#conspiracy theorist todoroki

[solarclaw]

My Hero Academia hot take: Theoryoki

The fandom jokes about Todoroki and his conspiracy theories, especially the All Might & Midoriya one

Consider: Calling Midoriya as All Might's "secret love child" invalidates their actual relationship. Or as close to it.

It disregards the path of adoption. As in, All Might can't care / favor Midoriya without having there be a blood relation. And vice versa with the Green Bean looking up to the String Bean outside of megafan idolization.

Is that the implication, Icyhot? They can't care 'bout each other without having to be related? fukkkU

(just had my 1st triple espresso in my life. I feel like I usually do when I skip sleep. that definitely means that I'm soon gonna pass tf out)

Peace!

[cheese-doorstop48]

Conspiracy theorist Shouto x Ikea worker Izuku

Shouto has never stepped inside of an Ikea in his life but decides to after realizing he needs to buy furniture for his new apartment. The whole time he's freaking out that he's going to get lost and that he'll have to work and live there for the rest of his life. Then a worker comes up to him and helps him 'escape' (the worker is dubbed his savior after that point)

Shouto then begins visiting the worker frequently, asking him questions about how he managed to get stuck in the Ikea and may or not find himself pining over his little savior

(the illusion is broken when him and his savior stumble across each other at the local grocery store)

[vultureboi]

Shoto: you’re all mights secret love child

Deku: no- no, I’m not…

Touya: he’s not. He’s All For Ones son

Deku: wait! What?!? No!!

Shoto: show me the proof

Touya: *shows evidence*

Shoto: my god… but what about this? *shows evidence*

Deku: guys please stop…

Touya: that’s it! Inko isn’t Izuku’s mother! ALL MIGHT IS TRANS AND IS IZUKUS BIOLOGICAL MOTHER!!

Shoto: AND THE FATHER IS ALL FOR ONE!!

Deku: OH MY GOD NO PLEASE STOP!!

[plot-bunny-shop]

An MHA crack-ish idea, Dadmight? Old News:

Todoroki in a sleep deprived haze due to rigorous training, regales Midoriya with his newest theory. All Might being his dad is old news. All For One being his dad is way more interesting and he ends up making some pretty good points. After that Midoriya is kind of convinced but still apprehensive until he gets another vestiges dream and sees a flashback of All For One and he can’t deny that the man does indeed look a little bit familiar.

[dcwnrisen-aa]

❝ ━ hear me out...what if snails are just evolved jellyfish ? ❞

[awkwaamo]

Chapters: 15/21 Fandom: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Midoriya Izuku & Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Midoriya Izuku & Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead/Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto, Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Todoroki Shouto, Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Gran Torino (My Hero Academia), Dabi | Todoroki Touya, Yaoyorozu Momo, Uraraka Ochako, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Sensei | All For One, Kurogiri (My Hero Academia), Shinsou Hitoshi Additional Tags: Villain Midoriya Izuku, Kinda, but not really, you'll see - Freeform, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Parental Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic, Parental Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Yagi Toshinori | All Might is a Dork, Gran Torino is not going to put up with anyone's bullshit, Bakugou Katsuki Faces Consequences, Midoriya Inko's Bad Parenting, Sensei | All For One is Midoriya Hisashi, Sensei | All For One is Midoriya Izuku's Parent, Creepy Sensei | All For One, Midoriya Izuku Has All for One Quirk, cant believe i almost forgot that one, Dabi | Todoroki Touya is Not a Villain, Minor Character Death, Toga Himiko is Not a Villain, Nomufication, Bakugou Katsuki is Expelled from U.A. High School, Midoriya Izuku has anxiety, Midoriya Izuku Has Self-Esteem Issues, Midoriya Izuku Has Multiple Quirks, League of Villains Doesn't Exist (My Hero Academia), Nedzu lives for chaos, Therapy!, Midoriya Izuku Has Trust Issues, Child Neglect, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, dad for one, Trauma, Near Death Experiences, Hero Public Safety Commission Bashing (My Hero Academia), no beta we die like [redacted], Paranoid Midoriya Izuku, for good reasons, pre-relationship?, maybe? - Freeform, There's definitely some heavy tododeku moments in here, It is implied that they're together in the end, but it's not the main focus, this is very self indulgent, Okay I added the tddk tag, I don't know who I was kidding Summary:

Izuku spent nearly three whole years of his life being completely written off. Everything drastically changed for him at the age of six when his quirk finally manifested.

