Edited March 2, 2024
Bakugo Katsuki is a mystery to his class. He has a big ego, no doubt about that, but he also has a big heart. He wants to become a hero to protect those who can't protect themselves but pushes others away and refuses to let anyone else try to help or save him. He stays closed off but isn't afraid to yell at his class for stupid mistakes and protects everyone in his own loud way. He tries to play it off and act like he doesn't care but his eyes say otherwise. All of 1A knows he cares for them and want to become friends with him but he always finds a way to avoid them. They can see how he watches those around him, constantly on edge as if a fight could break out at any moment. What they wanted to find out was why he felt that way and how to help him as he had helped them.
The USJ attack was what really made his protectiveness evident as he didn't hesitate for a second to throw himself into the line of fire against Kurogiri and saved Kirishima's life on multiple occasions along with Aizawa sensei's when he got Todoroki and Kirishima to help him even out the playing field with All Might versus the Nomu. When Shigaraki went after him for messing up his plan with his hands stretched out to attack the boy, Bakugo let off two explosions which managed to remove a finger or two from each hand. As the villain screamed in pain and anger, the typically loud teen claims in a monotone voice that he can't disintegrate them if he doesn't have all his fingers to activate his quirk. He proved himself to be a good leader and quick thinker and since then Kirishima refused to let Bakugo push him away. The bakusquad was quick to form, much to Bakugo's frustration but they saw through his rough demeanor and the tension in the explosive teens shoulders seemed to relax a bit as he trains with them as he told them he won't always be around to protect them as they are idiots. They were amazed by how well he can control his quirk but worry over how much he pushes himself constantly to the point of exhaustion and awful cramps in his wrists that he refuses to let recovery girl heal.
The sports festival had recently ended and Bakugo won first place just like he said he would. Him training the squad really helped them improve too and Kirishima won his all out battle against Tetsu Tetsu as he had greatly build up his endurance by going up against Bakubro. He lost against Bakugo but it was a close match and he could tell his friends were proud of him and he was proud of himself as well. Mina had improved her aim with throwing her acid with Bakugo giving her tips by yelling at her at times before the festival to help her focus despite her loud surroundings and watching him practice his aim with smaller explosion like shots. Sero lost going against Todoroki but it took a few tries for the teen to capture him in ice as his reflexes had sped up after training with Bakugo chasing after him with his explosions propelling him forwards. Kaminari lost against Ibura but only because she covered herself up in her vines. He had mentioned fighting the villains as an actual taser and Bakugo yelled at him for being a dunce and not realizing sooner that he didn't have to go into whee mode to knock people out.
Though Bakugo sounded arrogant like his arrogant self to the crowd when giving his very short speech, 1A knew that he was once again taking care of others in his own way. By claiming to be stronger than the rest, he pushed all of UA to be the best they could be without them realizing it. This was one of the reasons why they had voted him class president even though he didn't even vote for him self. Some of them had seen his performance at the entrance exam and knew a powerful person like him would help lead them all to try to improve themselves so that they could keep up. He yelled at all his classmates after their matches and pushed them to do better. He visited them all in the waiting rooms after the matches to tell them to stop being stupid when upset for losing like with Momo as she needs to get out of her fucking head and just be bad ass because she can make fucking canons and that's nothing to sneer at. Aoyama got yelled at for being a dumb ass extra and making himself sick when he can shoot many baby ass shots instead. They all got advice in one way or another and Aizawa was quick to defend his student when the audience booed him for respecting Uraraka and giving the fight his all.
At the end of the sports festival, Bakugo's classmates watched him walk off with his first place medal clasped tightly in his hand. His hands trembled from him pushing himself so hard against Uraraka and Todoroki as he had screamed at the two toned boy for not being the best he could be. But his hands also shook in anger as he hadn't been strong enough to react in time to save the one that truly needed it. His green curly haired best friend, who was more like a brother than a friend, wasn't by his side as he had been for so many years and it was all his fault. What kind of hero could he even be if he is too weak to even save those closest to him, much less strangers? He would be a worthless hero and is a worthless hero in training if he can't prove himself otherwise. He may have won the festival, but Todoroki refused to fight fully and therefore his victory was a fake. He was a fake and he would just have to wait till next year in hopes that he can prove himself actually worthy next year as he only has two more chances to do it right.
