Rejected Stones

Rise, Young Man

74. Rise, Young ManDuty is heavier than a mountain; death is lighter than a feather.

-Imperial Japanese Rescript to Soldiers

A year ago, Bakugo would not have given a shit if one of his classmates had died, save perhaps for one of his friends. Well, cronies. He might have felt a little uncomfortable, but well, if you got your ass killed, you were weak right? Six months ago, if one of his classmates had been killed, it would have affected Bakugo, but he would have tried not to show it so that he didn't appear weak.

That was before, the old Bakugo. The new one wasn't shy about shedding a few tears, or even a lot of them. He was stronger now. Better. He had to be. People were counting on him now.

"Koda was a good friend," Bakugo said, peering into the depths of his beer bottle, sniffing and wiping at his face with the back of his hand. "Out of everybody...he didn't act like I had just stepped in dog shit when he saw me at school, or in class, after the Sports Festival. I knew I scared the piss out of him, that he didn't like me. But...he tried to be nice. He never said anything, hell, he never said much at all, but...he was kind. I'll miss you, Whisper."

Bakugo poured a little of the alcohol out on the unlit pyre, then went back to sit down by Uraraka, resting his head in his hands and giving in to the pain as he gritted his teeth. He ended up sobbing into Uraraka's shoulder as much as she did his, especially when Todoroki finally used his flames to consume the body of his friend. Koda's parents were there, crying, holding each other and Koda's little sister as their son's body was consumed by fire.

Bakugo had been to too many funerals lately.

Which was why it was hard, when that night, when he lay exhausted in Uraraka's arms, that a dead man spoke to him.

"Young Bakugo. Already, you show great potential as the tenth bearer."

Bakugo opened his eyes, finding himself floating amidst a field of stars. Before him stood All Might, his greatest idol and hero. Dead, these past weeks. But somehow, very much alive.

"Alright, so, what? You and the other Ghosts of Christmas past gonna show up and try to get me to change my ways or some shit?" Bakugo demanded, slouching and sticking his hands in his pockets. That was odd, because his body certainly wasn't wearing any clothes, but here he was dressed in his UA school uniform. When was the last time he'd even worn that? Well before All Might's funeral, that was certain.

"Oh, so he's read Dickens, but the kid don't have a clue who Dante is?" another voice said, as Banjo, the Fifth Bearer, appeared out of the void. "I swear Yagi, yer a disappointment as a teacher."

"You shut the hell up. All Might was a great teacher. He's the one who first showed me what it was to be a hero," Bakugo snarled, withdrawing a hand from his pocket to poke Banjo in the chest. It was an odd sensation, as Banjo was slightly see-through, and glowed, since he was a ghost, and poking him felt...wrong, somehow.

"Perhaps. But I failed young Koda, it seemed," All Might said, his body briefly flickering from that of a muscled adonis, to that of a wasted skeleton.

"The hell you did. He died on his feet," Bakugo said, turning to stick a finger under All Might's nose. "He died a hero. I mean shit, it's sad he died, tears me up. But dammit, he wanted to be there. We all did. We knew what could happen. I thought I was done for out there too. Which, I mean, that's why I'm here now. What do we do, about, you know. This."

"About you being the Tenth Bearer of One For All?" Banjo asked, folding his arms over his chest and grinning. "Well, for one thing, we train you, kid. Apparently, you ain't as thick as muscle brain here, or Togata. Now now, before you get all riled up, they did good. Hell, All Might was the first of us to ever actually beat All For One in a fight, and all he could do was hit things real good. And Togata put that bastard in a coffin. Can't ask for more than that. But the fight ain't over. Not by an centimeter or a parsec."