3 Chapter 3

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Bakugo was sitting at his desk in school, looking up at the ceiling with his usual scowl.

He turned back to his side to look at the vacant desk where 'Deku' used to sit. Ever since the quirkiness nobody vanished, the tone around Aldreda High School had completely changed.

He growled. Even when he wasn't around, the 'Deku' still had to have some notion of existing. Whether he was here in the flesh, or when other people were talking about him. It made him sick…

"So, what do you think happened to him?"

Bakugo caught on to a conversation happening between a few students on the other end of the classroom, whispering and taking turns to look back at the empty seat.

"I don't know. Do you think maybe he was kidnapped?"

"Or maybe someone got him with their Quirk?"

"Well, couldn't he have defended himself?"

"With what? Don't you remember? He didn't have a Quirk."

"Oh, shoot! That's right!"

"Man…I actually feel sorry for the guy."

Bakugo could have spit when he heard that.

All of a sudden, two figures approached the ash-blonde boy. It was the two cronies who liked to follow him around and picked on 'Deku' whenever he did.

One of them was an overweight kid, who could grow wings out of his back, while the other had dirty blonde hair, and could cause his fingers to grow to unnatural lengths.

Finger boy decided to pull out Izuku's empty seat and plop himself in it, right next to Bakugo.

"Hey, Bakugo! Isn't this great? That quirkiness nobody's finally gone! Just like you always wanted!" He cackled. Bakugo barely looked at the suck-up next to him.

Not getting the toughest kids in the school's attention, the snarky kid decided to try again. "I bet he took your advice and decided to drop himself off the roof! About time, huh? Who needs a quirkiness freak like him!"

"What is wrong with you?!" Someone shot up from the group of kids on the far side of the room. Finger-boy and Fat-wings turned to look at who had raised her voice. It was a schoolgirl who could turn her hair into a neon blue whip. "How could you say something like that?!"

Taken by surprise by the girl's words, Finger-boy stood up and began defending himself. "B-but its true isn't it? If you don't have a quirk, then what good are you?"

"That's not fair!" A boy who had rocks for hair spoke up next. "Lots of people without quirks can still do something! Like, join the police force, or something!"

"Why are you sticking up for the 'Deku' now?" Everyone stopped to look at Bakugo, who had finally said something.

He looked down from the ceiling, and toward the group of kids. "It's not like you were friends with him, right?"

A girl who could summon a small twister with her right hand hesitantly spoke up next. "W-well, no…but don't you miss him too, Bakugo? I mean, he did save you from that Sludge Villain a few weeks ago."

Bakugo shot a deadly glare at the girl the moment she brought up his greatest shame. All of the students froze under the explosive boy's gaze.

Even his two cronies were scared stiff as he rose out of his chair and stalked his way toward the small group at the front.

He then slammed both his palms on the desks at either side of him, smoke simmering out from the burning wood underneath his hands. "Don't. Ever. Bring. That up. Again! I didn't need that 'Deku's' help! I don't need anyone's help, and I never will! I'm going to be the best hero this world has ever seen, and I'm gonna pave over that stupid incident like the garbage it is! And if that 'Deku' ever shows his face around here again, I'm gonna-!"

All of a sudden, the classroom door slid open, and the teacher walked in. "All right, class, settle down! time to start the day. Bakugo, please take your seat."

The explosive boy shot the group of kids one last look before stomping off back to his spot, seating himself down and propping his legs up on the chair in front of him.

He honestly didn't care what happened to the 'Deku' whether he took his advice and decided to jump off a building somewhere or not.

A smirk spread across his face. Maybe the 'Deku' was living off the streets somewhere, dumpster diving for rotten scraps to survive...

"Chicken Katsudon...Pork Katsudon?...Chicken Katsudon...Pork Katsudon?"

Deku stood in front of the fridge aisle of a convenience store close to his apartment.

The last few heists he'd been hired for had gone off pretty well, and he managed to earn himself a pretty generous cut of the scratch they made off with.

His expertise on quirks had come in handy a couple of times, the latest example being when he had the group of thieves he was running with prep themselves for an encounter with Midnight.

Though as good as his knowledge was, a part of him wished he could be of more use than just planning ahead of heroes. Even in a life of crime, he can't help but wish for a quirk of his own.

He looked back to the two lunch sets in his hands. Guess he shouldn't complain if he was able to buy food at the end of the day.

How long had it been since he had a freshly cooked, steaming hot slab of katsudon? Well, it didn't matter on which of these he ended up taking home. Neither one of them would hold a candle to his Mum's-

...Mum.

The pit that would appear in the young villain's stomach whenever he would think about his mother opened up the moment she came to mind.