Internship offers for the week are sent in over a corse of the next few days and Bakugo receives the second most offers, with Todoroki getting the most. It was clear to the class president that the heroes could see that he had failed too and clenches his fists trying to calm down as he was not going to admit defeat. He simply has to work even harder if he is going to be a real hero instead of a worthless one. Bakugo looks through hundreds of offers from all over Japan but the one that sticks out to him is from Sir Nighteye. He considers Best Jeanest as well but Sir Nighteye worked with All Might as a sidekick and this was an opportunity he couldn't let slip by him.
The hero had seen through Bakugo's harsh words and wanted to help him. He could see through the boy's unique way of expressing himself and helping people in his own explosive way. As All Might's past sidekick he could see a bit of his old friend and wanted to improve his growing skills. Mirio had already received One for All but unlike All Might, Nighteye understood that no one hero should shoulder the burden of creating peace for the world. Nighteye never could get that through All Might's thick skull but he had faith in the next generation he would be guiding. Mirio could also improve from this experience as he was a wonderful hero and learning to lead a younger hero in training towards becoming even better would teach him the improvement of mentoring those younger to help keep the world they fight for safe.
When Bakugo accepted his invitation, Sasaki began to prepare for the teens arrival. He wanted to see just how strong the young man's anger was as Endeavor was currently number two but his anger led to incredible amounts of avoided destruction and wasn't about to let Bakugo go down a similar path. To test Bakugo's anger, Nighteye baited the boy, asking him how he planned to improve when he could only beat his strongest classmate when fighting at half strength. Just as he suspected, the anger this boy held was not towards other but at himself, a toxic way to push himself to always be better as he hid anguish behind his ruby eyes. This was unfortunately something he saw on many heroes when they failed to save someone and was curious to know what had caused a boy his age to feel that way. However, Bakugo is just as stuburn as All Might could sometimes get so he was still waiting on the answer to that burning question.
Knowing this, he pushed his worry and curiosity aside, and had the younger teen go patrolling with Mirio. Bakugo learned a lot from Mirio and all of Nighteye's agency so when work studies were mentioned after the summer, Bakugo went back to Nighteye. He didn't learn how to funny by Nighteye's standards but he couldn't care any less about that. His first day back in Nighteye's agency was mainly training and learning about any current villains to keep an eye out for and day two was time to patrol. Despite working with Bakugo for a while and the third year talking to him some during school, Lemillion was still trying to get the younger blond to open up to him. Mirio had just opened his mouth to say another joke when a little girl all dressed in bandages ran into Dynamite's legs. Both boys were shocked at the little girl's condition and immediately bent down to help her in any way they could.
"Are you okay?" Mirio whispered kindly, not wanting to scare her. The small girl, who seemed to be around 4 or 5 due to her size, mutely nodded her head and clung tightly to Bakugo's hero costume. Before much else can be said, the very villain Nighteye had warned them about for being extremely dangerous and to avoid contract with appears. "I'm sorry about my daughter, she got a little too excited and ran on ahead. Please do not worry about the bandages, she tends to be a bit accident prone." At the sound of Overhaul's voice, the girl began to tremble violently and begs him, "Please! Help us..." "Eri come here now!" The man harshly demands and begins to slip his gloves off. Bakugo watches as Eri's eyes widen even further with fear and she quickly dashes to the villain's side. Mirio grabs Bakugo's shoulder to prevent him from charging forward and slightly shakes his head. The pair watch in worry at Eri and Overhaul disappear into the darkness of the alley before Bakugo spins around to face Mirio with tears threatening to fall. "Why?" His broken voice whispers, "why didn't you let me save her? I can't let another person go unsaved when I'm right there..."
Mirio stares in shock, having never seen Bakugo look so tired or defeated before. "If we caused a scene, more than just Eri would have gotten hurt. The sooner we tell Nighteye about this, the sooner we can help her, I promise! Sir warned us about how dangerous that man is and could have lost a chance to save Eri at all." Bakugo takes a deep breath before heading back to Nighteye agency without looking to see if Mirio was following him. "Come on Lemillion, we've got a little girl to save." He growls out as he stomps off. "Right behind you Dynamight!" Mirio says, trying to stay positive despite the dark situation that had stumbled upon them. Mirio does his best to continue smiling as his mentor would and runs after the younger boy as worried thoughts fly rapidly through his head. "What was a little girl like Eri doing with such a dangerous man!?"