Ground Zero was the number one hero, the best of the best. He kicked ass daily; that was his job and he was good at it. He was far and above better than any other hero in the top ten- in the top three! Everyone recognized his success and greatness, and anyone who thought otherwise was a fool.

That was Ground Zero, the number one hero.

Bakugo Katsuki, however, was a tired, lonely old man. He lived in a small apartment with nobody else. He had a girlfriend for some years, but Cami didn't want anything other than his body, and sadly, his body got old. Eventually he stopped dating her. She didn't want commitment. She didn't want a family. And Bakugo didn't need that either- got it?! He was just fine on his own! Who'd want to be in his family anyways? Nobody. He knew the truth. He knew it so well that he had made some... hard decisions in the past. But he was doing just fine, see?! He was just fine.

At least he was doing better than some of the others.

He could be strong for them. He wasn't weak. He'd be the number one hero for them. Even if the work was hard and he was getting old. Forty-one doesn't seem like an old man for most people, but when you literally go out and beat people up over and over day after day, it was exhausting.

And what was he even doing this for anymore?

Right. His friends. He'd do it for them.

Bakugo sat on his couch. Alone. We wore his hero gear (he rarely took it off) and watched the depressing news. Quickly turning off the TV he sighed and threw the remote off to the side. When he felt like this, when he felt this overwhelming loneliness, the only thing that could cheer him up was crushing his enemies. So he opened his window and blasted away, the scorch marks proof of him doing that many, many times before.

"Oh my! Look! Ground Zero!" Some extras gasped as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

"Damn extras..." he growled and kept on going, not giving them any mind. They always gawked at him while he patrolled. Not surprising, since he was the number one hero. Even if he didn't recognize the title himself. Katsuki knew who he truly was.

Bakugo Katsuki was no hero. No matter what the rest of the damn world says.

He stopped running and sighed, looking around the dingy part of town. There was not one sane looking person in this corner of the streets. But something caught his eye.

Some punk-ass teenager.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" Bakugo mumbled under his breath as he watched from above. It was a Tuesday, so no fifteen-year-old should be out here in the middle of the day. And this kid looked... shifty. Katsuki had seen the type before. It was only a matter of time before that punk did something.

"I'm keeping an eye on you." Bakugo whispered as he crouched down, kneeling on the rooftop. He was only sort of keeping an eye on that kid as he turned the corner. Katsuki was also looking out for real danger, so that teen really wasn't on the forefront of his mind.

That is, until a scream caught his attention.

"My purse! My money! Somebody!" An older woman screamed. Bakugo turned back around and sighed. His instincts were never wrong.

The kid was running off with the purse with an impressive amount of speed.

"Shit. Well, time to throw another punk in juvie..." Katsuki cracked his neck and blasted into the air.

The teenager looked behind himself as he ran, quickly ducking behind a corner and catching his breath. He opened the purse and took a wad of cash out of the wallet, throwing the rest behind himself.

"That should be enough..." the kid sighed, pinching his sharp eyes together. Pulling his hood once more over his head, he shifted around, looking for any sign of him being caught. Nothing. Phew! He was in the clear!

At least that's what he thought, until a shadow blotted out the sun. It only took a second for him to realize that the thing hurdling towards him was a hero!

"Gyah!" He stumbled into a sprint, running away from the crashing projectile. Looking behind himself as he ran he gasped.

Out of the sizzling, steaming alleyway ran Ground Zero.

The literal number one hero was after him!

"Shit!" The teen coughed and kept running. He was tempted to use his quirk- to fight back! But he didn't really want to hurt anyone. He didn't feel like getting caught either, though.

Bakugo zoned in on the fleeing purse-snatcher. If this kid learned his lesson now maybe he'd save him from going to real jail later. Not like Katsuki really cared, however. This thief was just another drop in the ocean of criminals Ground Zero fought off regularly.

Panting as he sprinted, the punk looked over his shoulder once more. The number one hero was right behind him...

