sycophantic

“Bakugo, shall we head to your office?” 

Katsuki nodded, gesturing with his head towards his office. He headed inside without looking back, leaving the door open for Best Jeanist to follow him. 

Taking his seat, Katsuki finally made eye contact with the hero. 

“Now, what was so urgent that you needed to pull me out of an incredibly important meeting?” 

The question was filled with bitterness, with Best Jeanist having contacted him a mere hour before their current meeting took place, causing Katsuki to have to drop everything in his day to accommodate the other hero. He hated that. 

“Well first, I wanted to congratulate you on the Number One spot, I know it’s always been your goal.” Best Jeanist responded calmly, which only angered Katsuki more, who responded with a stiff nod before the hero continued, 

“While congratulations are in order, there are more pressing matters that lead me here.” 

Mid-sentence, Best Jeanist handed a thin file to the blonde, the phrase ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ stamped in a blaring red across the centre. Katsuki took the file, raising an eyebrow at the size, or lack thereof, of the file. He opened it to be met with a blurry photo of what appeared to be a person, a man perhaps? 

“Denouement.” 

Katsuki glanced up in confusion, only to be met with a blank stare. Nothing can be easy with Jeanist, apparently.  

“Excuse me? Listen if you don’t have a real reason to be here, I encourage you to leave, I have more important things to deal with than your stupid mind games.” As he spoke, the blonde slammed the file shut, but a pen obstructed its process. Jeanist looks in his eyes, and through the blank stare, Katsuki could see the urgency. He opened the file once again and leant back in his seat. 

“Denouement,” Jeanist continued, “a rising villain it seems. He’s been spotted very few times, but his mark is lasting.” 

Bakugo squinted at the blurry image, being able to make out strands of green hair hidden behind a ragged hood. Turning the page, he found an address. He glanced up at Jeanist, tilting his head slightly in questioning. 

“We believe this is his hideout, as such.” 

“We?” 

“A collective of the top 10 heroes.” The pro stated this as though the top 10 are common knowledge, and despite Katsuki drawing blanks, he simply nodded. 

“So why do you need me, huh? He seems low scale, you have a team of the best 10 heroes in the country, so why me.” 

“Nine of the best. We need the best, you’re Number One for a reason, Bakugo. From our understanding, Denouement is the leader of a rising collective of villains, and they are only growing stronger. We have little information, and we cannot tackle this threat without more.” 

A switch in Katsuki’s brain seemed to flip, his brain flooding with light as he glanced down at the address once more. 

“You want to send me in.” 

Jeanist remained silent, only responding with a nod. Nods seemed to take up a majority of the conversations, as they had when Katsuki took up work study under the other.  

“You can leave now, let me think. You’ll get an answer within the next few days. Now go.” 

Jeanist stood from his seat, heading to the door, only turning to leave one last sense of urgency and stress in a mere glance. With that, Katsuki was left alone with the file. 

The blonde turned the page to be met with a series of two more photos, both as blurry as the original. One was taken on a busy street, but all of Katsuki’s attention was drawn to the figure right in the centre. He seemed casual, composed, completely comfortable in himself. Unlike many other villains Katsuki had encountered, you would not be able to pick this one out of a crowd and identify any sense of villainy. His hood was pulled up once again, hiding the defining green hair. 

Strategic, Katsuki thought. 

The following picture was taken in some form of woodland area, filled with towering growth that surrounded the figure. He was leaning against a tree, one leg propped up against it. The image was taken from above, naturally Katsuki assumed it was a drone. Until he noticed a date written in the corner, a measurement of remaining battery in the corner, leaves blurring as though the image had been paused.  

A security camera recording, 

Katsuki examined the photo deeper, studying the trees, the logs, any significant markings. His eyes were drawn to a dark mark on the tree opposite the figure, a mark of explosions left in frustration. 

