I'll admit this is pretty niche, but for the people who watch Hot Ones, I hope you can hear the hosts voice when you read it. This is low effort alternate kacchako origin wrapped in a character study.

I hope Bakugou is in character. That's actually all I care about this time around.

What's up everyone! For First We Eat, I'm Sean Bevans, and this is Hot Wings. It's the show with hot questions and hotter wings."

***
"PAUSE IT!"

"Guys! Guys! It's up; it's up, the video's posted!"

"Oh my gosh, it's so exciting that one of us is finally on tv!" Mina yipped excitedly, Kaminari and Jirou smiling brightly alongside her, sharing space under the kotatsu.

"Yeh. If Bakugou found out we were here watching it; we'd be toast." Sero grimaced with a quick laugh.

"Yeh, Uraraka and I had to tell him we were busy on an investigation together. I don't know how long that'll hold up so let's get this show on the road!" Kirishima clapped excitedly, plopping his beer onto a coaster at Uraraka's table.

"I'm more surprised it's Kacchan. I would have thought he'd hate being in the spotlight. He's so private." Deku added from his place sitting on the back of the couch above Iida.

"Ah, yeh, but when he got the invite, Uraraka laughed and told him he wouldn't be able to handle it anyway. Bakugou emailed back so fast, it probably looked desperate as hell." Kirishima laughed, his mug at his lips, winking at Ochako who smiled with a lift of her eyebrows.

"Where's Todoroki?" Yaoyorozu asked, looking around the apartment.

Ochako frowned in wonder. "He's picking up the wings. Should be…"

"Here," Todoroki said as he gracefully placed the bags of plain wings and different hot sauces on the table in front of everyone.

"YES!" Everyone announced. Kirishima immediately set the sauces up in a row to match what was in front of Bakugou on the screen.

"You should hurry," Todoroki said with a stern gaze.

"Why? What's up?" Deku asked with concern.

"Bakugou saw me. Normally I don't care, but I know Uraraka wanted to keep this a secret. He tried to confront me and followed me out of the store, but I pretended like I was going to Midoriya's and then threw up an ice wall in the alley ."

"Well, shit, alright let's go, let's go!" Kaminari hissed, gesturing wildly, begging Uraraka to press play.

"He's gonna wonder why we're all here and he isn't," Deku stated with a hint of pre-sympathy marring his tone.

"Well he doesn't have to know about this," Ochako said, moving the mouse to press play, "But Kirishima and I can make the rest up to him, Deku! No time to worry, here we gooo!" Ochako shouted and everyone cheered, except Todoroki, who watched his former classmates smile, pleased to have bought them some time.

"And today I'm joined by Bakugou Katsuki, or as many of you may know him, the hero, Ground Zero. Considered the #2 hero in not only Japan, but the world. Bakugou is responsible for putting away some of the biggest baddies the world has ever known. Welcome to the show Bakugou."

"Yeh, my friends said I couldn't handle it, so here I am," Bakugou stated, eyeing the row of wings before him with interest.

Sean smiled, "Oh, well we certainly have a reputation to protect, so I hope it's not too easy."

"Tch" Bakugou said, a wild grin playing on his lips in challenge.

"I hear you thrive on spicy dishes, so, is there anything special you had to do to prepare, or you feelin' pretty confident?"

"Eh, I've been eatin' peppers since I was a kid. The heat helps me sweat, and really primes my quirk, so I live for this shit." Bakugou said with a smirk. "I'm ready for whatever you got."

"Excellent. So how this works is you'll go down the row, one at a time, trying each wing - and you can do it with an extra dash or more of the corresponding hot sauce. And we'll just talk as you work your way up."

"Neat." Bakugou chuckled, looking down the line of sauces, and picking up the first bottle.

First Bottle: Fred's Crimson Hot
Scoville Scale: 450

Bakugou immediately piled some extra dashes of the first sauce.

"Okay so, I heard that when you were first starting out, the hero Deku was largely inspired by your combat and tactical style in your days at UA. Knowing now that he's #1 in the rankings and you've been working to catch up, does that haunt you? And since then, what would you say sets you apart the most now?"