"Shit oh shit oh shit oh shit-" he rambled off. "I can't get caught now! I still have to-"

Ground Zero landed in a thud in front of the teen.

"Going somewhere, bub?" The man snarled with a prideful, devilish smile. Bakugo half expected the kid to do a one-eighty: to try and escape the other direction. That would've only made sense for a scared shitless teen.

But no. Strangely this kid had some balls. He slid under Katsuki's wide stance, jumping up behind him.

"Huh?" Ground Zero growled as he spun around. Then, out of nowhere, a palm tree shot from the ground! It nearly stabbed him in the face! "The fuck?!" Must've been the kid's quirk. Bakugo blasted the thing away, looking for the punk. He saw him run off in between two buildings. "Thought you could run from me, huh?" Katsuki grinned an evil looking snarl and blasted away.

He came up to the alleyway- and there the teenager stood with a water balloon in his hand.

"You're gonna throw a water balloon at me? What kind of joke do you think I am?" He growled as he stomped closer. "Just surrender, punk!"

"Not yet!" The kid dashed the balloon across the ground. As soon as the liquid splattered on the concrete and brick surfaces, giant palm trees burst forth! They shot out faster than the eye could see!

Taking a step back, Ground Zero didn't waste two seconds before blasting away the quickly decaying trees. With spitfire in his eyes he lunged out!

But the thief wasn't there.

Running into the crowds at the other end of the alleyway, Bakugo sneered right and left. Not a single trace of the kid.

"Are you fucking serious right now?" Katsuki spat as he tried looking over the heads of pedestrians.

"Oh wow! Ground Zero!"

"It's Ground Zero! Can I have your autograph?"

"Me too!"

The crowds gathered in. They claustrophobicly pressed against him on all sides and he couldn't see two centimeters in front of his face. Not one clue as to where the kid went. He just disappeared. "Are you shitting me, universe?!" Bakugo shook a fist at the sky. The extras always grew uncomfortable at his profanity, but he didn't give a shit.

Ground Zero- the number one hero in all of Japan- just lost sight of some purse snatcher.

Pathetic.

The universe really did hate him.

## Bakugo's apartment

Ground Zero slammed the door shut! He threw his gauntlets and boots against the wall, cuz he was fucking angry! He was loosing his touch.

"Can't catch a fuckin' purse thief... what am I?" Katsuki groaned as he landed face-first onto his couch. He rolled over and stared at the ceiling. He didn't make a sound. Then... quietly... he spoke out loud. Spoke to nothing in particular, but he hoped it'd reach someone.

"Hey Shitty-Hair..." he mumbled quietly. "I'm not sure how the reception is up there... but if you can hear me..." he gulped dryly and rolled over.

"I feel like I fucked up somehow." He sighed sadly. Ten minutes passed and he didn't move. Then, he whispered so quietly that his own hearing aids barely registered it,

"I just wish you were here, Eijiro..."

Then, a knock sounded on his door.

"Huh?"

Bakugo never got visitors. Who the hell would be knocking on his door? Must mean they found a way past the lady at the desk downstairs. That or they broke in. But who would break in just to knock on the door? It didn't make sense.

Then the sound came once more, only a little louder. It sounded... nervous? Groaning, Bakugo stood to his sore feet and hobbled over to the door.

"Who the hell?" He mumbled as he peered through the looking hole.

No way.

Absolutely no fucking way.

It was that punk-ass purse-snatcher. Out of all the places- here?! At his own house?! How the hell? The kid on the other side of his door looked bashful and nervous. Why on earth was he here?! How did he find Bakugo?!

Katsuki was so confused.

He unlocked the door, puffing out his chest to look more intimidating.

He swung it open quickly. The kid didn't look him in the eyes for some reason. In fact, the punk had closed his eyes shut entirely. Wincing, the kid whimpered,

"Bakugo Katsuki?"

How. The fuck. Did he know his name?

"What the fuck?" Bakugo coughed. If he was confused before, he was completely lost now.

Gasping, the frozen teen tensed up. He slowly looked up at the man.