Instantly, he glanced back at the figure, following the line of sight in the image. The villain, Denouement, once again had a hood pulled aggressively over his head, covering a portion of his face. But his body was clearly turned towards the tree, the tree Katsuki had once thrown an explosion at out of pure frustration. During his second year at UA. 

The blonde grabbed the phone beside him, blindly dialling the number he knew by heart. 

“I’m in.” 

“Perfect. Meet me at my agency tomorrow, 10 AM. We have plenty to discuss.” 

- 

Katsuki strode into a designated meeting room, suddenly met with nine faces filled with anticipation. Looking back at him were the remainder of the top ten heroes of their society. Along the left side of the table sat Shoto, Le Million, Eraserhead, and Red Riot, all with their hands placed crossed on the table. Katsuki nodded in their direction, before glancing to the right. He was met with the stoney faces of Suneater, Hawks, Present Mic, and Chargebolt. The final one shocked him, Katsuki had never seen Denki with such seriousness across his face. At the head of the table sat Best Jeanist, who gestured towards the seat closest to Katsuki, at the other end of the table.  

“Welcome, Katsuki. Now, we have plenty to discuss.” 

Jeanist began by explaining what was known about the rising collective of villains, which was very little. Katsuki simply stared at the file in front of him, detailing exactly what Best Jeanist was reciting. He detailed the information Bakugo had already received; 

“We believe that Denouement is a risk, to put it bluntly. This new collective of villains, this league of sorts, is staying on the low. We know little about their aims, but from what we understand, their mission is linked to UA.” 

At that, the room was silent other than the echoing breaths and heartbeats across the table, beating to the sounds of concern and anger, 

“Now, for what we are intending to do. Dynamight, this is where you come in.” 

All heads turned to Katsuki, who kept a stoney expression and eyes focused in on Jeanist, who rose from his seat to point at a map projected behind him.  

“This is where their hideout is located, with heroes sighting many members of this league entering the building from a back entrance. You, being our Number One, and your ability to coerce villains into trusting you as we have seen with previous missions, are our best shot.” 

This would not be the first time Katsuki had been used to coerce villains. During the beginning of his career as a pro, Katsuki had travelled to a city across Japan to take up an offer from another high-ranking hero to become a sidekick. It was not the first time Katsuki had moved from his hometown, having moved after kindergarten, only returning to begin his studies at UA. These missions, per-say, were kept under wraps. If villains had caught wind of them, then many important missions would have easily failed. 

“It’s all about trust,” Katsuki responded, all eyes now turning to him, “Trust and understanding are the key. It’s important to not reveal to much about motives, and to make their motives into your own. To essentially become them, to act as though you understand them completely, but never make it seem like you know more than them. Ever.” 

Jeanist nodded, hope becoming visible in his expression.  

The meeting continued, the heroes devising strategies and dates for the mission to take place. Katsuki would infiltrate within the week, but the build-up was the most important part. With up to six members of the league identified, Katsuki would make his patrols location specific, depending on where these villains were spotted. Appearing to go easy on them, informing his sidekicks to let them of or, even more so, completely ignore them. He had to raise suspicion, questions. Why is the number one hero becoming lenient with us? Why are his sidekick’s acting upon orders to let us go?  

All to get Denouement’s attention.  

With a plan put in place, and Katsuki sidekick’s being informed of the plan – no questions asked of course -, the heroes departed. And the real work began.  

- 

Katsuki patrolled a small area of the city. It was a warm Tuesday, three days after the meeting took place. He spent the morning sat upon rooftops, pacing streets, having petty thieves and small villains arrested. The boredom was clearly setting in, as he leaned against a wall to take a break, his mask as pulled down, hanging around his neck, and his gauntlets sat beside him as he massaged his hands. The heat was causing him to become disgruntled, having already yelled at two of his sidekick’s.  

He heard a yell from an alleyway, his hair standing on end as he swiftly re-attached his gauntlets and flew in the direction of the scream, his explosions leaving a trail of ash behind him. Upon turning a corner, he was met with the sight of a man towering over someone, who was crouched in a corner in fear.  