Bakugou bit into the first wing, rolling his eyes at the mostly vinegar and slightly smoky taste.

"Nah, that nerd used to make these books of all the information for people he considered great heroes, and it took me a while to realize he woulda got it all down one way or another. Not to mention Deku's on a level that breaks the fucking scale. I'm smart enough to admit that. But things are different now. I'm where I am because I don't give up, and I'm not gonna let Deku rest just 'cause he thinks he's got a sure thing. Every time I partner up, I'm learning something different that I can assimilate into my work or style, and it gets me that much closer. Deku may have out-of-this-world limits, but I can surpass mine just as easily now when the time calls for it." Katsuki said smoothly, not bothered at all by the wings or the questions.

"Amazing. It's only the first question, and I can see that Bakugou has grown to a point I could not have imagined when we were young." Iida expressed.

Ochako smiled, looking to Kirishima and then to Deku with a thumbs up.

She worked at the same agency as Bakugou and was often his partner before he broke off to set up his own office. She was number 9 on the rankings in Japan and was grateful for what he helped her to learn on her rise. But she knew that Bakugou had grown to a level no one could see if they didn't spend as much time with him as her and his closest friends did.

Second Bottle: Texas Patron
Scoville Scale: 750

"What is this shit? I thought this was supposed to be a challenge?" Bakugou said, side-eyeing the camera as he took a bite of the second hot wing.

**
Ochako and Kirishima laughed, touching wings like it was a clanking of beers.

"Don't worry; this is just the baseline for everyone. Trust, some people actually start to crack right under the 1000's on the scale. But you're good; we'll get there." The host chuckled, delighting in Bakugou's impatience.

"...Much like you'll continue to rack up saves and takedowns for the rankings. Considering your ranking, you're rarely in the spotlight, and for good reason, since it can be pretty tough with all the admiration or hate, even. But, people really wanna know about the illusive Bakugou Katsuki, the man behind the Ground Zero mask. What's something some people would be surprised to know about you, in your personal life?"

"I don't think that's anyone's business," Bakugou said with a frown on his face.

"Aw, it doesn't have to be super invasive. Just something off the top of your head that wouldn't give too much and we can go on to the next wing."

Bakugou huffed, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his chair, tossing the bone of the second wing on the board.

"I like to cook."

"Really? That's interesting; I'd have never guessed. What's your favorite dish to make?"

"I can make a killer veggie korma, with a habanero sauce mixed in. But I like it over short grain rice like my mom always makes it."

"No way! Do you do it all from scratch?"

"Hell yeh, fuck that packaged shit. I get a lotta satisfaction out of the whole process. Reductions, karaage, roasting, whatever the hell. Sometimes I like to just sit in the kitchen and mix shit until I get something I like. Usually, Ochako's there so I can see how things come out. She can't cook high-end shit to save her life, but the woman knows her flavor profiles." Bakugou chuckled, looking like he was almost lost in his own thoughts.

"Oh wow! You mean, Uravity?"

Bakugou's far away look immediately came crashing down to earth, his eyes narrowing in on the board in front of him, looking up at the host with smoldering red eyes.

"Yeh."

Everyone in the room turned to Ochako in confusion. Many of them hadn't even known they were hanging out like that.

"What?" She asked, feigning ignorance. "I can cook! He just thinks his cooking is better!" She defended, willfully ignoring the meaning behind their stares .

Todoroki grabbed Deku's beer from his hands before it could slide out, and swiftly kicked it back down his throat. From his perspective, he worried this would start things up between Midoriya and Bakugou again.

Third Bottle: Serrano Lindo
Scoville Scale: 7,000

"Well, I can see that one touched something there. So we'll steer away for a minute into something a little more out there. I've heard through the grapevine that you used to have your HQ blast tunes through your earpiece in the heat of battle. And I've also heard it takes a lot for you to put rap and hip-hop on your lists, yet you are a fan. If you could bring back any one group from the second millennium, who would it be and why?"

