Inheritance: A My Hero Academia AU

Katsuki Bakugo

I groaned and put my head down on the table. Five whole days of research, and almost nothing useful to report. I was beginning to understand why Kirishima obviously thought this was a pointless waste of time.

But I couldn't give up. Katsuki Bakugo doesn't give up when things get hard.

Trying to ignore how sleepy I was, I reached for the next newspaper. On the front page, in big, bold letters, was the headline, "Toshinori Yagi, aka All Might, is dead! What will the business world look like without its number one hero, and what is the future of One for All Industries?"

My stomach clenched as I remembered the day that that news had first broken two years ago. It was early summer, and I had been sitting out on our dock, preparing my boat for a sailing trip when my father came out to me and told me what had happened. I didn't believe him at first. I thought that it was just some cruel joke. Then my father showed me the headline, and I read the article, and suddenly it was all too real.

I acted like it hadn't affected me, but as soon as my dad walked back into the house, I lost it. I yelled obscene things to the seagulls and kicked angrily at the sand.

All Might wasn't supposed to be gone. He was All Might, only the greatest entrepreneur of all time. The greatest thing that capitalism had produced since electric lights and the automobile.

That day, I cried for the first time in years, and it was for a man I had never even met.

I shook my head, drawing myself from the memory, and I looked back at the article. I scanned it, looking for any mention of Deku.

Of course, there wasn't one, but the article did talk about how All Might had never had any children (that they knew of), and no one really knew where his massive fortune was going to go. He'd left his company in the hands of his long time best friend and colleague David Shield, but that still left all of his money. After his death, All Might's money had been given to someone, but no one had any idea who. When they asked David Shield who All Might's successor was, he refused to comment, saying that he'd promised Toshinori that he'd keep it a secret.

There was a lot of speculation about who the mysterious heir could be, and there was also a lot of theorizing about what would happen to One for All Industries, and the business world as a whole, without All Might at the helm.

I skipped most of that.

I finished scanning the article, and I suddenly got the craziest idea: What if Deku was All Might's mysterious successor?

But I immediately dismissed that idea, because why would All Might choose some random, scrawny kid to step into his massive shoes once he was gone?

But, then again, there had been that photograph, with them side by side.

All of that thinking made my head hurt, and I decided that it was time to give this whole thing a rest. I hadn't slept in my own bed or even changed my clothes in the past five days, and it wasn't like I was getting any closer to the answers I wanted. If anything, this endless research was just raising more questions.

I stood up from my chair and began stuffing the newspapers back into their rightful drawers. I retrieved my suit jacket from where it hung on the back of the chair and left the archive room. On the way to the library exit, I passed the librarian's desk.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked me, peering up from the book he'd been stamping.

"Yes," I said. "I'm leaving for good, this time. I won't have to see you're stupid face anymore."

"I'll miss you too," the librarian drawled, returning his attention to his stamp.

I rolled my eyes and left the library. I checked out of the hotel and bought tickets for the ferry. At this rate, I would be home by lunchtime, and I could spend the afternoon with Kirishima.

When I got back to the island, I scared the crap out of our housekeeper by appearing so suddenly. While our cook made me lunch, I went upstairs to bathe and change my clothes. I decided to just throw away the suit I'd been wearing for the past five days.

After lunch, I walked to the Kirishimas' house, and their butler answered the door. For a second, he surveyed me warily. "Master Eijiro isn't home right now."

"Where is he?" I asked.

"He went for a drive around the island with young Mr. Sero," he answered.

"When will he be back?"

"I don't know. Would you like me to relay a message to him?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw movement up in one of the second story windows, and I smirked. "No. I'll just come back tomorrow."

"Alright then," the butler said, closing the door.

I waited a few more minutes before walking around the side of the house and starting to climb up one of the many trellises that lined the stone walls of the Kirishimas' mansion. I moved quickly and gracefully, having done this dozens of times. I reached the second story window and opened it slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible. As gracefully as one can in that position, I crawled through the open window and dropped down onto the wood floor. I closed the window again and started to walk down the door lined hallway, looking for one in particular. I stopped in front of the door in question and heard sounds of movement coming from inside. I opened the door, and sure enough, there was Kirishima, amongst his many weights and exercise contraptions. He was shirtless, lifting a dumbbell, his face twisted in determination and covered in sweat.

I leaned against the doorframe, smiling, waiting for him to notice me.

When he did, he let out a cry of alarm and dropped the dumbbell on the floor. It barely missed his foot.

"Bakugo, what the heck?!" he whisper-yelled, blushing bright red. "What are you doing here?"

"I decided to give up on my research, and I'm back from the mainland," I answered. "I figured we could hang out, or something."

"How'd you know I was up here?"

"Your butler told me some stupid lie about you being on a drive with Sero, but I saw movement up here, so I thought I'd come check it out," I said.

"Oh," was Kirishima's only response.

I studied him for a minute. "Are you not happy to see me?"

"Uh, no, that's not it," Kirishima stammered. "It's just...you didn't say goodbye to me this morning."

"I was in a rush."

"Uh huh," Kirishima said dryly.

"If I had known that it would upset you, I would have stayed," I said.

Kirishima said. "I know that."

There was a pause.

"Since you're back, does that mean that you're done with all of this Midoriya stuff?" Kirishima asked.

"No," I said. "I'm hoping that maybe someone on this island knows something."

"Of course you are," Kirishima sighed, bending to pick up the fallen dumbbell and put it back on its shelf.

"Look, if you're mad about this morning..."

"It's not just about this morning!" Kirishima exclaimed. "It's that...it's..." He sighed. "You know what, it doesn't really matter. Look, I have some errands I need to get done this afternoon, so maybe we could get together tomorrow?"

I told him something very similar before I left for the mainland, and it made my gut clench uncomfortably.

"Can you make it down the trellis, or do you need me to sneak you out?" Kirishima asked me.

"I can make it."

Kirishima smiled at me, but it seemed forced again. He kissed me lightly on the cheek before leaving me alone in his weight room.

I sighed, wondering, again, what I could have done wrong.

I had no idea what was wrong, but I could at least try to make it better.