Instead of pity or disdain, he was flat out greeted with hostility and fear most of the time. In some ways it was better, most people were too afraid to get close to him. But he learned pretty quickly that his future was decided the moment Exchange showed its face to the world.

That was why he wasn’t surprised to be sitting in an interrogation room with cuffs restraining him to the table, despite the fact that he hadn’t done anything illegal— breathing was enough of an excuse for some people.

What was surprising was the visit from Nedzu right in the middle of the interrogation and the once in a lifetime offer he brought with him.

 Pre-written. Updates on Mondays

---------

If you want to support me --- https://ko-fi.com/awkwaamo

[starsfic]

Never too early to make a poll

Summaries:

Uncaring of timelines, several children's entertainment companies meet up during a convention, including Elliot Ludwig of Playtime, Isaac Indigo of Indigo Park, and Henry Emily of Fazbear.

AU where the TLT are all streamers- Xiaojiao does video games and motorcycle care, Red does fashion and invention history, while Xiaotian does speed paints and character design. This October, they decide to do a massive stream together of horror games.

AU where Macaque gets married to the wealthy and charming Azure Lion to support his failing theater. However, there is a darkness about his new husband and his mysterious first husband.

AU where Azure Lion sees and falls in love with Sun Wukong...and kidnaps him to Heaven in a rare burst of instinct.

Long Xiaojiao teams up with several other streamers, including speed painter Marcy Wu, conspiracy theorist Todoroki Shoto, and figurine maker Gangle, to play Mario Party for charity. Shenanigans happen, including magic outbursts, old bullies popping up in chat, and general chaos.

To boost morale for the anniversary of Elliot Ludwig’s death, Playtime Co. sponsors a happy hour at a nearby bar for the workers. However, the phrase “loose lips sink ships” rings true, especially when those lips are loosened by alcohol enough to share stories of several weird occurrences. The toys and children alike aren’t sure what to think when, the next day, they’re set free.

Based on this post, the gang is hired to investigate the rumors of a bunny animatronic ghost overnight. The truth is a little more tricky.

During a scouting mission gone wrong, the boys find themselves locked in Draxum's home, hunted by a mysterious figure.

An unsolved mystery show wishes to interview April on the anniversary of her mother's death. When Leo's invited along, he suspects that these detectives are more than what they seem.

The cycle, as it turns out, does not reset the Harbinger when the cycle resets.

When local lord Sun Wukong begs for martial help from powerful witch Azure, Azure decides to help...by killing Wukong's husband.

I make another poll of fics from 2022-2017 and rewrite the chosen one with my current writing ability.

[epickiya722]

Honestly, the whole agency sharing thing feels just as fanon to me as Todoroki being a conspiracy theorist.

Like, maybe my memory is shot, but I don't remember it being explicit that Bakugou and Midoriya sharing an agency, let me be specific here. Sharing an agency.

Being heroes like their idol, All Might? Being heroes together? Yes, that was clear to me.

But the agency part feels like a fanon thing.

Yes, agencies are part of the deal being a Pro Hero, but I don't think it was ever something Bakugou or Midoriya ever considered given they were tiny kids with dreams to be Heroes. That and agencies were like a big deal for like, what, 10% of the manga?

I said it, but this epilogue just felt like fanon fantasy to me. Something that was cooked up more to cater to the fanon things than the actual story. You cannot tell me that many of those "BakuDeku Agency" posts, fics and art wasn't seen that had someone working on the manga with Horikoshi, or heck even him, go "we should totally bring in this thing that the fandom seems to really like, but we also can't give them too much now".

To me, and yes I said this, solo Hero Deku appeals to me a bit better.

The thing is out of the two, Bakugou did seem to be the one to want to have an agency. He always felt more like the "by the book" one compared to Midoriya who is more rebellious.

It just makes sense to me that Midoriya wouldn't choose to be at an agency if he can still do hero work.

Also, considering he still wants to be a teacher, that would mean he would constantly be going back between one place to another. Being more of an "agency-free" hero means he has more room to move as he chooses.

And him still being a teacher also makes sense, it does. Midoriya would want to keep the career that allows him to inspire children to pursue their dreams. And guess who were part of Midoriya's journey into becoming a teacher, other than his friends and mother?