It had been two months since he left, leaving her behind as he started his new life.

His insides would then churn with guilt over how he left without a word, leaving her behind. But he did it for her! Now that he was gone, she didn't have to have a quirkless child to worry herself to death over.

...At least that's what he kept telling himself.

He couldn't help but wonder if anyone at his old school missed him when he vanished? Probably not.

They let him know exactly what they thought of the quirkless nobody in their class.

His homeroom teacher sure didn't seem concerned with his well being. So what difference would it have made to them if a quirkiness weakling like him up and left? Or Bakugo?

...Bakugo…!

Deku figured that he must be so happy right now, knowing that his abuse finally paid off. Now, he had more time to focus on getting into U.A than coming after him.

It was more than likely now. After all, he did have a pretty impressive quirk. How could they not let the likes of him into the most elite hero school in all of Japan?

Nevermind the fact that he likes to put others down, make them feel weak and worthless, while endlessly blasting them over and over and over and over…!

The boy snapped out of his mental haze. He took a couple of deep breaths to recenter himself. Once he was done, he gave a little chuckle.

That was close! Almost had another one of his episodes! He'd picked up the bad habit after his disappearance.

Whenever his mind started going down a dark road, is he liked to describe it, things started to get a little…blurry.

"Sir?" A clerk behind the counter called over to him. "Is everything alright?"

The green-haired boy looked down the aisle and gave the man a reassuring smile. "U-Uh, yeah! Sorry, I'll be right there!" Deku put the chicken katsudon back and made his way to the front desk.

The clerk began to scan the boy's items and place them in a plastic bag. "That'll be 1049 yen."

"Okay." Deku gave the clerk an awkward smile as he rummaged around in his pockets for cash.

Once he paid the clerk, he took his purchases and headed for the exit, when he bumped into someone on their way in. "Oh, gosh! I'm sorry!"

"No need to fret, my boy! No harm done!" The man replied in a flamboyantly polite tone.

Deku managed to get a good look at him, and everything about the figure before him just screamed 'extravagant'.

He wore a black tailcoat with an overreaching collar, a pair of low hanging striped pants, a dark purple scarf, slicked-back grey hair with a single curl at the front, and a short beard and a handlebar moustache sitting above his mouth, holding a silver cane by his arm.

The man clearly stuck out like a sore thumb, but at the back of the young analyst's mind, something about this eccentric stranger seemed familiar.

The sharp-dressed stranger placed a friendly hand on the boy's shoulder. "Might want to make yourself scarce, lad. It's about to get quite rowdy around here."

The stranger walked away, and Deku decided to follow his advice and walk out of the store.

The clerk behind the counter had no idea what was happening until the stranger drew a knife on him in one hand, whilst revealing a briefcase in the other.

"I do apologise for the inconvenience, my good man, but would be so kind as to open the cash register and retrieve all of your cash, please?" The stranger flashed a dashing smile, as the now quaking clerk did as told.

Up above the store, perched on the edge of a building, a small girl with enormous crimson red pigtails and dark-rimmed eyes watched the robbery take place.

She recorded the whole thing with a camcorder in her gloved hand and had a beaming smile that was threatening to bubble over with giddiness.

"You're doing great, Gentle!" The tiny girl squeaked. "You're next video is gonna be the best one yet!".

She kept the lense on the flamboyant thief as the clerk placed the last of the cash in the briefcase.

She saw the star of her shot raise a hand to his ear and heard his voice come to her own. "I don't doubt it for a moment, La Brava. Be sure to get my good side, won't you?"

"Oh, Gentle! ALL your sides look good!" The girl, La Brava, swooned until she caught sight of something out of the corner of her lense. "Heads up, Gentle! Heroes at 3 o'clock!"

True enough, a band of caped crusaders arrived on the scene. "DROP YOUR WEAPON!"

"There's so many of them Gentle..." The girl grimaced. "What do we do?"

The flamboyant thief merely grinned. "La Brava...cut to black, if you please."

Deku did indeed leave the store but decided to forgo heading home so he could witness the robbery.

As he hid behind a stray dumpster down an ally, he pulled out a pocket telescope and aimed it at the sharp-dressed man holding a knife to a panicking clerk who hurriedly filled a briefcase full of money.

All of a sudden, a multitude of multicoloured heroes showed up. They struck their poses and ordered ordering Gentle to drop his weapon and surrender. Gentle complied with dropping his knife, but it soon became clear that he didn't need it.

Deku watched as the flamboyant thief pressed a finger to his ear and started talking to himself. The young analyst deduced that whoever this was, he wasn't working alone, no doubt talking through an earpiece to whoever was possibly watching over him.

