Chapter Text
Katsuki didn't know what was going on that day, but he was 900% sure that something was going to go wrong. Looking at the big UA door he felt a little bit intimidated (not too much, just enough to show respect), but there was also something else. It was like someone shifted everything slightly to the left: you don't know what it is exactly, but you know it's there and it's annoying.
It infuriated him to no end: that was the day of the UA entrance exam, it was supposed to be the beginning of his story, of his glorious rise to fame and power...but something was out of place. Katsuki glanced at every square inch in front of him, but saw nothing too scandalous. However, that feeling didn't go away.
It persisted during the written test (passed without a problem), during the practical test (A walk in the park) and even when he returned home. He was certain, very sure, that something had gone wrong during that day, during the exam. But he couldn't really tell what.
The hag began grilling him with questions about the exam ("A fucking joke"), people he had met ("What do I care about those extras?"), and stuff like that. The blonde at one point couldn't take it anymore and exploded, "You hag, will you cut it out! I've already had a shitty day, let me be for five fucking minutes!"
His mother, as usual, answered him in kind, "What gives, brat! What's with you today, did you get up on the wrong side of the bed?"
The blond sighed, "At this point, I guess so. I've been feeling off all day, all fucking day long, and it's driving me crazy."
His father peeped out from the kitchen, "Oh dear. Do you have any idea what it could be?"
"If I knew, I would have solved it by now, wouldn't I, you old geezer?"
His mother smacked the back of his head, "One: talk respectfully to your father! Two: now the day is over, you have nothing more to worry about. It happens to everyone to have days that are a little...less rosy, let's say."
The boy huffed, "Whatever. I'm going to my room to rest, if you're looking for me," And without waiting for a reply he disappeared into the hallway.
The following week was one of the longest that Katsuki ever had the displeasure of experiencing. Seven days of wearisome waiting, made so by that damned feeling that not only had not gone away, but it had gotten worse: every step, every breath, every minute of training was filled with the expectation of something, with the anxiety that at last the safety would go off and everything would explode. The blond began to have restless sleep, and towards the end of the week he was starting to have difficulty keeping his quirk under control, something that would normally be unthinkable for him.
It all came to an end on Sunday night: Katsuki had just finished dinner and was about to go to the shower, when his mother's voice rang out from the doorway with such force that the knick-knacks shook: "KATSUKI! COME HERE NOW!"
The blond was already on edge, so he darted to the doorway without question and with the quirk that was starting to act out, "What's going on? What are you yelling about?"
The woman waved an envelope sealed with red wax: "The letter from UA is here! The exam results!"
Katsuki did not scream expletives, did not snort, did not comment on her mother's excitement: his anxiety was already sky-high, the arrival of the letter took it beyond what is considered healthy. So he simply snatched the envelope from his mother's hands and opened it there, on the spot, without even sitting down.
From the envelope fell a sheet of paper and a metal disk, which immediately lit up in a holographic projection of Principal Nedzu, in all his cryptic glory.
"Am I a mouse, a dog, or a bear? What is certain is that I am the principal of UA, and I have the results of Bakugo Katsuki's exam with me!"
The entire family huddled around the projection, listening with bated breath
"During the theoretical part of the test, you managed to pass with a superb 90 percent correct answers! A remarkable achievement, if you ask me."
His mother shook his shoulder excitedly, but the boy batted her away and went back to listening
"As for the practical exercise test, I must say that I am impressed! You managed to accumulate 77 villain points, placing you first in the overall ranking!"
As he spoke, he displayed the aforementioned ranking: at the top was Katsuki's name, a 77 next to it and a 0 under the category "Rescue Points" whatever that meant. However, the blond was with his gaze set on something else, specifically to the name immediately below his own.
Midoriya Izuku.
His ears began to ring. The principal's voice congratulating him had become muffled, as had that of his cheering parents. The only thing he could see were those letters, that damned name he had hoped to have left behind.
Midoriya Izuku.
Deku
A flood of memories made their way through his mind, all the times before that nerd, that asshole, that Villain decided to do the right thing and disappear from their lives. The elementary school days, the times he had to stop him, all the threats, all the times he stood up to him.
Deku should have been just a specter of the past, a shadow to be told to posterity when he would be No. 1.
Instead, it had come back to haunt him.
In HIS school.
Bakugo violently jerked away from his mother's embrace and ran into the garden, to the sandbag he had hung from the tree and began to blow it up, shouting insults and expletives at the face drawn on it.
At the villain who ruined his mask of invincibility and, for the first time in his life, caused him genuine terror.
"Mom! I made it! I passed!"
At their home in the Tokyo suburbs, Midoriya Izuku was caught in a hug by his tearful mother
"Izu! My baby boy! I am so proud of you! Let's have Katsudon tonight to celebrate!"
The boy raised a fist in the air before remembering something: "I have to call Auntie and tell her about it!"