His teachers! All Might, his mentor and predecessor was even a teacher!

I'm rambling here, nothing new, but I don't know.

Now, the agency thing could have fit better for me had this been something they actually discussed and not just as "Midoriya is an employee there" but "hey, want to share an agency with me".

[mytragedyperson]

So recently I've been really enjoying dabi and shouto fics. Like where dabi and shouto end up having a decent sibling relationship. And honestly I just like shouto fics anyway. So if you have any good shouto centric fics, specifically with villain shouto or shouto and dabi friendship, can you request them? Any ship but I do prefer todobaku and/or dabihawks but I'm really not that picky as long as the story is interesting. Can be angst, fluff or anything in between, including crack. I do also like social media fics and conspiracy theorist todoroki

[deusvervewrites]

I’ve never quite understood the whole “Midoriya has bad fashion sense” shtick. Whenever he is wearing one of those pun shirts, it is usually in a casual setting (at home/exercising/night time) when you kind of just wear whatever. Sure, he isn’t the most fashionable, but it isn’t like he wears random clashing clothes.

The only glaring point is, of course, that monstrosity of a tie.

I assume it's like how Todoroki has a reputation as a conspiracy theorist for the one time he logically but incorrectly applied information he had available to him and then dropped it after being contradicted.

[cyber-phobia]

So like. pre-Dabi family drama reveal, people were insisting he was a todoroki. and they were right!

what about an AU where dabi has amnesia and everyone around him is like 'oh my god you're todoroki touya!' (by everyone i mean the league doing 2+2=4 kind of thinking and then later shouto after the summer camp, who recruits midoriya 'heroic encyclopedia' izuku into his 'conspiracy theory') and he's like 'no the fuck i am not?? are you. are you stupid?'

endeavor also sees him and recognizes him as his ""dead"" son and dabi is even more flabbergasted.

idk where it would go but like. it's the classic skeptic-believer comedy and i think it would be very funny.

for some reason this reminded me that somewhere in some corner of the internet, the geten-is-touya theorists are still in mourning.

this is infinitely funnier than canon bc Dabi thinks he's just Some Guy that really wants endeavor dead, as most people should, but now for some reason Endeavor seems to be equally obsessed with him.

[midnight---express]

Who with Who?

A Fun idea that I am so sad that no-one has taken advantage of is the idea that everyone genuinely can't tell who's dating who between Jirou, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki and Kaminari, the massive Bi-energy that emanates from that group is as thick as a thundercloud, and it doesn't help that they are all so comfortable with each other.

Like Denki will throw his arms around all of them, pell-mell, he vibes in Momo's room, Shouto discusses the meaning and intricates of lyrics with Kyouka (his conspiracy theorist brain would love picking them apart), Momo and Kyouka are almost joined at the hip most days chatting away, and Denki and Shoto are just vibing doing what ever crosses their mind (talking about Western heroes at the moment).

Like this group is so fun it's formed of two of the most sunshiny smiley people in the class with the two socially kinda awkward sarcasm duo.

It's such a fun crew and I love the fanon interactions, like we get plenty of all three of them with Momo.

But what does the dynamic between Kyouka and Shouto look like, I think it would be really funny if those two interacting is the complete opposite of what everyone expects, that being a sullen staring contest over coffee but no, it's these two dorks gushing about their interests and their SO's like you walk into the common room and you hear Shouto excitedly talking about the little jump, bounce and smile that Momo did when she saw him that morning, and Kyouka intently listening nodding furiously.

One stupid little headcanon I like is that both are so enamored by Thomas The Tank Engine, Shouto likes it as the expressions are super easy to read and Kyouka loves the soundtrack, since basicly no-one comes into his room they haven't realised that he's been building a model railway in there, and there are some suspiciously high-priced models in his collection.

Denki wanders in one evening as he can't sleep (weirdly a common fanon thing with him, must be all the extra electricity keeping him up) to see Shouto running his trains and they just sit and watch them like Ash and Kristofferson.

Okay we are working this out, who has string!

It's just fun that there are two sun's and they just pull around their moon's who are completely enamored by their smiles and are so obvious about it but then everyone else is going full Shouto mode and are grouped together in the common room with several balls of thread (Borrowed from Mezo) which have been spanned across it trying to work out how the hell this relationship works.

