Chapter Text
Kirishima was the happiest kid. His moms would always tell him how he would sing and dance all the time, help snails cross the road, help the elderly cross the road, help kids cross the roads. Apparently baby Kirishima thought roads were very dangerous. He was his moms sunshine and they made sure to tell him everyday. He loved his moms.
He just wished he could love himself as much as they did. Or just a third, or even a fifth or just one fucking percent of how much they did, would be enough. They didn’t know this, of course. He knew it would break their hearts if they found out. So he would pretend around them. Pretend that everything was fine, that he was the happy kid they knew. Sometimes a stupid thought would crawl into his mind, when he thought about them. If they loved him as much as they said, shouldn’t they be able to see through the mask?
Kirishima wasn’t sure when exactly his life began going downwards. It couldn’t just have been the bullying, no way he was that weak. There must have been something else, but no matter how hard he thought about it, there wasn’t really anything else. Sure, he had a weak quirk, boring black hair and stupid shark teeth, but that had just given the bullies more to mock him about. At least he had a fucking quirk! He heard what they did to the quirkless kids. Kirishima had no right to feel like this.
Kirishima used to lay awake at night, hoping one of his moms would turn to be abusive against him, or that they would throw him out, or even that someone kidnapped him. Anything so he could feel like he was justified in feeling like this. But no. His moms loved him, they would never throw him out, and strangers were scared of him! No one ever approached him because of his stupid, stupid teeth.
He hated himself and the worst thing anyone had ever done to him was be a bit mean. Kirishima was no man. He was a waste of air. He shouldn’t exist. He was worth nothing more than a pebble on the side of the road.
Kirishima didn’t have a manly or heroic reason for applying to UA. He told everyone that he wanted to help others in need. That he wanted to be just like his idol Crimson Riot, the manliest man around. Kirishima did really look up to him, that was no lie. But he could never be like him. Not with the true reason of why he was here.
The robots hadn’t been a challenge. Kirishima just hardened his hands, and finally let out some of his anger. The written tests, however, hadn’t been as easy. They probably would have been, if Kirishima had listened in school. Once again Kirishima was no better than a rock. They were the first weapon after all.
Kirishima truly didn’t think he would be accepted into UA. Like why would he? He was useless. But nothing he could say about himself, would change the fact than in his hand, was the acceptance letter. His moms had been ecstatic when he showed them. They even took him out for hot pot! They had been so proud of him, that for a moment, he believed that they truly did love him.
Kirishima looked at himself and all he could feel was regret. He looked so stupid. If he had hoped not to get bullied before, there was no way he wouldn’t be bullied now. At least his black hair was something a lot of people had, but now? Surely none was stupid enough to dye their hair bright red .
He had tried to imitate Crimson Riot, but of course Kirishima couldn’t pull it off. Why the hell did he think that? He just hoped he didn’t know anyone in his class, maybe he could even make some friends!
Who was he kidding, of course he couldn’t. He didn’t talk to anyone when he arrived in the classroom. He quickly realized that there was one in particular he should avoid at all costs. He didn’t know his name, but he had a puff of blond hair and red, angry eyes. Kirishima knew a thing or two about bullies, so he knew. He could tell. Though the blond didn’t even seem to hide it! He picked a fight with another classmate because he didn’t want to put his feet down from the table. During the quirk test, he had even attacked someone! Or he would have if their teacher didn’t stop him. Kirishima knew that guy would be trouble.
Kirishima was proven right the next day. The first part of school was just the same boring stuff, like in middle school. Then the second part of the day, however, was hero stuff! Kirishima had been so excited to see his hero costume. Of course until he had put it on.
Why the fuck did I make it shirtless?!
He was thankful he had gotten baggy pants and big boots, but that was about the only good things he could say about it.
You look so stupid.
He had giant gears on his shoulder and a stupid looking mask. What the hell had he been thinking? He could tell his classmates sent him looks, but he couldn’t get himself to look at them.
Their class had battle training, where half of the class was villains and the rest were heroes. Kirishima got teamed up with another black haired boy. Not that he would know, since Kirishima was a fake. What would he think of him if he found out? The guy was named Sero, Kirishima found out. Kirishima put on his social mask and tried his best to befriend him.
The first pair that was up was a green haired boy, a brown haired girl, a blue haired boy and the bully. Kirishima could barely watch the match. That boy was going to kill the others! He tried so hard to make All Might stop the fight, but he just wouldn’t! Not that Kirishima was surprised, teachers never helped. None ever did. None ever listened.
Kirishima knew he should keep as far as possible away from the blond. No matter what.
Kirishima was a liar.
It had only been two days after the battle training, and here he was, complimenting Bakugou in a bus. They had been talking about quirks, and Kirishima had even let out some of his own insecurities. He was so stupid. Midoriya had told him his quirk would be good for a pro hero, though!
