PTSD//bnha

The Forgotten Mentor

If it wasn't hero work keeping me up it was Midoriya. He was too young. He was the son I never had. I wanted to see him grow into a beautiful hero. But he already was one. He saved Kota, Shino's kid. Everyone was dealing with it differently but they couldn't possibly know the grief I felt except for Inko. I stared at the bright computer in my dark room. The only light left was my stupid work. I should have been there. I could've saved him. I was sure of it. Now my only successor was gone and all the energy I had drained from me. The only thing keeping me from madness was Bakugo. There seemed to be conflicting reports about someone similar to him being seen around multiple places, but the evidence was circumstantial. Why would he be seen carrying in goods? Unless they were using him as a slave... but the places were so different from the rest. They have a teleportation quirk, but with a hostage you would want to stay in a certain spot and negotiate, but there have been no ransom notes. And ragdoll hadn't been seen at all. It just doesn't add up.
Where in the world are they?
I hit my head on my desk and the evidence and witness testimonies fell to the ground. I shut the computer off and leaned back in my chair.
"Ughhhhhh." I sighed as I ran my fingers through my hair as if mentally wringing my head. Nothing added up. All our leads have come up empty. And my successor was gone. I slowly got out of my chair and reached the back of my closet. I pulled out a secret drawer I had there and inputted the code to my safe. The only other person who had seen this was Young Midoriya and perhaps nighteye as a precaution years ago. He looked inside and there was a small baggy of hair. He vividly remembered the conversation.

A week and a half ago. The night of the trip.

"Young Midoriya, there's something important I need to ask of you that might be a little dark." 

The green haired boy fidgeted in his chair as if he could feel the presence of the room change. He looked nervous, but determined. I guess I don't talk about myself much and he could feel that.

"When my master was alive, she had me do the same thing. She said, If anything were to happen to you or me there would need to be a way to choose the next successor before the power had ran out of the both of them. We saved a piece of my hair and had someone we trusted to give it to the person I felt at that time would be a choosing fit." I said to him nervously. I wasn't sure how he would take it, but he sat there seriously, as if asking me to continue. I cleared my throat.

"I thought of who I really thought could be the next one for all. Like I said, it can be given to an unwilling participant but I never asked if it had happened before and worked. I know you will be okay. But we might as well have a safety precaution." He hoped he hadn't scared him.

" Okay." He said calmly.
He took out some scissors (from where?) and cut a piece off.
"You seem weirdly okay with this. Have you thought about it much?"

" I knew being a hero was going to be a dangerous job the moment I signed up for it. Not only that, but it seems my quirk leaves me in a... less than durable state." He said nonchalantly.

"Plus, I already have a person in mind." He added.

"Perhaps young Todoroki? You two seem quite close." I said

"No"
"Bakugo."

What? I was baffled. The way he treated him in the games. The way he bullied him and acted like he was better than everyone else. He was the one person you wouldn't think would become a hero, let alone be a good one.

"Why if I might ask, would you choose young Bakugo?"
"It's not because I think he's nice or his motives are particularly well mannered. But because I think deep down he's just insecure and scared. He's not weak. He has a good handle on his quirk and I think he will grow out of his rude personality to become a great hero who saves everyone. Not only that but he seems like his ideals are not easily wavered. It take something like a brick to the head to make him ever a villain! Haha, I definitely would want him on my side for sure. He's a great candidate. And if you waste my hair on Todoroki after this whole speech I will personally haunt you from the grave." They laughed and proceeded to go through strategies and what to pack for the trip. It didn't seem that far long ago.
He needs to find Bakugo and quick. This hair won't last long and who knows what could've happened to him in that time frame. I was surprised by his answer then, but I feel his judgement was correct. He could learn teamwork. He would be a great successor. The tears just started flowing. I fell onto the ground and shook. It still didn't seem real. A part of me just wanted him to crawl out of the rubble and come back to me and everyone else. I wanted to hug him and scold him for being gone for so long.
Bakugo wasn't weak.
Midoriya wasn't weak.
I was.