To top that whole bit all of the four walk into the spiders nest of Blue, Red, Purple and Yellow threads, holding hands (Yes in the order just mentioned) with befuddled faces, the rampant hushed shouting dials down, Mina is melting at the image presented.

"ahh, Polyonomy" Utters Fumikage in the most deadpan tone possible. (He knows that's not how the relationship is, as does Katsuki but both of them are doing this for shits and giggles and are really committed to the bit.)

They all hand Ochaco 1000 Yen in defeat (mock for two of them), Shouto is processing the walls of string with an impressed expression, Momo simply looks confused, Kyouka is red in the face, and Denki half explodes into a peels of laughter whilst pointing at Momo and Shouto, then back at himself and scream laughing again.

The Gods have descended.

Another stupid idea that I need to draw is simply the idea that Momo has accidentally taken on most of the Class Rep duties and now is spiraling mess trying not to cry and the other three latch onto this, with there now being the living embodiment of a thunderstorm inhabiting the inside of the classroom, the floor is vibrating, it smells like ozone and is muggy as hell, several people are standing in the doorway, Katsuki is halfway under his desk, Aizawa doesn't even want to try erasing one of them as Denki is being handed permissions slips and reading them (How is his Dyslexic ass doing that?) Kyouka is ordering people to sit down and Shouto is giving her a back massage (Very nice hands) the idea that those three teaming up can create the physical environment of the inside of a Thunderstorm is a terrifying prospect, Aizawa ain't questioning he's doing the roll less he get a live performance of Thunderstruck.

It's so funny that they three are some of the chilliest people in the class but then it's the full force of Wall Socket, Surround Sound and Thermometer turning into forces of nature when their bestie get's insulted or starts crying, I'm calling this dynamic the MomoMilitia.

Those three will fight god for their friend at 3am, they will win.

Thank you for coming to the inane ramblings.

[dontbooatme]

If Todoroki and Wes ever met, they would totally be awful conspiracy theorists together. Conspiracy theorists who gang up on Danny

Danny would hate them so much

[starlightshadowsworld]

As much as I love Dabi's reveal and all the drama involved with it.

I love the whole Shoto "conspiracy theorist" Todoroki having known the whole time, even more.

Everyone in Class 1-A is freaking out and thinking of how to console him.

And he's just like "called it."

Has a whole pinboard with clues.

Spikey hair.

Fighting style.

Roughly same age as Touya would have been.

And just yeah no one hates my father more than my family.

Dabi: And I am, Touya Todoroki!

Shoto: 👍🏼 carries on eating his soba

[princess-of-the-corner]

Fic Snip - How To Ruin Your Father's Wedding

Enji said, “The Todoroki family is under a curse to always be second best.”

“Another joke?” Natsuo asked.

“No, I’m serious.” Enji stepped out of the room, then wheeled in a conspiracy theorist corkboard covered in notes and red string. “Just look at all the evidence! Even after All Might retired, I’m still number two hero. Shouto won second place at U.A.’s Sports Festival. Natsuo took second place in his college exams. Most recently, Fuyumi got second place in the neighborhood pie-baking contest.”

Leaning over, Natsuo whispered to his sister, “Dad has cracked.” In a louder voice, he said, “We can all agree that Fuyumi got robbed by the judge’s personal bias against apples. But Dad, it’s just bad luck that you lost the number one hero slot. The HPSC accidentally failed to put you on the popularity poll ballot and the write-in votes weren’t enough. They were accused of rigging it to favor Hawks but found innocent. I know you came up with a million conspiracy theories at the time, but it was all just a mistake.”

Enji continued, “Not only that, but Hisashi married Inko at almost the precise time I married Rei, as if the universe refused to even give me the title of most dysfunctional marriage!”

Shouto sat up straighter. “What do Midoriya’s parents have to do with anything?”

Enji brandished an envelope. “I found proof. Our ancestor from the dawn of the age of quirks wrote a confession letter to his descendants, admitting that he won in an elementary school spelling bee against little girl with a reality-bending quirk. She cursed our entire family to never be first place at anything ever again.”

Shouto’s nose twitched. He did not want to be interested, but he could not resist the siren lure of a conspiracy theory. “Hmm, let me see that letter.” He snatched it up and read rapidly. “It says here that if we can ever become first place at anything, then we can break the curse. The letter writer spent his whole life trying to break obscure Guinness World Records but never succeeded.”