"Oh shi-" It was Ground Zero. Still in his hero gear. And he just about scared the straight piss outta the kid. The teenager turned to run, but Bakugo wasn't letting him escape this time. He snatched him back by his hoodie- nearly choking the thief as he fell back.

"What the fuck?! How'd you find my house, purse-snatcher?!" He yelled as he held the boy off the ground with one arm. The teen kicked his dangling feet in the air and held his coat as to keep himself from choking. "Get in here, punk!" Ground Zero threw the teen into his home and closed the door behind himself.

"Oh my God! Please don't send me to jail!" The panicking and sweaty teenager had eyes the size of dinner plates.

"What the hell are you doing here then?! How did you find me here?!" Bakugo demanded as he stepped closer and closer into the kid's personal space. Backing up slowly, the terrified fifteen-year-old stuttered,

"I-I wasn't trying to- oh God- the number one hero?! Really?! Outta all the people..."

"That's it. I'm turning you in, thief." Bakugo wasted no time throwing the kid over the arm of his couch and tying him up with his restraint tape. As his arms were secured behind his back and his face was smashed into the cushion, the teen mumbled into the fabric,

"No! Wait! I can explain!"

"You gonna try and tell me you didn't rob an innocent old lady?" Bakugo growled at the immobilized teen.

"..." The kid nervously bit his lip. Yeah, there was no getting out of that one.

"Mhmm. I'm turning you in."

"Wait- I- but it took me so long to get here! I can't go to jail just yet!" He panicked, pulling and wiggling against the restraints.

"Whattya mean by that?! Like- what the hell?! Who are you and how did you know my name?! Why the hell did you just show up on my doorstep?!"

"Like I did fifteen years ago?!" The kid shouted. Bakugo stopped talking. Blinking a few times, he cocked his head to the side.

"Like you... what?"

"You're Bakugo Katsuki, right? Fifteen years ago, you found a baby on your porch. That's you, right?" The teenager had a desperate look in his eyes. They stared at him. They were the same shape as his.

"Wha..." Katsuki sat down at his table and held his head with his hand. There was no way. No way on earth that punk was-

Sharp, red eyes. Platinum, poofy hair. Square jawline.

Oh fuck.

"Are you... gonna try an' tell me... that that baby was you?" Katsuki asked quietly as he rubbed his brows.

The teenager nervously nodded. His eyes looked wide and scared and a little bead of sweat dropped from his brow. Katsuki has taken a body-language class before. This punk wasn't lying.

"You aren't fucking with me, are you?" Katsuki asked the teenager. The kid didn't say anything. He just kept staring with desperation in his scared eyes. "Aw hell..." Bakugo rolled onto his feet.

Quietly, he lifted the kid up to his feet and threw him into a chair, not untying him just yet. Bakugo just sat there in front of him for a quiet moment, staring at the floor. He held his hands in front of his nose and inhaled sharply. Sheepishly, the kid spoke,

"I found the foster care papers... so I just went to the address and hoped you hadn't moved."

"..." Katsuki didn't say anything yet. What was he supposed to say? "What are you doing here?" He asked concerned. "Why did you look for me? Does your family know you're here? They're probably worried about you." Katsuki grumbled as he wiped his face.

"I don't have-" The teen sighed his anger away. "I can reassure you that no one gives a shit about me being here." He stated pointedly, scoffing at the ground. "I ran away two weeks ago. I ain't going back."

Jeez. Two weeks and no amber-alert? Being the number one hero, Bakugo got messages all the time for missing kids all over Japan. But no one told him about this punk going missing.

"Well, ya got a name?" Katsuki sighed as he stood up and walked in his kitchen, boiling some water.

"Umm... just... no." He shrugged quietly.

"Huh? Come on, kid. Didn't your adopted family give you a name or nothing? Don't think hiding it'll get you out of trouble or shit." Bakugo yelled as he poured a pot of tea.

"..." The kid stared at the ground. "I'm not sure how you aren't gathering this, but I didn't get adopted." He growled. Bakugo's eyes widened. He... wasn't counting on that...