Inko chuckled, "I'll get cooking while you warn her. Remember to thank her, mister!"
Izuku nodded and went back to his room, picked up his phone and dialed the familiar number: after a few seconds a woman's voice answered, cold and terse: "Hello, who is it?"
"Auntie, it's me!"
The voice immediately softened, "Oh, good evening Izuku. It's unusual for you to call me at this hour, has something happened?"
The boy hopped on the spot, "The results of the entrance exam came in! I passed! I'm going to UA!"
There was silence for two seconds, and Izuku immediately felt his enthusiasm fade: his aunt was extremely critical of heroes, and she was not afraid to express it openly, especially whenever the boy announced his dream. Sure, she had been the first to believe in him and help him control his quirk, but if there was one thing she did not like, it was heroes.
The boy swallowed, "Auntie? Are you still there?"
There was a flick of a cough on the other end of the phone, and a sigh, "Yes, yes, sorry Izuku. So, you've decided you're serious about this hero thing, huh?"
The boy nodded to himself, "That' s right. I've always wanted to do it, and I know you don't like them...but that's also why I want to be one! With so many flawed heroes, there's a need for actual ones!"
Izuku was pretty sure he heard his Auntie shake her head, "The real heroes are the dead ones, Izuku. The one today is a clown show that juggles with human life."
The greenie didn't falter, "I know, Auntie, you say that often. And that's why I want to be a hero! A real one, like those in the stories you used to tell me!"
There were two more seconds of silence, and Izuku feared he had offended her when he heard a giggle on the other end of the receiver: "Sometimes I can't tell if you're more naive, idealistic, or just plain stubborn. But regardless of what I think about heroism, I am proud of you. The admission rate at that school is very low, and you managed to pass. You did a great job."
The greenie blushed, scratching the back of his head with a smile, "W-well, it's only t-thanks to you and your training, Auntie..."
"Don't start with the self-deprecation, mister. If it were only my merit, there would be me in your place in that class, don't you think?"
The boy chuckled at the woman's serious tone, "Auntie, I think you're a little too old for UA..."
"I'd like to say I'm offended, but I know better than anyone how old I am. Anyway, I'm proud of you, Izuku. I really am."
The greenie wiped his eyes before he could start crying for real: "T-thank you so much. And thank you again f-for everything you did for me, Aunt Salem."
The woman chuckled, "Oh, it was nothing. Come on, go celebrate mister. I have a meeting I can't miss."
"Okay! Good night!"
"Good night Izuku. And congratulations."
The woman closed the call and turned to look out the window, the stars shining in the sky above the clouds. Below her, when the sky cleared, she could see the lights of the various cities scattered across the Japanese islands.
The loudspeaker blared, "We are about to land at Nara Central Airport. The local time is 9:15 p.m., the weather is stable. Please remain in your seats during the landing maneuver."
The woman took a glass of wine from the small table placed next to her seat and swirled it a couple of times before drinking it all. There was no sense in wasting it, good as it was. Besides, it was a gift from Inko, and it would have to be centuries, literal centuries, before Salem wasted a gift from that woman. After all, Izuku called her "Auntie" for a reason.
The plane descended, dived under the clouds, touched its wheels to the runway and, after a minute, stopped. The woman got up from her seat and picked up her bag, at the same time nodding to the subordinates she had brought with her: they took their suitcases and adjusted their uniforms nicely. Salem gave a small smile and exited the plane.
Waiting for her at the airstrip were two people, a man and a woman dressed sharply. These paled noticeably when they saw her come out of the plane: her skin porcelain-white and furrowed with red scars; she was wrapped in a long black and red dress, with veils that made her look like a specter made of pure darkness; her white hair was pulled back into a low bun, adorned with jewelry made of rubies and black metal. Her eyes, crimson with black sclera, looked at the landscape below her like it was unworthy of her attention.
Salem descended the stairs with calculated slowness, enjoying the awe of her future partners. The first rule for a profitable deal is a good first impression, and she was undefeated in this field, the merit of millennia spent terrorizing an entire planet.
As soon as she was within earshot, her expression softened considerably and she slipped into the courtesy usual in ancient courts, "I am terribly sorry to have inconvenienced you at this hour, I hope you have not lost sleep."
The two individuals before her seemed to relax a little, and the man immediately bowed, "Of course not, Mrs. Hexe. Oh, this is my wife Kurumi."
The woman nodded, "Honored, ma'am."
Salem returned the gesture, "The honor is mine, Mrs. Yaoyorozu."
The man nodded his head, "Well, what would you say if we walked to the car? Mrs. Hexe must be exhausted, and we still have a long evening ahead of us."
Salem nodded with a smile. As she followed Mr. and Mrs. Yaoyorozu toward their limousine, she could not help but think back to what she had managed to build in such a tiny amount of time.
After all, what is 11 years to an immortal?