Enji said, “I came to realize that the only way to overcome the curse would be to marry into All for One’s family, thus creating a combined family so dysfunctional that the universe cannot create anything worse and gives up. Then we will finally be number one, even if it’s number one most dramatic family.” He smiled and sighed, his gaze becoming dreamy. “I met with All for One planning to arrange a marriage between our children. I never expected to find him so…charming. We have so much in common. Like competitiveness, wanting to protect our families, relatives who inexplicably hate us, and unpopular opinions about a certain public figure. Mostly that last one. We really bonded over how much we both hate All Might.”

Natsuo laughed out loud. “Okay, you win, you got me to laugh. That was funny! Your delivery is amazing. You really sold your silly prank. Haha, is trash-talking All Might like dirty talk to you? I can hear it now: ‘Ooooo, pound me like you’re drilling into your red-yellow-and-blue archnemesis!’”

This took a fucking TURN

[wonhaebunny]

bkg as klaus hargreeves. give the boy ghostie powers that the class dont know about THANK YOU

Bakugou's a weird guy.

Most of his classmates realise this pretty quickly upon meeting him. He dresses like a delinquent, clothes hanging crumpled and loose off his frame, and yet consistently gets some of the highest grades in the class. He stomps around yelling like he's overcompensating for something, and then flawlessly demonstrates a level of combat ability to rival most established pro heroes. His total inability to hold a normal, civilised conversation without cursing is baffling, and for all that his voice fills any room that he enters, they remain aware that they don't really... know anything about him.

The weirdest thing about Bakugou, however, has nothing to do with his temper or his grades, or his ridiculous quirk control, or even his deceptively introverted personality.

The weirdest thing about Bakugou is that he talks to himself.

Not loudly, or animatedly in the way that one would see in movies. He doesn't have an imaginary friend or the like, as evidenced by the judgmental glare he levels upon Kirishima when the red-head works up the nerve to ask. "Imaginary friends?" he echoes flatly. "What are you, five?"

Nonetheless, when the class is assigned a particularly challenging worksheet in class and the room settles into silence, Bakugou will start to mumble. It’s never loud enough for the words to be audible, but to his classmates, it almost sounds like he’s having a one-sided conversation. He’ll pause every few moments, maybe nod or huff to himself. It’s unsettling in its accuracy, because they could swear that there’s actually someone there. Ashido has even ‘accidentally’ walked through the space around Bakugou just to make sure, but that had just earned her a vaguely amused look from the blond.

It’s a few months into their first year when Todoroki, who has moved past his brooding-emo-boy phase and is now settling into his arguably worse budding-conspiracy-theorist one, approaches Bakugou in the locker rooms before training. The older boy is muttering to himself again, crimson gaze flickering between his own clothes and an empty space on the bench next to him.

“Bakugou,” Todoroki says, jerking Bakugou out of his distraction.

“What?”

“Who are you talking to.”

“Your mom.”

Todoroki tilts his head at this. “My mother is in the psychiatric ward, and is not due to be discharged in the foreseeable future.”

Bakugou’s vaguely irked expression shifts to one of discomfort. He curls his lip, awkwardness shared by the other boys who are now pretending they’re deaf. Bakugou is not given the same mercy, as evidenced by Todoroki’s unfaltering attention.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re good at making conversation?” he asks dryly.

“No?”

“Exactly.”

Todoroki looks vaguely offended. “You were talking to someone, though,” he insists.

Bakugou sighs, before slinging his bag over his shoulder and turning on his heel to face the other boy. 

“You really wanna know?” he asks, voice low. 

Todoroki nods, eyes wide.

Bakugou’s lips curl up at the edges, an entertained glint coming into his eye. He strides forward, leaning in until their chests almost brush.

“I see dead people,” he tells Todoroki solemnly.

Then he shoves past him, snickering his way out of the locker room. 

The tension in the locker room dissipates, all the boys relaxing with good-natured grumbles.

“He’s such a dick,” Sero complains, patting Todoroki’s shoulder as he and a cackling Kaminari follow the blond out. 

“I don’t understand,” Todoroki says bluntly, still standing where Bakugou had left him. “Why are you all laughing? Does he really see dead people?”