"I don't know where you're gettin' your information from but I'm probably gonna have to crack some skulls when I get home. That's annoyingly specific." Bakugou tsked before responding, "But that's easy. Rage Against The Machine. It doesn't force me to choose between rock and hip-hop, and their message at the time, I think, is still relevant even in this era. I can't imagine a world without quirks, but if I didn't have one, and I had to find another way to be a hero, I think they'd have inspired me to do some crazy humanitarian shit back in the day. That's how pumped they get you, and you just wanna make shit happen, and fuck shit up until things work out." Katsuki said thoughtfully, nodding his head appreciatively of the question and how it reminded him he should get back to carrying his music.

"Nice, nice! You know, I think I'd agree on that one. Old school playlists are awesome to go through to see who our great-greats were listening to back in the day. Awesome! So next question."

"Fuck yeh, man. So, these gonna get hot anytime soon?" Katsuki asked, tapping his fingers along the table, ready to pick up wing number four.

"Yes, although, for someone like you, it might come on the higher end! This one, right here, is one of our signature sauces, and we're doubling the heat now. So that's almost 16k Scoville."

Fourth Bottle: Hot Wingz
Scoville Scale: 15,500

"Fine," Bakugou said, taking his bite, not breaking a sweat yet.

"While you eat that, I'm going to u-turn us back into a question around partnerships. You mentioned earlier that "every time you partner up…" you're learning something. And we've seen that a lot of your takedowns rely on your tactical sense. You really work to incorporate whoever you happen to be partnering with at the moment. You've got a whopping 31 major A & B rank offenders collared between you and Red Riot, and 49 with Uravity since your debut 3 years ago. So, what I wanna know is, what's your biggest lessons learned from working with Red Riot and Uravity."

"You're gonna need something hotter to get me to answer that," Bakugou said, licking his thumb and tossing on more of the fragrant red sauce.

"Alright, we can make it a two-parter. Red Riot for this one and Uravity for the next wing."

"You can try."

"Alright, so...Red Riot."

"This is a really delicious sauce," Bakugou said, opening the bottle and drinking a bit, eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise for the camera.

"You think?" Bevans asked with a smile.

"Fuck yes, it's got, like, some lime...some citrus shit in it, that cuts it a bit, but it's nice."

"Awesome, that means a lot. You can take it."

"Yeh, it was too fucking late anyway, I was gonna," Bakugou said, pulling the bottle to his side, effectively causing the host to chuckle.

"Alright, so, Red Riot, biggest lesson - go."

Bakugou let out a sigh, taking another swig of the sauce as he thought. "Right. Fuck. I've known Riot since UA..."

"Yeh, the Cavalry Battle, at the UA Sports Festival, your first year."

"Yeh, dude, you do your fuckin' homework."

"Part of the job. But that festival was iconic, and largely considered the origin for soooo many top rank heroes of today - it's hard not to know."

"Heh. Yeh, well, I can say that, with Riot, he was one of my first true friends. The guy somehow wormed his way in and never left, and I'm pretty fuckin' grateful. He kinda...it was the first time I realized I could still be me, and wouldn't get shit for it. I could work through my shit, and he wasn't busting my balls about getting anywhere faster, just about reminding me that he was there, regardless. "A horse that can't crumple." Just like in the cav battle. And, I get that even in our takedowns nowadays too. He's so annoyingly optimistic, it's hard not to feed off that energy and feel like, as long as we got our heads on straight, we can take anyone out, no problem. He's a constant, ya know? It's mostly just a lesson in remindin' me about the parts I might be missing. He's good at filling in those gaps."

"That's pretty deep, so you two are close?"

"Eh, I guess. He'd call us "best bros," but it's ya know, whatever. I'm not into all that feelings shit, but that's why I keep Hair-for-Brains around." Bakugou smirked, trying to downplay his honest answer.

