior since. They hadn't called attention to him in any positive ways either, but he could deal with that. Their approval wasn't what he was trying for anymore.

Vlad: Yeah, good for him.

That didn't mean that losing his alpha dog status at school didn't hurt, but hey, no pain, no gain. If heroes could keep fighting while injured and that green vigilante could keep fighting while on fire, then Katsuki could stop those stupid extras from bullying kids, even if it meant he had to be alone while he did it.

Uraraka: Who's telling him who that green vigilante is exactly?

Jirou: Well if he finds out he'll be in for a shock.

@#$^&*, was this how Izuku had felt for all those years? It sucked! Whatever, it was just one more thing that he'd have to apologize for when he finally got the balls to talk to the nerd again.

Midoriya: Yeah that is how I felt like... but don't worry I'll accept your apology if you apologize. (Bakugo noted that 'if' and wondered to himself if he ever will)

"...starts at 7. Everyone who's anyone is going to be there."

"Keep your voice down! You don't want Blasty showing up, do you?"

Katsuki scoffed and rolled his eyes as he stalked off. As if he hadn't known for days that everyone was planning on going to the new All Might movie without him. What kind of idiots were they? It's like they thought he was deaf or something. Well, some of them... Fingers seemed to be intentionally rubbing it in his face like he'd get extra clout for being an asshole or something.

Midnight: Are we sure he isn't deaf? I mean he's got to have some hearing issues from making explosions all the time.

Mic: Yeah and he keeps saying 'what did you just say' and while that might just be him getting mad it could also be...

Aizawa: We can have him checked later but just let me watch for now.

Whatever, it's not like he wanted to hang out with those extras anyway. It was just that the old hag had been starting to look at him weird when he came home so early, like she knew that he didn't have any friends and was worried or some @#$^& and it was annoying. Maybe if he could just find some other extras to hang with for a few hours it would get her off his back...?

Mitsuki: Nuh uh. Just go play with your friends.

Bakugo: Who the !#(*$ are you talking about?!

Jana: Language.

Knowing he was gonna regret it apparently wasn't enough to stop Katsuki from pulling out his phone and texting Ogawa and those other villain extras and asking if they wanted to hang out. Ugh! They were gonna be so smug and unbearable, going on about breaking down his walls and...

Mitsuki: Them.

Group Chat

Ogawa: Oooh! Are we finally breaking down your walls, little man?

Hagakure: He already knows them so well.

Inko: It's sweet.

And there it was. He was regretting this already.

His regret stung a little less, though, when the next text that came was an address to meet them at. So what if everyone else was going to a movie without him? He didn't need any of those extras to be a hero, he could find way better friends than his bullying classmates!

Todoroki: Yeah. Much better friends. I doubt they were ever your friends in the first place.

Katsuki shoved his phone back in his pocket and stalked off toward the address Ogawa had given him. He didn't recognize the place, but he knew it wasn't really on the right side of town. In fact, it was kinda close to where he'd saved that one kid a few weeks ago. Katsuki hoped that extra had taken his advice and started actually training for the hero course. Maybe even Izuku could have had a chance if he got rid of his noodle arms...

Shinso: Considering he's a very successful vigilante yes I'm pretty sure he's gotten rid of his noodle arms.

Uraraka: But deku still doesn't think he can be a hero so... I don't think he'll even show up to the exam.

He shook his head as he saw Ogawa and Maki leaning up against a low brick wall that Akiko was laying on, seeing how big she could get her bubblegum bubble before it popped all over her face. They looked like a bunch of no good delinquents. Katsuki scoffed. And to think these losers were actually the safer option between his two 'friend' groups. Life really was messed up sometimes, wasn't it?

Toga(quietly): Yeah... sure is...

"Hey!" Ogawa gave him a wide grin when he saw Katsuki approaching. "If it isn't the man of the hour!"

Akiko laughed, "So, something awesome must have happened to get the high and mighty Bakugo to hang out with us! What's up, kiddo?"

"Shut up." Katsuki grumbled, but he had to fight to keep a small smile off his face. "So what's the plan?"

Mitsuki: Aw he's almost smiling...

Bakugo: Shut up you old hag!

The three exchanged a loaded look before Ogawa's grin got inexplicably bigger, "We're taking you on a tour."

Dabi: Hold on are they...

Katsuki rolled his eyes, "I grew up in this city, dumbasses. I don't need to waste my money on all the touristy @#$&* the Americans come to do."

"Oh no, we're not taking you any of those places." Akiko giggled. "No, what we have in mind is a little more exclusive."

Compress: Oh my I think they are.