“He’s messing with you,” Ojirou says, a vaguely pitying look in his eyes. “Just ignore him, man.”

Todoroki trails after his exiting classmates quietly, a contemplative frown twisting his expression.

The others know to brush off Bakugou’s bullshit, but Todoroki evidently doesn’t. Days later when the class is on a training excursion out to the woods east of the school, Kaminari perks up at the sight of a rotting cabin on the outskirts of the grounds.

“Oh, sick, my brother told me about this!” he exclaims. “Apparently a groundskeeper died here a couple years back, and, like, haunts the woods now!”

Most of the girls immediately begin to protest at the prospect, but Tokoyami perks up.

“Finally… a worthy opponent of the darkness…” he murmurs seriously. 

Aizawa looks like he’s moments from tendering his own resignation.

“No such thing happened,” he says flatly. “Everyone split into the assigned groups.”

He goes ignored.

“What, is this dude’s ghost gonna come and kill us now?” Mineta sniffs, scowling with an exaggeration that suggests he’s trying to look less spooked than he actually is.

“Her ghost,” Katsuki corrects listlessly, scrolling through his phone. 

“Huh?”

“It’s a woman. Or—was one.”

Todoroki looks like Christmas has come early. 

“You can see her?!”

“Hell yeah I can, she’s ugly as shit.”

“What does she look li—” Todoroki is cut off by the synchronised groans of just about half the class as he’s bodily dragged out of Bakugou’s sight, with the latter receiving several disapproving looks.

“Stop it!” Kirishima tells the older blond, wagging a finger in his face like he’s a dog that just pissed all over the couch. “Todoroki is an impressionable boy!”

“She’s right next to you,” Katsuki calls to Todoroki, flipping Kirishima off in the process. 

“Bakugou!” six different people snap at once.

By the time Bakugou’s been wrestled into the opposite end of the group, Todoroki’s already begun trying to communicate with the invisible presence supposedly at his side, eyes wide and hands gesturing wildly.

It takes Bakugou half an hour to stop laughing.

Later that month, Kirishima finds himself bounding towards Bakugou’s table at the cafeteria. The blond always manages to seat himself at an empty table before the others even make it into the hall, but he’s long since stopped trying to question it. Bakugou’s poker face means that no one tries to sit with them, so it’s a guaranteed free table every day. The moment he approaches to slide into his usual seat, Bakugou, who’s been staring intently at his phone, looks up and cocks his head.

“You don’t wanna sit there, Shitty Hair.”

“Huh? Why not? It looks fine to me?”

The blond blinks, before shrugging.

“Suit yourself,” he says placidly.

Kirishima stares at him, and then at the empty spot. He chews his lip, before sitting down anyway. Immediately, he’s springing out of it as an icy chill sears the seat of his pants.

“What the f—” he cries, whirling around to inspect the chair closely for any spilled drinks or ice. He then pats his behind, which also comes out dry. “Dude, what the hell, I swear that seat was freezing cold!”

He turns to Bakugou, only to find him with his nose still buried in his phone, a smirk tugging at his lips faintly.

“Did you plan this?” he asks the blond suspiciously. “Is this a prank?”

At this, finally, Bakugou puts his phone down to pin Kirishima with an unamused look.

“I’ve been sitting here this whole fucking time, dipshit.”

Kirishima pouts, reluctantly sinking into the empty seat next to the first one.

“Sometimes I think Todoroki’s onto something with the ghost theories,” he mumbles sulkily, stuffing a chunk of pork into his mouth.

Bakugou just grins.

It comes to a head during the first weekend of break, after their first year ends. The class decides to go on a karaoke outing, all together at once. This is their first mistake. Approximately fifteen minutes after they meet and begin the walk to the karaoke bar, Shouji complains of a strange smell. Two minutes after that, Mineta passes out. They’re not overly fussed about this, and are in the process of debating whether or not it’s morally permissible to leave his body in an alley to collect on the way back, when Jirou follows. From there, they drop like flies. 

They wake up in an empty room with water-stained grey walls, wrists chained to the ground.

“Aw, man,” Kirishima says mildly. 

“Shit, they brought Mineta with us,” Jirou mumbles.

“Aw, man,” Kirishima says, less mildly this time as he eyes the boy’s tiny, purple head.

