Systematic Explosions

Summary: Gokudera Hayato died amidst explosions. He died protecting his boss, his best friend. He didn't regret it much and was ready for oblivion, even Heaven or Hell. Which is why, he's surprised that he finds himself in a world full of UMAs instead.

(Or, Gokudera Hayato awakens as Bakugou Katsuki, and the changes that follow).

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[PROLOGUE: Awakening]

For someone smack dab in the mafia, death is but an inescapable reality. It may happen any moment possible. It'll even come faster if you're not alert of your surroundings. Even regular people would not deny that they will die eventually (except for some people who are, like, say, Byakuran, and maybe Vindice). Hayato knew this, really. He knew, knows—that with his position in the mafia, as Vongola Tenth's right hand man and Storm Guardian, he would have to perish sooner or later. That is why… He thought that he had to be strong, to be powerful. Because knowing that death is inescapable didn't mean that he would stop trying to live or keeping his family alive. Hayato was nothing but a stubborn mule and he'd be damned if he let his friends or himself be killed that easily.

But even the strongest of men perish eventually, weren't they?

(The old Byakuran was killed by then-middle-schooler Tenth. He was burned when he prided himself as strongest and even beyond human.

Bermuda was defeated when he was supposed to be the Strongest Arcobaleno.

At the end of the day, the term 'strongest' is nothing but a fleeting title, is it not?)

Everyone would perish eventually.

And Hayato…

Hayato is no exception.

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Gokudera Hayato died at the age of 29 by doing what he does best: protecting his boss, his best friend. It was a bit ironic, to die in an explosion when his weapons include using explosions, but—well. Fate had always liked irony, hadn't it?

Tenth—Tsuna would probably yell at him when they meet sometime in the far, far future. (God, does he hope that they'll meet again in a long while. While his life had to end so abruptly, he wanted—hoped—that his boss and the rest of his family would get to live. That they would grow old, have a peaceful retirement, and die peacefully). Hayato would like meeting his family in the afterlife, and he totally did not regret—does not regret—protecting him.

Even at the cost of his life.

(He had promised, once, that he'd live. He'd live, because he wanted to see the fireworks once again.

He kept to his promise, back then.

He just couldn't. Not this time.

He thought he could've survived. Thought he could live.

I'm sorry, Tenth.

I'm sorry.

Ḯ̸̧̢̥͈̞͉̞͕̰̄͆͛̽̍͂̓̚͠'̵̧̛̛̬͈̭͎͈̭̗̌̈́̿͋̌͊͝͝m̶̟̀̂͒̽ ̵̢̥͖̼̮̮̬͂̉̌͂̍̉̑͗̀̓ͅs̴̡̨͖̪̳͇͔̯̑͝o̶̝̘͈̤͛́̍͒́̋̃̕͠r̵̝̭̱̥̯̽͆̒̒ŗ̶͙͉̹̯̗͉̋̓̾̇̌̅́͂̚͜ÿ̴͍̣͔͔̦̩̳̬̦́ͅ)

His only regret was that he wouldn't be able to say goodbye, that by dying, he couldn't spend his time with his family anymore.

(He regretted that he wasn't strong enough to survive).

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Gokudera Hayato died in the midst of explosions, having thrown his best friend out of the building before his world bled red and turned dark.

Gokudera Hayato wakes up when something exploded on his face, his body stumbling backward in shock as he blinks away black spots on his vision. He lands on his butt, sitting dumbly in what can only be a bathroom, blinking as he tries to remember how he gets here.

He doesn't understand, he thinks, mouth pulled downwards in a frown. He tries to think—of something, anything. He… what was he doing? What happened? He's… he's pretty sure that… that he should've…

He should be dead.

He—That mission was real. He was not dreaming, he's sure of it. It was so vivid, so real. He can still taste the desperation in his tongue, his panic and need to get his best friend out of the way, Tsuna, get away, Boss, please run pleASE RUN TAKE MY HAND P GET OUT RIGHT NO W—

Red.

Redredredredredredreredredredredredred—PAIN THERES SO M UC H P AIN IT HU RSTT S IT HU RTS SSTSS IT HURTSTSS

I̵̛̙͉̽̎̄̌́͘͝͠͠'̴̨̛͖̑̊̂̎͐̀́̔͂m̷̨̩̮̲͐̔͆͌̈́̕

Ì̴̦̰̗͙̜̖̜͐̅̾͠ṯ̶͈̹̇̈̀̀ ̷̛̺͖̣̹̲̩̙̉̈̄̇͂͐̈́̚͝h̸̼͉̗̀̔̋̆ų̷̢͕͔͈͓̦̭̱̟̀̈́̀̃r̴̭̤̍͂̿̅̊͋t̸̡̑̓̃̏̆̒s̶̰̖͎̉̽͗͌̓̋͊

"Katsuki?!" A shrill voice cut off his rapid thoughts, and Hayato jolts back to reality, belatedly realizing how he's gotten hold of his hair into his fists, pulling and pulling as he struggles to breathe.

A woman—blonde, short spiky hair that can put Sasagawa's into shame—kneels in front of him, shoulders tight and eyebrows furrowed in nothing but panic and genuine worry, and Hayato jolts, surprised, because—

Because—

She's so big. So tall and much, much bigger than him and he finds that he's kneeling, now, but he's so short that his head doesn't even reach the sink and—and he was… when he stumbled, he was… standing on top of a small chair?

"Katsuki, hey, what's wrong with you?!" The woman's voice is audible, but Hayato is not keen to listen as his gaze moves rapidly, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings, how everything looks so big and it's wrong, it's so wrong—

"Katsuki!" Hands grasp his shoulders, tense and yet so, so gentle somehow, and—and Hayato looks up, looks at the woman who should've been shorter than Hayato and yet, and yet—

"Katsuki," the woman is calling him, he finally realizes. She's speaking to him, but—but the name is wrong.

Katsuki?

His name isn't—

"Katsuki, what's wrong? I heard an explosion," explosion, red, red, red, pain so muCH PAIN— Explosion on his face, stumbling on top of an innocent mini chair usually used by children, a woman calling him Katsuki—

"Did you activate your quirk? Katsuki, baby, I won't understand if you don't speak to me. What's wrong, you're usually very noisy, baby, please talk to me, I won't know what's wrong if you don't speak—" The woman chokes on her words, rubbing comforting circles behind Hayato's neck and, and the hands—so warm and so familiar, even though it shouldn't be, because he doesn't know this woman, doesn't know this blonde who calls him Katsuki and looks so worried she could probably burst into tears and yet so strong as she yells at him to snap out of it, her hoarse voice yelling for her darling to come and help because—

"—He won't reply to me, he's just staring into nothing! I don't know what to do, I don't—Is it a quirk activation gone wrong? I don't—Katsuki, please answer me, answer Mommy. I'll buy the All Might figurine you bitch about if you answer me right now, God, Katsuki!"

Hayato looks down.

He looks at his small legs, his small hands and pudgy fingers.

He looks.

(He remembers).

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He died.

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His world goes black, once more.

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Bakugou Katsuki activates his quirk for the first time when he's four, one that is subsequently followed by a small panic attack that causes his parents to worry before he falls unconscious, sending his parents into a more panicked frenzy.

His last words before he falls unconscious are nothing but a pathetic, confused whine of:

"Plus Ultra...?"

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(In Katsuki's defense, years later when his mother would tease him about it, he really wanted that All Might figurine.

It's just his luck he managed to get it because he was in a little bit of an… identity crisis, you could say.

Really, really. It's not like he was thinking about how he was blown into smithereens. Nope. Not at all.

Really.)