**
::sniff:: "Aw, Bakugou, it's so manly! Hold me Uraraka!" Kirishima shouted, wrapping an arm around Ochako's waist and chugging his beer at once, the edge of his lashes glistening with unshed tears.

Ochako rolled her eyes in jest, happily rubbing Kirishima on the back in comfort.

**
Fifth Bottle: Lava Sauce
Scoville Scale: 36,000

"So, I'm hoping this one starts to hit you. This sauce comes from Hawaii, from community grown ghost peppers that they smoke to get this flavor."

Bakugou took a bite. The kick was suddenly hitting his sweat mark. This was the flavor of his favorite snack, ghost peppers, but the heat of eating an actual whole pepper just wasn't in it.

"It's alright. I don't think I'd want this all the time, heat-wise."

"Fair enough, but is it hot enough to get you going about part two, lessons learned from Uravity?"

Bakugou sniffed a bit, nodding his head.

Sure, why the fuck not. Bevans was opening up his world of hot sauces, the least he could do was give an answer.

"Whatever. Uravity is just a badass hero, what more do you want?"

"That's it? I mean, in the context of partners, is that all it takes to be good with you? Cause you don't rack up a count that high without some serious quirk compatibility."

"We got that out the ass. We've got special mods for our costumes just for whenever we're working together."

"Yeh, your Agency Era costume! The one you just rolled out this year."

"Exactly."

"So, then is there anything beyond quirk compatibility? Something you take with you when out solo?"

Bakugou couldn't stop huffing for the life of him. He took his time mixing the last two sauces on the wing to see what happened.

"Her creativity, especially in a pinch. Uravity has some go-hard-or-go-home techniques that put her right in the thick of shit, and it's fucking madness watching her work. Always using her quirk and just...natural physical laws to her advantage. I think a lot of people miss how invaluable she is as a hero in combat, not just rescue. That woman is outright dangerous on a good day, and when you've got her going, it's like she's on fucking fire, and she'll only put it out once she's got you right where she wants you. And, for me personally, I think it's the same as with Kirishima, except, where he just kinda lets me slide with a lot of things, she challenges me every fucking step of the way."

The host sat in rapt attention. So many words had never been heard from the spotlight avoiding, explosive, young hero. "And that's good, or bad - always having a partner that challenges you like that? Cause some would say your attitude is a core component of you, it's what makes Ground Zero, aside from the explosions."

Bakugou chuckled. "It used to bother the fuck outta me! I hated it. Until I realized, she wasn't close to my ranking but she was outdoing me in the field sometimes. And I was thinking, "this bitch is busting my balls every damn day but she's backing it up, and how the fuck did this happen?!" Ya know?" Bakugou said, tossing the bones of his wing in the garbage, ignoring the stares of the people behind the cameras. "So it's just another back to chase, someone I want to both outdo, and also see how we change together when we take things from each other, cause, of course, I'm fucking awesome, so she learns shit from me too. Just makes me wanna be better."

The host's eyebrows shot up, a small smile playing on his lips. "Hm. Well, that's interesting to hear."

Bakugou shrugged, grunting in impatience to move on, feeling like he'd just talked too fucking much. Damn tasty hot sauces.

Uraraka didn't feel compelled at all to be embarrassed or bashful about Bakugou's words. On the contrary, she felt quite proud.

She was sure the sting behind her eyes came from more than just the Lava Sauce getting to her.

"I can hold you too, Uraraka," Kirishima said, wrapping an arm around her and squeezing a bit. Uraraka gasped out a laugh, wiping away a tear on her cheek. Bakugou had only said pieces of that to her face a handful of times, but all of his words together hit her so profoundly.

Sixth Bottle: Liquid Luck
Scoville Scale: 56,000

"Alright, well, we've got a recurring segment on our show called Explain That Post, where I do a deep dive on our guest's social media posts, pulling interesting pictures that need more context. So I'm gonna bust out the laptop, we'll take a look at the picture, and you just tell me the bigger story." Evan's said, the producer rushing to hand him the laptop as the cameras cut to a shot of Bakugou scowling.

"Aw, fuck man."

