You're Nothing, Kacchan
Something inside Izuku finally snapped.
He laughed.
It began as a quiet, breathless chuckle, but it quickly grew louder. Izuku clutched his stomach as his whole body shook with it.
Katsuki stared at him, momentarily stunned. “What’s so funny!?”
“You,” Izuku gasped.
Katsuki’s palms crackled.
“You’re always talking about how you’re going to become the Number One Hero,” Izuku continued, raising his head. There were tears in his eyes, but he was still grinning. “But you don’t understand the first thing about being a hero!”
“The hell did you say?”
“You think having a strong Quirk is enough! That because you can make bigger explosions than everyone else, that automatically makes you better than them.” Izuku’s laughter faded, but the brittle smile remained. “And what do you actually use that power for, Kacchan? You use it to hurt people weaker than you.”
“Shut up.”
“You bully them. You threaten them. You make everyone afraid of you, then pretend their fear is respect.”
“I said shut up!”
Katsuki punched him across the face.
Izuku stumbled and nearly fell, but caught himself against a desk. His cheek throbbed. He tasted blood.
Then he started laughing again.
The sound was louder this time.
Harsher.
Almost hysterical.
Katsuki’s eyes widened. “Stop laughing!”
“What are you without your Quirk, Kacchan?” Izuku asked through his laughter.
Katsuki froze.
“Take away the explosions and what’s left?” Izuku slowly straightened, his legs trembling beneath him. “Nothing. You’re nothing but a pathetic, entitled little boy who throws tantrums whenever someone refuses to worship him.”
Katsuki hit him again.
Izuku’s head snapped to the side.
He laughed.
Another punch struck his stomach, folding him in half.
Still, he laughed.
“Stop it!”
A fist crashed into his jaw.
Izuku fell against the desks, knocking several of them aside with a screech of metal. Pain shot through his back, but the laughter kept spilling from his mouth.
Katsuki grabbed him by the collar and hauled him upright.
“Stop laughing at me!”
Izuku looked into his eyes and saw something he had never seen there before.
Fear.
Not fear of Izuku’s strength. Izuku had none.
It was fear that Izuku was right.
That was what made him laugh even harder.
Katsuki struck him again.
And again.
Each blow drove Izuku farther into darkness, yet every time Katsuki expected him to cry, plead or apologise, Izuku only laughed in his face.
“You’ll never be the Number One Hero,” Izuku choked out. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. “Because no matter how strong you become, you’ll always be a bully pretending to be one.”
Katsuki roared and drove his fist into Izuku’s face.
The laughter abruptly stopped.
Izuku went limp in his grip.
For several seconds, Katsuki merely stood there, breathing heavily. Then his fingers opened, allowing Izuku to collapse onto the floor.
The classroom was deathly silent.
No one moved.
No one dared speak.
Katsuki stared down at Izuku’s unconscious body. His anger should have disappeared. He had won, just as he always did. Deku had been put back in his place.
So why didn’t it feel like a victory?
Why did his hands feel cold?
Why couldn’t he stop hearing that laughter?
What are you without your Quirk?
Katsuki clenched his fists.
Take away the explosions and what’s left?
“Shut up,” he muttered.
Izuku did not move.
Nothing.
“I said shut up.”
But there was no one speaking.
Only Izuku’s voice inside his head.
You’ll always be a bully pretending to be a hero.
Katsuki screamed and kicked a desk across the classroom. Everyone flinched as it slammed into the wall, but even the crash could not drown out the laughter echoing through his mind.
For the first time in his life, Katsuki Bakugo had been confronted by someone he could not intimidate into submission.
He had beaten Izuku unconscious.
And somehow, Katsuki was the one who felt small.