"Oh..." he sat, placing the tea in front of the teenager. He couldn't really drink it with the restraints on and all that. "Here." Katsuki untied him, watching as the kid rubbed his wrists. Slowly, the teen reached into his back pack and pulled out a piece of paper. He handed them to Bakugo.

They were definitely the foster care papers he shakily signed all those years ago. Bakugo shook his head and pinched his eyes.

"What are you doing here, kid?" He whispered huskily. The teen just shrugged sadly.

"I'm not sure..."

Bakugo watched the posture of the kid. He seemed... lost. A posture he knew all too well.

Well, Katsuki wasn't throwing the kid in juvie just yet. He felt like he couldn't. Like he had some kind of responsibility to fulfill.

"Kid..." Bakugo sighed, getting the sheepish teenager's attention. "You reek."

"...Oh. Yeah, I haven't taken a shower in... in two weeks..." he mumbled.

Standing, Bakugo gestured with a nod to come follow. The kid blindly went along, mostly 'cause he had no idea where to go, and waited at the door to Katsuki's bedroom.

"Here." Bakugo shoved him a stack of clothes. "Take a shower." He pointed to the restrooms.

"O...kay..." Nervously, the teenager entered the bathroom. "You aren't... gonna call the police yet... are you?"

Bakugo shook his head.

"Not yet." Still unsure, the kid entered the restroom and tentatively closed the door behind him.

Katsuki sighed heavily. He never thought he'd see that kid again. Not since the day he decided to... to...

He could remember it all. It was pretty traumatic for him. He could remember that fateful day those fifteen years ago. The smell of the hospital, the sound of the fluorescent lights... the baby crying.

He really wanted what was best. He really did. He wanted the kid to have a good life and a good family.

Ironically, Bakugo really wanted to take the kid in himself.

But he couldn't do it. He just... couldn't. He was young- just twenty seven. He didn't know the mom and no- Bakugo didn't have a one night stand. He wasn't like that anyways. He passed out a lot in fights or from drinking. He had no memory her, but whoever she was... he didn't consent.

A baby just showed up on his porch, and the doctors said he was related. But the baby needed a family. Katsuki couldn't give that to him if he tried.

Bakugo shook himself out of the memories. That was fifteen years ago. He had always wondered what had happened to that kid. In fact, it ate away at his soul more than he'd like to admit. How come nobody warned him? Nobody told him that the next fifteen years he'd look at kids the same age as that baby and wonder "what if?" See kids practicing their quirks at school or playing with friends and think, maybe that's him? Or that one?

No. Nobody warned Katsuki of the emptiness he'd feel. And here he was. Alone. And utterly empty.

"Hey, um, Mr. Bakugo?" The kid snapped his thoughts back to the present.

"Oh, umm, yeah?" He asked. The showered teen walked over wearing the clothes he gave him: a skull T-shirt and black cargo shorts. They were a little baggy, but fine.

"Can I... ask you some questions?" He mumbled softly.

"Shoot." Bakugo rolled his neck, getting a few sounding pops from it.

"Why did you not want me?"

Oof. That wasn't it at all. But the angry look in the teen's eye wanted to know.

"Kid- that's not- look." Bakugo scooted his chair a bit. "It wasn't like that. I was young, I live in this crappy apartment, and I'm all alone."

"You wanted *this* more than me?" He spat, gesturing to the tiny apartment.

"No! I just- God! You know what? I hate it here. I'm tired, old, and cranky. I'm literally a piece of shit. Nobody wants to live with me, and nobody should be forced to." He cursed at the child, who seemed a little shocked.

"But..." The kid rubbed his neck. "I kinda thought with you being a hero and all-"

"You don't know me, punk." Bakugo jabbed. "I ain't a hero."

The kid looked shocked in a sadly flustered way. He looked at the table with a sad look in his eyes.

"Oh."

"..."

"..."

"Kid you gotta have a name."

"I don't have one." He sulked.

"Not even a nickname?"

"...Kids call me Otaku." He mumbled so very quietly.