"What? Not liking this one?" The host said, pointing to the wing.

"No. It's not bad. I mean my shit. If there is a post on my stuff, I can guaran-fucking-tee I'm not responsible for making it."

"Well you're fairly active, so let's see what you know." The host laughed, pulling up the first picture.

A photo of Bakugou and Kirishima in denim jackets over orange and red hoodies and beanies, respectively, were drinking from giant steins, arms linked and biceps bulging as they stared directly into the camera, shit-eating smiles tugging at the corners of their lips as they drank.

"Oh great. For the record, I don't drink that much. My quirk is really fucking dangerous if I'm too loose. But this is the night of the opening of my agency. Kirishima and I were getting started before everyone got to the bar."

"Wow! Looks like a good night."

Bakugou's mind flashed back to waking up in the early morning with his head in Uraraka's lap on his couch, and his ears developed a slight blush.

"Sauce gettin' to ya finally?"

"Nah, it's just fucking hot with all these bright ass lights."

"Oh well, we're halfway done. And thanks for being such a good sport so far." Bevans chuckled. "So I got one more for you."

The screen changed to a picture of a basket with a pack of chuck roast, some potatoes, carrots and a bottle of wine. The feet of a woman and finger pads of a certain hero were in the corner, walking beside the basket, possibly holding it.

"That's just Uraraka fucking around."

"Where were you?"

"Obviously at the grocery store. It was just after a big fight we had in our civies. She'd lost her keys in the melee and it was the middle of the night, before the clean-up crew would be done in the area to find 'em. So I brought her to...my place...and we...made dinner." Bakugou grumbled, feeling like it was something to keep for himself, and no one else. But considering it was already out there for the world to see, what did it matter.

"Awesome, thanks, glad to see that even heroes have everyday problems like getting locked out. Let's move on."

**
Deku and Iida turned to one another, amazed that Bakugou was saying any of this out loud.

"Wow Uraraka, I didn't realize you spent personal time with Kacchan. I thought it was just work stuff." Deku winced while Sero and Kaminari snickered. He'd noticed things at the professional level but never suspected...maybe he was wrong to confront Kacchan the way he had...

Ochako shrugged. "Oh well, ya know. Office buddies."

Seventh Bottle: Donner Party Blend
Scoville Scale: 85,000

"This one sucks. It doesn't' taste like anything...but we're getting deeper into my heat preference."

"Well, let's see if it gets better. This round'll be quick. I'll say a few hero names, and you just give the first word or words that pop into your head. Ready."

"Yeh, anything to get to the next one."

"Alright - Todoroki."

"Which one? The former asshole, or the half-and-half bastard?"

"Okay," The host laughed, "next, Eraserhead."

"Dadzawa"

The host snorted before continuing, "Deku."

"Fucking Idiot"

"Ryukyu"

"FUCKING DRAGON!" Bakugou shouted in enthusiasm, hyped by the pain and adrenaline in his body.

"Suneater."

"An Elf."

"All Might."

"Number One!"

"Midnight."

"Creepy."

"Edgeshot."

"My number two!"

"Uravity"

"Sweet Cheeks" Fuck. He'd meant Pink Cheeks.

"Alright! That was great! Do you actually call Eraserhead, Dadzawa?" Asked the host as he took a sip of his milk.

"I've used it once or twice, but yeh. That man kept us in line at UA. I'm dreading the day he retires. We need more heroes like him."

"Beautiful. Fans at home are gonna be adjusting their hero preferences for sure now. Next up we got..."

Eighth Bottle: Savina Lento
Scoville Scale: 145,000

**
"Oh, that's a new one!" Kaminari laughed over the collective oohing of the rest of the Bakusquad. The other former classmates were staring in amazement at the screen and Ochako.

"Wow Uraraka, he looked like he didn't even mean to say that out loud. Did you know?" Jirou asked, pushing a little at Uraraka's shoulder, earphone gently grazing her skin to pick up on her friend's response.

"Know what?"