“We should kill him now and then pretend it was the villains who kidnapped us,” Ashido suggests.

Bakugou jolts at the suggestion, looking inordinately horrified.

“Do not fucking kill that shitstain,” he squawks, chains rattling. “Just tie him to a tree in the middle of nowhere or something!”

Ashido hums.

“Enough,” says the man in the black tengu mask.

“Precisely,” Iida says, before whipping his head around. “How long have you been standing there?!”

“He’s been there the whole fucking time,” Bakugou drawls, finally calming down now that the threat of Mineta’s imminent demise has been eliminated. He’s eyeing the stranger with a sharp, calculating look.

“I have,” the masked man confirms helpfully, stepping out of the shadowy corner of the room. In his hand, he twirls a syringe filled with an ominously shimmering brown substance. “For top students of Japan’s finest heroics institution, your observation skills leave much to be desired. Of course, that is the reason I’ve brought you here today… to make a statement to the public. Our taxpayer money—”

“So this is the monologue part,” Sero mutters, tugging his wrists apart until the chains binding them pull taut. He turns to Bakugou. “Was the League this bad?”

“Worse,” the blond mutters, still eyeing the monologuing villain, whose syringe glints in the dim light of the room. 

“I’ll cut to the chase,” the man says, sensing that he’s losing his audience. “I am Anzen, and in this syringe, I hold a slow-acting neurotoxin. I’m about to inject it into the lucky student of my choice, and that student will have three hours before the neurotoxin destroys so much of their nervous system that it will permanently impair their brain function, and another hour before they die. I have sent my ransom notice to UA. If they meet my requirements within this time, I’ll administer the antidote. If not…” he trails off, tapping a finger against the body of the syringe demonstratively.

There’s silence. 

Anzen wilts a little when his hostages look largely unphased by this development.

“So basically you’re saying we’ve got three hours before anything actually happens,” Kaminari says boredly, clinking his chains against the floor with a dull rhythmic clang.

“So much for karaoke,” Ojiro adds morosely.

“I must object to this detention!” Iida cries, attempting to raise his hand in the air only for the chains to pull tight and stop him mid-way. Even he seems relatively unconcerned by the situation, if not somewhat indignant at the impropriety. “I am sure that there are more diplomatic means to resolve this issue!” 

“Resolve?” Anzen echoes bitterly. “My hard-earned taxpayer money goes to your fancy hero school, only for you to graduate and destroy more property, which will inevitably require repairs which are funded by even more taxp—”

“If you require assistance in lodging a tax return or claiming insurance costs on damage to your personal property, I am happy to aid you,” Iida says, looking vaguely judgmental. 

Anzen splutters. “I don’t need a kid to help me lodge taxes!” he insists.

“But you require us to die to… prove a point to the government?” Yaoyorozu interjects, looking just as disapproving as her classmate.

The man’s neck is rapidly turning an interesting shade of crimson under the mask. “Forget it,” he snaps, pacing backward. “Forget it. Fucking brats. I’ll just inject you and be done with it. From there, the ball is in UA’s court.”

He spins back on his heel, appraising them with dark eyes. “I don’t even know which of you to pick when you’re all so insufferable. Hell, I wish I’d brought more syringes…”

Somehow, the only student who seems phased by the threat is Bakugou. In fact, in contrast to Anzen, he’s been steadily paling over the span of several minutes.

“Wait,” he says when Anzen nears the group. “You can’t seriously be planning to stick one of us with that.”

Anzen huffs lowly. “Finally,” he rasps. “Someone who’s taking this seriously.”

“Dude, chill,” Kaminari says, nudging the other blond with his foot. “Three hours. Aizawa-sensei will find us by then, no sweat.”

“Shut up,” Bakugou snaps, not taking his eyes from the syringe. For a brief moment, his gaze flickers away to a spot behind Anzen, before returning back to the brown liquid. “Keep that shit away from us, dickhead.”

“No,” Anzen says gleefully. “In fact, I think you’re my lucky student for the night!”

Bakugou, impossibly, pales further. 

“Besides,” the man sings as he crouches down by the blond’s side. “It’s like your little pest of a friend said: you have three hours. If your school is as good as you say, then no harm will come upon you.”

He flicks the syringe once with his index finger, holding it upright.

“Yeah, if the fucking antidote works,” Bakugou snaps, leaning away.