Once he was finished, he retrieved his hand, then sprung into action. The moment the thief engaged the heroes in battle, Deku had pulled out his notebook and begun scribbling so fast, the paper was close to catching fire.

Whatever the sharp-dressed man touched appeared to take on the physical form of an elastic, rubbery substance.

For example, with a touch of his hand, he turned the hard flat parking lot ground outside the store into a bouncy, unstable mass that caused the heroes to lose their footing.

When one hero attempted to rush him, the thief made an invisible bounce pad out of the thin air itself, taking the hero by surprise and launching him across the way.

He even went as far as to turn the whole store itself rubbery and started bouncing the heroes against it like a giant pinball machine, with the heroes as the balls.

As the last of the heroes fell to the ground with a pained groan, Gentle dusted himself off after the scuffle was over and pressed his earpiece once more. "I do believe that its time for us to go. Post haste, my darling girl!"

High on top of a rooftop, a pint-sized girl with dark red pigtails watched over the man with a pocket camcorder.

She wore the same style of flashy clothing as the flamboyant thief, with dark edges framed around her bright pink eyes "We can't leave now! You forgot the cash!"

"Pish-tosh, La Brava!" Gentle scoffed whimsically. "I'm merely paying the appearance fee."

As the gentleman villain walked away from the scene of the crime, a plethora of bamboo shoots shot out from the ground before him, cutting him off from his escape.

"Gentle!" The tiny girl, La Brava, cried.

"Hold it right there!"

Gentle froze on the spot. Deku saw the bravado he'd shown up to that point all of a sudden disappear.

The young analyst took note of the thief's trembling legs, quivering lip, and wide, shaking eyes the gentleman villain now wore.

The flamboyant thief slowly turned around to face the new hero who'd shown up.

It was a middle-aged man wearing a dark green ninja uniform, with two bamboo shoots strapped to his back, and a pair of bamboo stalks over his ears. Deku recognized him as Takeshita; the bamboo hero.

"Gentle? What's the matter?!" La Brava called into the man's earpiece so loud, Deku was able to hear it from where he was. He doubted the villain could hear her, stuck in his stupor no doubt.

Takeshita took a fighting stance, prepping himself for whatever attack would come. "You may have taken down those other heroes, but I guarantee, I won't be so easy to beat!"

Gentle said nothing. He couldn't if he tried.

The bamboo hero took notice of this and smiled. "What's the matter? Scared stiff now that a real hero's shown up?" He began to approach the stunned villain with a reaching hand.

"Gentle, please! Get out of there!" The voice of the tiny partner in crime sounded close to tears.

The flamboyant thief finally came back to reality but was still shaken.

He began to look for a way out of there, but Takeshita was one step ahead of him. He sprouted more bamboo shoots around the two of them, reaching high into the air.

Gentle was once again caught in a daze at the sight of the bamboo hero's ability. The shoots seemed to start reaching down on him, closing in to seal his fate.

"Time to pay for your crimes, evil-doer!" Takeshita declared dramatically. He was so caught up in his victory, he failed to notice someone bending one of his bamboos shoots backwards behind him.

"Wow, it's Takeshita! Can I get an autograph?"

"Huh? Well, of course, you can!" The call of a fan was more than enough to grab the egotistical hero as he turned around...right into a faceful of his own bamboo.

The force of the swing sent the hero flying across the parking lot, skidding across the gravel and landing headfirst into a car door, clutching at his aching head. "AAAARRRGGGHH! What the heck?!"

The sight of his old classmate sprawled out on the pavement shocked Gentle out of his trance.

He looked to the one who came to his aid, seeing the boy in the green hoodie he'd passed a moment ago, now sporting a gas mask to hide his face.

The green-haired child turned back to him with a look of desperation through his mask lense. "RUN!"

Gentle did not need to be told twice. He turned on his heel and made a desperate dash away from the scene, the young analyst on his tale.

The flashy-dressed villain turned his earpiece on once more. "Apologise for the delay, my dear! Time to make our getaway!"

"R-Right!" La Brava pulled herself together after her scare, as she packed up her recording equipment and made a break for it, hopping from one roof to the next, as if she were light as a feather.

Gentle and Deku ran down an alleyway, where the thief used his quirk to bounce between the tight walls to the top.

Gentle looked back to see Deku heading for the fire escape and scampering his way up the steps and ladders.

La Brava hopped to the rooftop and leapt toward Gentle with tears spilling from her dark eyes. "Gentle~!"

The thief was quick to catch the girl in his arms, holding her close. "It's alright, La Brava. I'm still here."

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Like it? then add it to your library and give a 5 star review and send power stone.

Discord:- https://discord. gg/qxvX7Tvpqp (without space)

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