"As in 'obsessive nerd'? Are all kids assholes?" Bakugo chuckled.

"Basically. Yeah." Otaku shrugged, his big ears growing red hot.

"Alright... Otaku..." Bakugo rolled his eyes at the name. "Why'd you steal that old lady's purse? You know this woulda been a whole lot easier for the both of us if you didn't." He crossed his arms sternly.

"...I was hungry." Otaku whispered. Sighing aggressively, Bakugo stomped into his kitchen and pulled out a Tupperware of homemade friend rice. Yeah, he still cooked like a pro, kay?! He poured out a bowl and tossed it aggressively into the microwave.

"I don't need you to take care of me, ya know. I already ate." Otaku crossed his arms and clenched his jaw.

"You look skinny as hell." Katsuki stated the truth. Otaku blushed annoyedly. "And eating stolen food doesn't count."

"Well how else was I s'posed to eat?!" He spat as he furrowed his brows.

"You could've, pfft- I dunno. Anything. Begged. Put a hat out an sung a song or shit." Bakugo shrugged and placed the hot bowl of rice in front of Otaku. Crossing his arms, but leaning into the warm smells of the delicious food, Otaku scoffed,

"Hell no. I don't sing."

"...Well do you eat, at least?"

"Fine." Otaku took the chopsticks and dug in. He ate it all. Rather quickly too. Like he hadn't eaten in days. Didn't he just say he ate already?

"So kid, what is your plan?" Bakugo asked gruffly.

"...Hmm?" Otaku looked up with a mouthful of food.

"You found me. Now what?"

"..." Otaku set the bowl down and swallowed. "Do you know who my mom is?" He asked sheepishly. They sat silent for a few moments.

Bakugo did not know his mom. And honestly, he was okay with that. She abused him- touched him- without him even knowing. It crawled under his skin when he thought about it too much.

But Otaku was staring at him with big eyes. If they weren't so tired he would've had a sort of softness to his features.

"...What are you doing, kid?" Katsuki looked at him with a sigh. This kid was lost. Not physically, although that was true too. No- the look in his eyes were lost. "You went searching for your parents, but why? What are you hoping to find?"

"Can you just answer the question?!" Otaku sneered and turned away, and angry blush forming on his face.

"I don't know her. And no- it wasn't some one night thing. Okay?" He sighed slowly. "...I have absolutely no idea who she is... but she didn't ask no permission, that's for sure." He said very quietly. It was still a very sensitive subject for him. Otaku's jaw dropped.

"...oh..." he flicked the rice around with his chopsticks. "I'm sorry..."

"..." Katsuki hated people's pity. "Whatever. I don't even remember it. There's not even a face I'd recognize if you did go looking. But you shouldn't."

"..." Otaku sighed sadly. Like he was disappointed in how this story ended. "I guess this is it."

"Huh?"

"Just... I don't think I should find her anymore... now that I know." He shuffled around awkwardly, rubbing his neck. "I suppose... you have to turn me in, don't you?" He sighed with an odd gloom around him.

"...It's kind of my job..." Katsuki shrugged.

"I know." Standing up and grabbing his bag, Otaku bowed. "I'm sorry for intruding. Thanks for the dinner." He started to leave.

"Wait, kid." Otaku stopped. "Where are you running to?" Bakugo asked calmly. He didn't like the off look in the kid's eyes. The hazy, lifeless eyes.

"...Nowhere."

"..." Bakugo rubbed his neck awkwardly and looked around his home. "Look, why don't you stay here tonight?"

"Here? So you can throw me in juvie tomorrow morning?" He scoffed, but not angrily. Like there was a sadness in his eyes. Like he hoped he could stay, just to have someplace to go.

"Are you going to sleep on the streets? Looks cold out there." Bakugo stated as he looked out his window. Otaku huffed a little nod.

"Yeah. I guess." He didn't have anywhere to go. Might as well have a good night's rest in a warm house before... before...

He didn't want to think about it too much.

"I'll stay."

