Fanfic / Dandelions in the Wind

Bakugo Katsuki is aggressive. He’s vulgar; a narcissistic asshole on his better days. He’s egotistical, selfish, and greedy.
But he’s not a goddamn liar.

Dandelions in the Wind is a My Hero Academia Fan Fic by TiredPurple000 on AO3. After his barbaric performance at the Sports Festival Awards ceremony result in a rise of online accusations over his past as a bully, Katsuki makes a decision that completely changes the trajectory of his envisioned dream life while forcing him to reevaluate his own ideals of heroism.

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Dandelions in the Wind provides examples of:

• Adaptational Early Appearance: The Street Thieves from the Shie Hassaikai Arc appear as home invaders that Bakugou tries to apprehend.
• After-Action Villain Analysis: After the climatic showdown in Chapter 13, a weakened Dabi pulls one on Bakugou by explaining how his actions ever since he left Yuuei count as villainous.
• And Then What?: Bakugou refuses to reveal his true identity to Best Jeanist on the grounds that he'd be back at home stuck in the same miserable cycle he started after his expulsion.
• Anger Born of Worry: Shinsuke does this to Bakugou after retrieving him from his destructive fight with Dabi while criticizing his decision to intervene with the Forest Camp Raid without bothering to call on anyone else to handle it.
• Armor-Piercing Response: Just before Bakugou leaves the apartment after attacking his Samaritan, Shinsuke says these parting words.
  Shinsuke: Y’know, maybe the media was right about you. The fact that you haven’t killed anyone yet is a miracle in of itself.
• Asshole Victim: Along with beating up Odei, Spinner also mugs the guy calling it an "Asshole Tax". Bakugou would embrace this practice when he targets public assholes to beat them up on the spot and later to steal from them.
• Bait-and-Switch: At Chapter 13's end, Bakugou goes back to the apartment worried over Shinsuke's cryptic text. It gets worse when he finds the apartment in disarray and blood on the floor. It's later revealed that it's from another man (presumably from the Eight Precepts) while Shinsuke is not even present.
• Bathos: The end of Chapter 11 involves a kidnapped Shouto puking all over Dabi's shoes.
• Berserk Button: For Bakugou, it's the concept of "help" or the insinuation that he needs it.
• Big Damn Heroes: Spinner shows up to save Bakugou the moment he calls out for help against the Slime Mugger.
• Blob Monster: Katsuki gets the displeasure of being ambushed by a Slime Mugger whose arms and body can turn into goo in Chapter 6.
• Broken Pedestal: In the past, Katsuki used to admire All Might and considered him the definition of being the greatest hero of all. But after his expulsion from Yuuei and is inability to enter any other hero schools, Bakugou's admiration for him (and heroism in general) began to fade as he started to realize how fundamentally flawed hero society is and how it treats those that couldn't fit in. It also didn't help that All Might never reached out to speak with the boy after his barbaric display at the Sports Festival award ceremony which became a sore spot for Bakugou in hindsight.
• Brought Down to Normal: After delivering a fatal blow to his former caretaker Shinsuke along with reflecting on how dangerous and animalistic he was in the past, Bakugou subconsciously blocks his ability to use his Explosion Quirk on command.
• Byronic Hero: Bakugou serves this archetype as his past as a violent egotist have cost him his hero dream so he forces himself to venture the world alone so he can figure out where his life should go.
• The Cameo: Tsuyu's Froggy Family appears in Chapter 8 as victims of a home invasion.
• Cerebus Retcon: In Chapter 6, the blonde thinks back to his past as Izuku's bully along with his first days at Yuuei and is literally repulsed by how violent and sadistic he was.
• Character Development: Bakugou undergoes a massive amount of character growth after his expulsion at Yuuei along with realizing what he took for granted after living like a street rat. He becomes less aggressive and ungrateful towards the people around him as he makes an honest effort to control himself. He also regrets his past crimes towards Izuku and genuinely wants to make it up to him.
• Chekhov's Gun: Spinner reveals that he carries a bag of Bloom, an unorthodox drug used to heal any immediate wounds. In Chapter 9, we learn that it's made from Shinsuke's hair as he makes his living as a drug dealer.
• Chekhov's Skill: Bakugou gets a lecture from Shinsuke about the spine along with c-spine injuries. Bakugou would use this knowledge to cripple Muscular during the Forest Camp Attack.
• Clark Kenting: Wanting to remove himself from his old identity, Bakugou decides to dye his hair dark-blue and give himself fake glasses.
• Combat Pragmatist: As a vigilante, Bakugou has to analyze the situation and use any and all dirty-handed tactics when facing his targets. It also helps that he can't rely on his Quirk anymore so he needs to be extra cautious with his battle tactics.
• Comically Missing the Point: While running away from Dabi and questioning why he wants to kill him, Shoto thinks that him vomiting on his shoes is the reason.
• Conditioned to Accept Horror: Bakugou is disturbed to learn that Shouto has been kidnapped so many times because of his high-ranking father that he's become numb to the experience. He even goes as far as to rank his overall kidnapping experience.
• Cooldown Hug: Shinsuke gives one to Bakugou after the boy breaks down crying during his apology.
• Deconstruction Fic: The story's Point of Divergence from canon stems from a deconstruction of the UA Sports Festival. The enormous viewership in an age of social media means that the most memorable hero hopefuls instantly become nationally recognizable figures and temporary celebrities, and that attention isn't guaranteed to be positive. The very nature of a nationally televised event filled with children identified by name is that it can make its most notable child participants famous enough for Once Done, Never Forgotten to be brought into play on a national scale.