"Have you been listening to this…"

"Quiet, quiet, he's about to hit the second to last wing now, everyone get your sauce ready!" Mina said, waving her hand for someone to turn it up.

Bevans and Bakugou both gnashed into their respective wings. Bakugou shrugged, not feeling it like he thought he would based on the last sauce, but then he coughed.

"Yeh, that's a fuckin' slow build. But it's nice." Bakugou cleared his throat, tearing away at the hot wing. "That's about where I normally order most of my food," Katsuki said, polishing off the wing.

"Oh, then I can't wait to see how you handle the last two." Bevans smiled wide in anticipation.

"But before that, this question - you've been a pro-hero for three years, and including your rookie and UA days, you've been in the game for about eight years now. What are some of the biggest watershed moments in that time, for you, from the highs to the lows?"

"You mean other than All Might retiring? Uhh…I'd say the showdown with Shigaraki and The League of Villains. It put a lot of things in perspective and really gave us a chance to go all out against his people to keep everyone offa Deku. Not to mention, it was the first time I got to see the Red Riot Homerun and Red Riot Rocket in action, and they worked, somehow." Bakugou said with a snort and shake of his head, recalling the sight.

The host guffawed, an image of Uravity holding Red Riot aloft in the Sunshine Duos signature move appeared on the screen.

"Other than that, for my highs, just, maybe getting my ass handed to me by Uravity at our final sports festival, and then starting my own agency."

"There seems to be a recurring theme here in your interview."

"Eh, don't look too much into it."

"Noted. Of course, if anything, it's nice to see the level of camaraderie that UA instilled in, arguably, one of it's most famous classes in history." the host said, wiping sauce off his fingers and handing Bakugou the next bottle.

Ninth Bottle: Bomb Sauce
Scoville Scale: 1.2 million

"And we're here. I'm so pumped to see how you handle this one." Bevans smiled, gesturing for Bakugou to pick up the next wing. "Go ahead, give it a try."

In one bite, an instant tingle buzzed across Bakugou's lips, and his ears felt like they were leaking. This was...hot. Bakugou grinned, hissing with a hint of happiness, as his blood pumped heavy, adrenaline shooting through him. This was a leap above anything he'd ever consumed and seemed to be a mix of peppers, with very little filler in the way of the heat. Now, this was the challenge he wanted all along. And it hurt so good.

"So I'm not sure how closely you follow other hero ranking categories, but last year was a good year for you. You were named Sexiest Bad Boy, ahead of Gale, and even Shindō Yo of Ketsubutsu Academy fame, and also Japan's Most Eligible Bachelor, beating out Deku." The host stated, watching Katsuki draw a breath between his teeth to cool his mouth.

"And I wanna know, is that flattering to you? Which of those makes you more proud?"

"Uhhhh….fuck that shit. Sexiest Bad Boy makes it seem like that's all people can distill me down to, so fuck that, I'm no ones toy and I'm a nice fucking guy." He responded with a sniff. "And I'm not exactly sure how the most eligible bachelor shit happened. I don't make myself available, and anyone I'm interested in would need to be just as badass as me to keep up. So that pool is tiny as hell, and I doubt anyone else is getting in it anytime soon."

"Ah really?! Interesting. Anyone you wanna name?"

"Not if you don't want this shit in your eyes."

"Done that, it's not fun. You ever have a Scorpion Pepper, just, straight? Cause that's what that's like."

Bakugou genuinely laughed low and deep, like a cackle mixed with the growl of a big, fancy dog.

Deku met Todoroki's gaze before they both turned minutely to see Uraraka put her head down. Todoroki handed Deku his next wing with a shrug.

"Holy shit, I can't believe he took that last one?! I stopped at Liquid Luck. That stuffs gonna make my poop hurt in the morning." Sero cried from the corner of the living room, now coating his mouth in beer.

"Yes, this is too much, even for me, and I enjoy spicy food. I am finished. I think I am going to be sick." Iida burped, his engine kickstarting a bit, causing the group to scatter.