"Okay." Bakugo and Otaku just stood around in silence a moment. "I'll, umm... grab some blankets and shit."

Otaku sat on his makeshift bed and looked up at his biological dad. Katsuki shrugged at the sight and ran his fingers through his poofy hair.

"You, um... you good?" He asked awkwardly as Otaku pulled the blankets up to his neck.

"I'm fine."

"Kay. I'll uhh... be in my room..." Katsuki slowly turned and walked away from the teen.

"Mr. Bakugo?" The kid piqued, getting Katsuki's attention. "Thanks for not being a total ass to me, I guess."

"Hmph." Bakugo huffed. "Goodnight."

Five hours had passed. Five hours, and Bakugo had not one wink of sleep. That kid out there was his kid. And he was a criminal at that. Katsuki couldn't just let him go. But throwing him in jail felt so... wrong. Like it was his fault Otaku ended up like this in the first place. Groaning, he sat up in bed. The light was still on in the living room. Quietly, he snuck out of his bedroom, not making a squeak.

The kid was asleep. Completely sprawled out on the couch. His phone and a journal of sorts sat on the coffee table besides him. Bakugo felt a little like a creep for staring at him. But he couldn't help but wonder... what if?

He shook the idea away. Then the journal caught his eye. It was opened face-down onto the table. Katsuki picked it up and read it. He could help it. He was a snooper. It read,

"Entry 136, Tuesday, March 2XXX

I found him. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I found him.
He said it himself so I'll say it here; he's a sad lonely old man."

Jeez. This kid was kinda harsh. Bakugo pursed his lips and kept reading.

"So my mom apparently was a real bitch. And that's the nice way of saying that. So scratch part two of the plan. If what he says is true then I don't want to see her. That and I have no idea how I'd find her anyways. Since I'm skipping part two, I'll just cut to the end."

The end? Bakugo didn't like the sound of that.

"I don't like thinking about this. But... it sounds nice... escaping..."

...Escaping?

What did he mean by that?

"I'm not sure what's on the other side of things, if there is another side. Maybe I'll just start over? Either way I can't stay here. I'm broken beyond repair. Nobody wants a complete fuckup like me." God what was this kid thinking? Katsuki already had an inkling, but his couldn't tare his eyes away. "I bought a pill with the money I stole. They told me that's a quick way to go. Hurts just a bit, then nothing."

Bakugo was trembling. This kid... was going to kill himself... he was just fifteen...

"I... hate being so lost. I came all this way because I wanted to find something... but I don't even know what I am looking for."

Bakugo breathed shakily, placing the journal exactly where he found it. Carefully walking back into his room, Katsuki sat on his bed, eyes unmoving. He just sat there. An hour passed. It went by so quickly, and he still stared at the wall in front of him. Unmoving.

"..." Katsuki sighed and blinked a few times, folding his arms across his chest. He licked his lips and bit them before whispering aloud,

"Kirishima? Are you there? Are you... still with me?" Looking at the ceiling, he croaked, "I fucked up. I really fucked up and I don't know how to fix this. If you're there, can you give me an idea? Of what to do?" He squeaked.

And then, an idea came to him.

"Oh..." he looked to his open door where the living room lights poured in. To where that lost kid slept on the couch. "You always did what was right... even if it was against the rules..." he understood what he had to do.

## The next morning

Otaku woke up at his alarm at four-thirty. Groggily, he slapped it silent. He was going to get out of here before his biological dad woke up-

"Hey kid."

"Gah!" Otaku gasped as he shot upright. "What are you doing up to early?!" He asked. The hero was sitting at the dinner table in front of him, like he was waiting for him to get up.

"I've decided."

"Decided what?" Otaku was confused.

"I'm not sending you to juvie."

"...?!" Otaku cocked his head in confusion. "Why not-"

"We're going to find out who your mom is." Bakugo said with a determined look in his eyes. Something lit up in Otaku. Something inside: a purpose...

"We are? Together?" He asked, an odd expression of excitement and relief and confusion.

"Hai." Bakugo smiled. "Let's go find that bitch."