She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively so Katsuki shoved her off the wall. She lost her balance and fell to the street with a yelp, but managed to catch herself. It wasn't like it was a very long fall. It took a second for everyone to stop laughing after that.

(everyone laughed and Bakugo smirked)

"Whatever." Katsuki smirked. "So what are we really doing?"

"No, we're being serious!" Ogawa caught his breath and put an arm around Katsuki's shoulders. "We're taking you on a back alley tour!"

Shigaraki: Well this should be interesting.

Kaminari: What do you mean...?

Katsuki raised an eyebrow in question, and Maki crossed his arms and looked down at him, "You said you're gonna be a hero, right?"

"Yeah." Katsuki grinned up at him. "I'm gonna be the best hero you losers have ever seen!"

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed," Maki huffed, "but you're not exactly like most hero hopefuls."

Hound Dog: I feel like there's a better way to say that.

Katsuki froze. He'd thought he was doing better. He was standing up to those useless extras at school. He was attending those stupid redemption meetings. He was even planning on apologizing to Izuku. Was... was none of it good enough?

Midoriya: Yes it is!

Ogawa cuffed him lightly over the head, "That's not a bad thing, man. You've got a little bit of a past, but in this part of town, that can actually be an advantage, if you use it right."

"What the @#$^& are you talking about?" Katsuki growled.

Aizawa: Oh I get it.

"You've got a unique appeal among villains, kiddo." Akiko explained. "You're brash. You swear. You've done things you regret. That gives you street cred."

Katsuki glared at her and was about to say something when Ogawa interrupted, "You've been like us, man, which means that thugs and villains are going to respect and trust you in a way that they're not gonna do for any other hero. A big part of the underground and stopping crime is gonna be the connections you've got and the information you can get from them."

"Let's be honest, kid, no one want to talk to a hero like All Might about the shady $@#&* they're involved with." Maki gave him an appraising look. "But they might be willing to talk to you."

Momo: Oh my. Hold on that's-

Midnight: This is going to be so helpful in the future.

Katsuki's eyes widened slightly as he realized what they were getting at. Once he'd realized his past actions were wrong, he'd assumed they'd put him at a disadvantage if they didn't stop him from becoming a hero outright, but if what Maki was saying was true, then he might be able to use those parts of him to be a better hero. He still wished he'd never been a bully, but...

"Good heroes use every advantage available to them." Ogawa smiled. "So, come on, you ready to meet everyone?"

Katsuki shoved his hands in his pockets and followed his friends as they started off down the streets. He needed to pay attention, because somehow, he had a feeling that if Izuku was here with his stupid notebooks, he'd be cheering for him to exploit the hell out of his $@#*& past mistakes and Katsuki owed it to Izuku to be the best hero he could be.

Midoriya: Oh yeah I probably would...

As they walked into a corner store to introduce Katsuki to the owner, none of them noticed the sharp eyes tracking their movements and judging every single one.

(everyone stared)

Mina: Uh who's that...?

People had died.

Now that it had been a few days since the New Year's Nightmare and Izuku's injuries were actually starting to heal, he had finally gotten the strength to read through the articles and statistics about the attack. There had been thirteen casualties, not to mention the dozens who had had to go to the hospital for various injuries from either the thorns or the fire. Izuku couldn't help but wonder if he could have done more. Maybe if he had focused on saving civilians rather than contacting the heroes, less people would have died. Or maybe he could have separated the fight from the evacuation route so that when Endeavor arrived, there weren't people trying to get out when the bar went up in flames. Maybe Izuku should have somehow checked whether the wall he was knocking down was load bearing or something, then maybe the building wouldn't have collapsed.

Aizawa(groaning): Problem child don't you dare even blame yourself for the building falling down.

Spinner: Seriously though how does someone figure out this many different ways to blame themselves? If it wasn't so sad I'd call it impressive.

He had to make up for it. With his injuries and all the articles going around, Izuku had decided to lie low for a little bit, but that didn't mean he was just sitting around bored. He was researching. The berserker was linked to the villain factory, which seemed to be using Queen Bee to find good quirks for their experiment. Considering that she was key to their operation, she most likely had information on the rest of the group, which meant that all Izuku had to do was find her.

Midnight: Midoriya no!

Endeavor: Don't you dare that's too dangerous!

Inko: Izuku!

He already knew that the bees could be hacked, but it seemed that the information about the rest of the hive, and more importantly the queen, corrupted when the bee was killed. To find her, Izuku would need to hack one of the bees when it was still alive.

All he needed was a plan.

Aizawa: Problem child!