Anzen freezes. 

“What?”

“I said I don’t trust you and your second-rate Bachelor’s in Biomedical Science. Keep that shit away from my fucking body.”

“It’s a Masters degree,” the man says indignantly, before jolting. “How the fuck—”

“It would be a Masters if you’d graduated,” Bakugou glares. “You dropped out when your supervisor wouldn’t clear your thesis.”

The syringe slips out of Anzen’s hand, clattering in the newly-established silence of the room.

“You,” he breathes. “Who the hell…”

Bakugou eyes the fallen syringe, relaxing imperceptibly. The apprehension in his expression is replaced with his usual smug irritation.

“Must be humiliating,” he hums. “Seven months on a formula, just for the antidote to fail.”

Anzen flinches.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he snaps. 

“You thought you had it the second time,” the blond powers on, looking vaguely amused now. “Miwa got better at first, and you thought you’d done it. But she was dead by morning.”

The room falls silent, Anzen’s laboured panting filling the empty space.

“No,” he says tremulously.

“Yes,” Bakugou says ruthlessly. “She trusted you. And you still haven’t got it, have you? The third trial turned out even worse, because you fucked up the neurotoxin so bad that Yoko was dead by the first hour, before you even got to give her the antidote. You still have no idea what the fuck you’re doing.”

He leans forward until his chains rattle, crimson eyes glowing almost amber in the yellowing light. 

“Does it keep you up at night?” he asks, voice hushed. “What you’ve done, I mean.”

“No,” Anzen says again, voice cracking.

“It doesn’t?” 

“Don’t.”

“It should,” the boy continues, lips curling at the seams to bare glinting teeth. “They haven’t forgiven you. And you haven’t forgiven yourself, have you? That’s why you keep it.”

“I don’t,” Anzen insists childishly, voice sounding wet.

“You do,” Bakugou says gently, a predatory gleam to his eyes. “See?”

And then, precariously, the seams of Anzen’s shirt collars part, and a rusted golden chain lifts from around his neck. The man’s head tilts downward, watching as an empty glass test tube, hanging from the chain by a jump ring through its stopper, raises ominously in the air without any support.

Anzen makes a small, pathetic noise in the back of his throat.

“They haven’t forgiven you, Takeo,” Bakugou whispers softly.

Like the words are a physical blow, Anzen veers backward blindly, before toppling over thin air and sprawling onto the ground.

“I’m sorry,” he wheezes. “I’m sorry, I’m s—sorry. I thought I had it, I swear, I didn’t mean—”

“Here’s what you’re going to do,” Bakugou says conversationally, smiling kindly at the blubbering man. “You’re going to let us go. Aren’t you?”

“Y—yes.”

“And then you’re going to turn yourself in.”

Anzen sniffles, voice cracking around a wet, gasping inhale.

“You’re going to turn yourself in, Takeo,” Bakugou repeats patiently.

“I’m g—going to. To turn mys—self in,” the man echoes.

The blond nods serenely. “Any day now, buddy.”

Anzen jerks, stumbling to his feet and turning to fumble with a set of keys at his hip.

The room lapses back into silence, punctuated only by Anzen’s pathetic sniffling and the clink of the keys.

“Um,” Kirishima says weakly from behind Bakugou. “So, like.”

“I knew it,” Todoroki whispers. “You really can see them, then.”

Bakugou exhales slowly, before turning to blink at the boy guilelessly. “See what?”

“Dead people!”

Bakugou stares at him for a long moment, before turning his gaze to the rest of his classmates, who are watching him with wide, awed eyes.

Behind him, the air flickers with a shimmering, grey form.

“Stop it, Tsubasa,” the blond snaps without turning back to face the sight. The space flickers once more, before the disturbance settles.

“Tsu—whu? Tsubasa like the kid who died in the fourth grade?! Kacchan—!”

“Don’t be stupid,” Bakugou interrupts Midoriya lightly, returning his attention to Todoroki. “My quirk is explosions. See?”

As if to punctuate his point, he raises the hand that Anzen has just freed, sparking off a small detonation in his palm.

“But—” Todoroki says plaintively.

“Dead people,” Bakugou echoes, snickering to himself. “You really are weird, Todoroki.”

He rises to his feet, brushing off his pants, and ambles out of the room.