Not difficult to guess where the scream came from. 

Katsuki pulled back the trigger of his gauntlet, sending an explosion in the direction of the pair. It was fairly small in comparison to what he can really do, but it gave the victim time to scramble away, pure terror engraved into their face.  

The villain sighed, turning to face Bakugo. His face was filled with staples, holding together skin that was burnt to the point of it being unrecognisable. His clothes were filled with burn holes, tattered around the edges so deeply that they were being held together by a thread. 

“God, you heroes don’t know how to have a bit of fun, do you?” 

His voice was the embodiment of a crackling flame, sounding as though his throat was filled with the ash of past conquests. Sinister, was the only word Katsuki could use to describe it.  

Before acting, Katsuki noticed something. The spikes of black hair. He had seen them before. A photo appeared in his mind of Denouement walking alongside a tall man, almost twice his height, with that exact hair. He was one of them. 

“If you want to have ‘fun’, do it somewhere else. Only a moron would pick the one fucking area where some of the best hero's patrol,” Katsuki responded sarcastically.  

The villain clearly didn’t expect a response like that. 

Good. Now tell Denouement.  

“Now fuck off, I have better things to be dealing with.” 

Katsuki turned his back on the villain, before using his explosions to propel him upwards to a rooftop. Upon landing, he turned to look back at the alleyway. The villain had a look of curiosity on his face, mixed in with hatred. Whether the hatred was at the conversation, or the fact that Bakugo had taken away his victim, the blonde couldn’t tell. But that was the beginning of a week full of similar encounters.  

Katsuki found out the villain's names through Best Jeanist’s investigation. Dabi was his first encounter, and a day later he was met with Twice. 

The day after that, Magne. Until finally, he encountered Shigaraki. Katsuki was certainly aware of Shigaraki’s quirk, and was cautious upon their meeting.  

All day, the pro had the feeling that he was being followed. An eery sense followed him on his patrol, feeling as though eyes followed his every move. By evening, it was clear that it was a member of the league. Katsuki didn’t know who, but he was positive. They had been testing him more and more throughout the week, to see how far he would go. Magne was captured by a newer sidekick of his, and was told to let her go instantly.  

Katsuki turned into an alleyway, a common occurrence recently. He felt those familiar eyes on him, and swiftly turned to grab the person by the throat. Katsuki slammed them to a wall, knocking the breath out of them.  

“Shigaraki.” 

The villain smirked cruelly, his eyes squinting at the corners.  

“Dynamight.” He spat, pure malice in his scratchy voice.  

“Call me Bakugo, God knows I’ve met enough of you this week, it’s a formality now.” 

Shigaraki’s grin only grew wider, and from the corner of his eye, Katsuki saw a hand being raised. He let heat bubble from the hand at Shigaraki’s neck in warning,  

“I’m not an idiot, I know your quirk.” 

“You seem to know a lot about us, Bakugo.” Shigaraki put emphasis on the name, making Katsuki’s stomach turn in discomfort. Why was he picked for this.  

“Damn right. I want to talk to Denouement.” 

Might as well get right to the point. 

Shigaraki outright cackled at the demand, and Bakugo didn’t blame him. It was absurd, and not entirely believable. Katsuki continued in his most convincing manner, 

“Tomorrow night, at midnight. Nobody around, no gauntlets, just us. Do you understand?” 

God why do I have to do this. 

“You are an interesting man, Bakugo. And why should Denouement trust you, the Number One?” 

He had a point, Katsuki had to admit. 

“I want to talk, to understand. Now did you get all that, or do I really need to fucking repeat myself.” Katsuki’s palm heated up further, causing Shigaraki to squirm in his grasp. Yet, his grin never faltered. 

He’s fucking insane.  

“Tomorrow it is, Bakugo.” 

Stop saying my name.  

“I look forward to it.”