Ochako was still recovering from the hiccups after tasting a few dashes of Lava Sauce five wings earlier and the kick of Bakugous supremely candid responses.

"How does Kacchan do this?" Deku sat sniffing, looking for a napkin.

"This one's delicious." Todoroki proclaimed, reading the label on the Bomb Sauce, nodding pleasantly, his mask of indifference intact as he patted Deku on the back.

"Quiet guys, it's the last one! 2 million Scoville. He'll crack for sure, whatever the question. That's too much, even for Bakugou."

Tenth Bottle: Grim Reaper
Scoville Scale: 2.0 million

"So that last one seemed to be at your speed finally, you looked pretty happy. Takin' it like a pro man, haven't even touched your milk! I hope you like this one. At 2 million Scoville, it's tradition, as the last sauce, to put on a little extra."

"Go ahead man, toss it over." Bakugou held out his hand as the host finished topping his own wing.

"Ready? How bout a toast?" Bevans said, holding out his wing over the middle of the table.

"Yeh, I'm fucking fine." Bakugou declared, his insides still recovering from the Bomb Sauce but his heart pounding with the urge to fight someone. "Let's do this," he said gesturing at the final wing, tapping it onto the hosts.

"Alright, I'll make this question count! But let's dig in."

On the first bite, Bakugou was surprised at the flavor - fruity, with a hint of smoke, garlic, and lime. Then the heat hit and pressure he hadn't experienced in years bloomed in his chest as his mouth filled with saliva, and his stomach cramped a bit. It'd been a long while since Katsuki got the feel of something instantly burning his stomach as it went down and the thrill of it was making him a bit euphoric.

"Doin' good?"

"Yeh, yeh, fucking ask!" Bakugou said, gripping the glass beside him, unwilling to drink yet when so much was at stake.

"Okay, last one. And this gets a bit personal two ways, one we don't need to get into but the other is a piece in here, that when I heard it, really struck me. Especially considering your number 2 status. There is a now infamous leaked conversation between you and Deku, from a few weeks back that broke across forums on the web. And it had people speculating so much about your conduct and who you were talking about. Some have even compared you to Endeavor. But I don't believe that."

Katsuki immediately blanched, fiercely holding in a hiccup.

"...This is part of an altercation outside a bar where you were recorded saying, and I quote, "...of course you dumbass, I'd do anything…(inaudible) But I'll never say a word cause we all know real heroes are more her thing. So just drop it." end quote. Since I know you probably can't tell me who the conversation was about, can you tell me what you meant by "real heroes," and why it doesn't sound like you're referring to yourself as one?"

Fuck this guy was good. Gave Katsuki the out, and could still get a real answer. But fuck if he didn't wish he could just explode every paparazzi within a two-mile radius on any given day. Katsuki gulped, eyes burning a bit.

He hadn't worked up to heat this extreme yet, and it made his gag reflex hit a bit.

"I used to...be a real asshole, okay?" He started with a hiccup. "Some would say still am, but fuck 'em. I was a terrible person once, and I…" Katsuki paused, eyes glancing to the camera, throat burning painfully. "...I don't...know. This is just who I am. Even though I don't hurt people the way I used to, I'd have to be an entirely different person to change the things that people see on the outside as bad." Katsuki's eyes burned a bit, and he realized his fingers stung from the sauce. He continued to speak as he looked for something to wipe his hands on. "And, I won't...I'm not gonna do that. I'm not gonna change to make the whole damn world happy. So, I don't know where that puts me. I don't think my collar counts make up for any of the shit in my past, but I'm not gonna sit and wallow and whine, or kowtow to people that want me to give up like I'm not allowed to try. Fuck, this shit is hot." Katsuki sniffed, scrunching his eyes, simultaneously reveling in the pain as much as he wanted to throw up from it. "I'm not a hero like Deku. I can't just feel for people the way he does. But I know what's right still. So, people can take it or leave it, or whatever the fuck, I don't care. I may not be a fuckin' "hero" in the purest sense of the word, but I'm my kinda hero, and that's enough for me. I just don't know if it's enough for...certain...others. And sometimes that sucks to think about." He said, chewing and tossing the final wing in the garbage like a period at the end of his sentence.