He’s looking down on you.
“Well, if you’re talking about flashy and strong, it’s gotta be Todoroki and Bakugou, though, huh?” Kirishima had said. Bakugou had even looked at him, with his angry, angry eyes.
He doesn’t want weaklings like you to look at him.
Worst part was that Kirishima had just smiled back at him! What the hell was he thinking? Kirishima was drawn to Bakugou. He despised him, but he couldn’t look away. He knew Bakugou was a horrible person, but Kirishima was nothing if not self-destructive.
Why were there villains here?! It was supposed to be rescue training! But most of all, why in the world had Kirishima attacked a villain?! He was a coward, but here he was, jumping into battle, Bakugou right behind him.
Kirishima had yelled something at the villain, trying to act manly. Maybe if Bakugou thought he was a man, then he wouldn’t bully him! But their shared attack hadn’t done anything.
Because you’re weak.
The villain had then scattered them over the training facility. He had been warped into some broken down building. With Bakugou. Only Bakugou. And worst of all! They fought together perfectly . They had taken down all the villains with ease!
But something even worse happened. Kirishima found out Bakugou wasn’t only a bully. He was manly. Kirishima had said that he wanted to help their classmates, but really he would just do anything to get away from the guy. But Bakugou had proven to be both calm and rational. Bakugou said he was going after the villain with the warp quirk, so the villains couldn’t escape. Bakugou believed in their classmates. Bakugou had a plan. Bakugou was a way better hero than Kirishima.
He’s way more of a man than you’ll ever be.
The UA sports festival was here. Kirishima didn’t really care to win. He knew he couldn’t. But he couldn’t just give up, then everyone would know how much of a weakling he was. The funny thing is, at the very first challenge he almost died. That’s how weak he is. It hadn’t surprised Kirishima when his quirk activated on its own, when the robot landed on him. His quirk did that sometimes. Saved his life. Again and again. No matter what Kirishima tried, it always saved him.
Another dude had been crushed too. It was the steel dude from class 1-B. His quirk was a lot like Kirishima’s but he thought it was way cooler. Kirishima’s quirk had only really changed his teeth, but Tetsutetsu’s had changed both teeth and his eyes. Tetsutetsu’s quirk was also flashy! When he used it, his body turned to steel. Kirishima wondered if he shared his curse, or if Tetsutetsu just had really good reflexes. But it wasn’t like Kirishima could just ask. If he didn’t share the curse, then he would know the truth. He would know what Kirishima did.
Kirishima had somehow managed to come in 9th out of 42. He was really proud of himself. But that also meant he went through to the second stage. It was a cavalry battle. That meant he had to team up with someone. But who? He would only bring his teammates down. Who would even want to team up with him?
He looked around, and everyone was teaming up. He had panicked and somehow managed to convince Bakugou to team up with him. Sero and Ashido had joined their team too.
Ashido. Mina Ashido. She was dangerous . Even more than Bakugou. 100 times more than Bakugou. Ashido and Kirishima had gone to the same middle school. She knows. She knows he was bullied. She could tell everyone. They weren’t friends back then, they had barely even talked. But she knew who he was. She had even talked to him on the first day. She had recognised him.
She knows how weak you are.
Their team had managed to get second. Their team worked super well together. Bakugou had even called Kirishima by his name! But now…
Now they had to fight in a tournament. Kirishima had to fight Tetsutetsu. Their fight had probably been super boring. They had ended up knocking each other out, and had to rematch. This time it had been arm wrestling. Could it be more boring? But Kirishima won. Somehow. So now? He had to fight Bakugou.
Kirishima hadn’t been scared. He never was. He hadn’t seen Bakugou and Uraraka’s match, but he had heard about it. Apparently Bakugou had been merciless. He had blasted her, over and over, until she was unable to move. Kirishima wasn’t going to win. He knew that. But he wasn’t going to make it easy for Bakugou. For some reason Kirishima felt the need to have Bakugou think he was manly. He was sure it was just so Bakugou wouldn’t bully him, but there was something more.
Kirishima kept attacking Bakugou. He even managed to put a scratch on him. He couldn’t feel the explosions. Bakugou did nothing against him. No one ever did. Until…
Slowly, but surely Bakugou chipped away at his hardening. The more the explosions hit, the more his hardening was weakening. Until, finally, he felt pain. Kirishima felt pain. The explosions got hotter and the blasts hit harder. It hurt so much.
“You’ve been straining to keep your whole body rock-hard this whole time, right? If I attack quickly in that state, sooner or later, it’ll start coming apart! ” That had been Bakugou's only warning, before he started blasting him repeatedly, with no breaks. Kirishima couldn’t do anything, but feel his hardening disappear and pain overtaking his body.
“NOW DIEEE!!!” He distantly heard Bakugou yell, but he could only focus on one thing.
He wasn’t invincible. Bakugou could kill him.