Quirkless (Villain!Deku AU)

18 - Putting on a show

↑ Credit to unknown ↑

Deku P.O.V

After several days of careful planning, I had it all figured out. It took a few test-runs as well as a few people dying, but that's okay!

"Make sure you all get some sleep tonight!" Aizawa-sensei called over the ruckus caused by the bell announcing the end of classes. "It would be a real shame if you embarrassed yourselves on TV. This chance only comes around once a year and three times in a lifetime, so you better make it count tomorrow!" I wondered how many people would be able to sleep soundly given how worked up they were about the sports festival.

I grabbed my bag and slipped out of the classroom, knowing Kacchan would automatically follow as he had been for the last few days. There was nothing for him to see before because I always headed home and had Kuro teleport me out of my room, but I would be giving him a show tonight.

Bakugou P.O.V.

I saw the nerd slip out of the classroom and silently followed behind him. If he was just heading home there would be no harm given I live directly across from him, but this way I could catch him if he tried anything sketchy.

I was surprised when he headed to the train station instead of going home; we had the festival to prep for tomorrow after all, so where was he going?

I did my best to blend in with the crowd as I swiped my pass and got on a different car, still keeping an eye on him through the window and getting off when he did. I followed him to a park and got suspicious as he made his way into the forest. Where the hell was he going?

I'm not the most patient person and was tempted to confront him when all of a sudden we reached a clearing. I was surprised to see a rack of spears and other weapons cluttered on the ground, a few circular targets that seemed to be made out of tree stumps, and a man hunched over at a fire cooking something that smelled delicious.

The said man brought his head up the second Deku appeared in front of him, and the later began to fidget with his bag straps. "I-Iemitsu-sensei..."

Iemitsu (a/n aka a random OC I created on the spot), as Deku called him, smiled warmly and opened his arms welcomingly. I was astounded when the stupid nerd suddenly dropped his bag and dashed towards his embrace. The man patted his back and seemed to whisper comforting words to him that I could not hear from my vantage point, but I thought I caught him saying "there's no need to be strong with me." What the hell was going on here?

I unknowingly took a step forwards and winced as I heard myself step on a twig and snap it. I froze, hoping that I couldn't be seen.

"Who goes there?" the man called out, placing himself between me and Deku, who almost appeared as though he was wiping tears from his face.

I stayed very still as a knife embedded itself in the tree just inches away from my face. "I suggest you come out now; the next one won't miss."

"Stupid Deku," I muttered as I came out of the treeline.

"K-Kacchan?" he squeaked, no longer sounding like the moody teen from school and more like the crybaby I used to know. "What the hell are you doing here? Did you follow me?!" he gasped. Nope there it was there was the attitude that he kept carefully hidden away most of the time.

"Kacchan?" the man growled, seemingly looking at me in understanding as he grabbed a wooden spear and shoved it up in my face. "You aren't welcome here. Leave now."

I grabbed the end of it, blowing it up in my hand and smirked. "As if an artifact brandishing a stick issuing threats is enough to scare me off."

Deku seemed to finish putting himself back together after whatever breakdown I wasn't supposed to witness. "I don't know why the hell you came here but you can get lost," he hissed with a hint of disdain in his mouth.

"Nope, I think I'm good," I replied, making my way over to the DIY weapon rack. "So what is this place?"

"My safe haven, now GO. AWAY."

Ie-whatever continued to glare at me as we argued and he was forced to go over to tend to the meat roasting above the fire.

Deku sighed when I refused to leave. "Well, you wanted answers, here they are. This is where I stayed for ten months. With him," he nodded towards the man tending to the fire, but I still wasn't satisfied. It didn't feel right.

"Did he kidnap you or something?"

"Kacchan- no! If anything, he saved me..." he trailed off as though not planning to tell me that part.

"From what?" I questioned, but his lips were sealed as tight as a clam's. "FROM WHAT?" I repeated, scared to hear the answer but needing to know nonetheless.

"You're the idiot who told him to jump, aren't you?" I jumped at the voice behind me, forgetting we weren't alone. He handed Deku a plate with meat and some garden vegetables on it which he gratefully bit into. The man then got himself a plate without bothering to offer me any.

My gaze wandered back to Deku. "You- you didn't actually try, did you?" my voice faltered. That had been what I feared most from the beginning, and now, a year from that day, it seemed I would finally get my answer.

He turned away from me and I looked at the man. "I found him just as he was about to. He was unbelievably broken you know," he pointed an accusing finger at me. "The only reason I'm even sharing any of this with you is that I'm hoping that somewhere in that cold heart of yours you feel at least a little bit of regret."

"The training story wasn't a complete lie, you know," Deku's voice softly said, and I listened closely not sure if he would repeat this ever again. "After Iemitsu-sensei saved me from myself, he brought me here, away from people. He's an experienced survivor and used to camping in the wilderness, so he trained me and taught me some of what he knew out here, like the knife handling. The first few months were hard; I tried to cut myself a few times, but Iemitsu was always there. He's probably the only reason I made it through all this shit," he hissed at me.

I was at a loss for words. What was I supposed to say? I sat there in silence, staring at the ground as they both finished eating their portions, and Deku eventually crawled into a tent. I was about to get up and leave when the artifact handed me a plate of food. "I don't know what the heck your relationship was back then, and I certainly don't know what it is now, but that child is hurting on the inside," he said sternly. "If you know what's best for you, you'll stay out of his way." My head snapped up at the sudden tonality change. Was that a warning? Something still wasn't right...

Word count: 1207

A/N

Thank you for reading! Artemis-chan out 💘