After this, after everything he said today, he was sure people would put two and two together. And he wasn't sure he was ready to face Uraraka just yet.

"No man, I think that's amazing. You've accomplished so much in the short time that you've been a hero, and we have so much to be grateful for, even on this side of the Pacific. And you did it; you made it to the end, that's definitely one of the finest finishes we've had in a while, no drinks, no tears, no fuss. We love seeing our guests come out on top, so this camera, this camera…" Bevans declared, pointing around the room to each camera for Bakugou to turn to.

"I'm not lookin' in your fuckin' camera's man." he stated flatly.

Bevans burst out into a short laugh before continuing, "regardless, let the people know what's in store, what they can expect from the number 2 hero, Ground Zero, in the year to come."

"Uhh...I don't have anything. Just gonna save people and fuck up some villains. BUT, I do know my friends are gonna watch this after I explicitly told 'em not to. So I just wanna let 'em know that I'm coming for 'em." Bakugou looked into the camera then, smile broadening as his eyes narrowed, a sheen of sweat glistening in the lights of the studio as he brought up a palm to discharge a small blow of his quirk. And the video faded to the logo. The host laughed in the background audio.

**
Everyone in Ochako's living room sat in silence, processing the depth of the interview. A soft knock at the door had Todoroki going to check who it could be.

Ochako had wondered forever who that conversation had been about, and only now just realized, that Deku could be asking about only a select few girls because he knew so few on a personal level.

A little piece of her had always wondered and was too afraid to ask. Could it be? No, no she was merely setting herself up for heartache.

"I gotta say, I'm scared, but also, really happy. That….that was worth it. I will gladly take an explosion to the face for that." Kirishima proclaimed, slapping his thighs with gusto.

"Good. I'll start with you." Bakugou's voice growled out low as he walked into the living room.

Everyone gasped, "TODOROKI!".

Kaminari screamed.

"It was a really polite knock. I didn't think it could be him." Todoroki said as Bakugou pulled him over by his right side, rolling his eyes.

"Cheeks! You fuckin' traitor. We'll talk later." Bakugou pointed to Uraraka, then eyed every face in the room.

"I...I...just…me?"

Some people giggled, others straight up laughed, somewhere a smooching sound reverberated through the room, and Ochako's face lit up while Bakugou's boiled with fury.

"In a second. Once everyone's dead." He said without looking at her before lunging for Kirishima and Kaminari first.

"SCATTER!" Sero yelled, instigating chaos in Ochako's humble apartment.

Ochako sat still, like the stone in a rushing river as everyone else moved in a whirlwind of yelps and explosions, Ochako's smoke alarm blaring to life as they all tried to find the best path to the door. Todoroki calmly let himself out to find Deku while everyone else continued the heated game of cat and mouse, some looking like they were enjoying the thrill of just having some fun like the old days.

Slam after slam meant one success after another until eventually the only sound Ochako could hear was any autoplay of another episode of the show, the alarm having died out long ago.

A sudden shift on the couch meant Bakugou was next to her, a place he'd been many times, but suddenly felt like it carried so much more weight than usual.

"Want me to start dinner? Or you full offa wings?"

"Dinner?"

"Yeh Cheeks. That thing people do when they enjoy each others company."

"It's not our hangout night."

"I know. But there's something I wanted to talk to you about, and I thought dinner would make it...easier."

Ochako turned to face him then, brown eyes meeting red. The soft quirk of his lips gave her a sense of comfort so deep Ochako couldn't help but smile back.

She dared to hope.

"You're starting to rub off on me, so I think I've got a few things you can use." She said, keeping his gaze.

He stood up, pulling her along by the hand. "Well, let's see what ya got, Sweet Cheeks."

And that's it. Was he...in character-ish? All things considered? XD Excuse my sideways kiribakuocha if you squint really fucking hard. And sideways tododeku (always!).