• Defiant Captive: While under Ground Zero's watch, Shoto manages to escape his bonds.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: A recurring theme for the story is about Bakugou struggling to figure out what he'll do with his life now that he can't be a true hero mixed with every regular high school blacklisting him.
• Disabled in the Adaptation: Muscular is now crippled after Bakugou stabs several areas in his spine to keep him from walking.
• Easily Forgiven: Upon their reunion, Shinsuke easily forgives Bakugou for his past crimes. Especially since the blonde gives a sincere apology for his actions.
• "Eureka!" Moment: Bakugou gets one in Chapter 9 when he realizes that his Good Samaritan was the Bloom dealer of the streets.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • As the story's description states, the aggressive blonde is not a liar and won't deny his past sins.
  • Shinsuke doesn't look too kindly at Yuuei for shackling a minor on a podium for the world to see.
• Fantastically Indifferent: While the whole world is in a state of turmoil over the loss of their Symbol of Peace, Shinsuke admits that he isn't bothered by it.
• Forced into Evil: Bakugou has no choice but to accept Dabi's offer in participating in the Forest Training Attack due to his fears of his former classmates becoming targeted or killed by the Vanguard Action Squad while hoping to save them however he can.
• Get Out!: Shinsuke orders the disgraced boy to leave his apartment after Bakugou gives him a gory wound on his cheek with his explosions.
• Happy Flashback: Chapter 3 starts with a flashback featuring Katsuki as a child and showing a beautiful quartz stone to his grandmother.
• Hated by All: Katsuki's expulsion for his cruel behavior not only blacklists him from all other hero schools but has also made it impossible for him to be accepted by any regular high school. Even weeks after his expulsion, social media still circulate his actions ensuring that the public views him with discrimination.
• Heartfelt Apology: Katsuki gives one to Shinsuke for charring his face and for being an ungrateful brat during his first stay at his apartment.
• Hikikomori: His expulsion at Yuuei along with being blacklisted from every high school in the area has forced Bakugou to be trapped in his room with little to do and with minimal hopes of obtaining a future.
• History Repeats: In Chapter 10, Shinsuke warns Bakugou that there's going to be a major disaster at play because his hair is long. The last time his hair was long was the USJ Raid.
• Hit Me, Dammit!: In Chapter 11, Bakugou tries to get Izuku to hit him. His reasons being that A. He needed to convince his villainous coworkers that he was beaten by the heroes and B. He wants Izuku to treat him the same way Bakugou treated him in the past.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Izuku, Shouto and Tenya are still involved in defeating Stain.
  • The Vanguard Action Squad commit to raiding the Heroes' Summer Camp Training site.
    • Izuku is still pitted against Muscular to save Koda.
    • The villains succeed in kidnapping a Yuuei student.
  • All Might still defeats All For One but at the cost of exposing his true form to the world.
• It Was a Gift: Katsuki carries a quartz necklace his grandmother made him when he decides to wander the Earth. After having it almost stolen by a Slime Mugger, he decides to wear it at all times.
• Jerkass Has a Point: In Chapter 13, Katsuki refuses to be lectured by Shinsuke after getting involved with the League of Villains and not telling him by pointing out that Shinsuke has never shared anything about his personal life to earn the boy's trust.
• Just a Kid: Shinsuke's motivation in letting Bakugou stay at his apartment was the fact that the latter was a fifteen year old kid with the whole world hating him and with no one to help him. Thus he took it on himself to offer him shelter in his time of need.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: Katsuki's decade of terrorizing Izuku without punishment results in him gaining a negative social media reaction followed by Nedzu expelling him from Yuuei after he confesses to his crimes.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: At some point in the story, Bakugou thinks of Izuku's miraculous good luck by being the protagonist of a shitty shonen manga with him as a B-list side character.
• MacGuffin: Needing a goal to give him some type of drive in his life, Bakugou decides to become a vigilante in order to buy an expensive Burn Cream.
• Malicious Misnaming: The League shorten Bakugou's alias to "Zero".
• Meaningful Rename: After reflecting on how cruel he was towards his former childhood friend, Katsuki makes an effort to stop referring to him as "Deku" and begins using his real name.
• Miscarriage of Justice: Shinsuke revealed that he was arrested when a member of the Hero Commission was murdered with pieces of his hair being found on the body. He was sent to Tartarus for two years before it was found that he was ultimately innocent. Despite this, Shinsuke's reputation as a doctor was tarnished meaning he could never find a stable medical career while the Commission did nothing to repay him for their miscarriage.
• Missed Him by That Much: Best Jeanist explains to a disguised Bakugou that he's leading an investigation to find the runaway boy, completely unaware that he already found him.
• The Mole: Bakugou ends up becoming this after joining the League of Villains as they attack his old classmates in their summer camp. He ends up warning Izuku about the League's mission along with crippling Muscular.
• Must Make Amends: Upon their reunion along with his new Character Development, Katsuki hopes to apologize to Izuku for all the horror he put the boy through in the past decade.
• My God, What Have I Done?:
  • The disgraced hero hopeful reacts this way after him attacking the first person to show him kindness (Shinsuke) out of pride not only injured the man but forced him to go back to the streets.
  • He gets another one when Compress reveals that he hid the marble holding Shouto in his back pocket, meaning that he was instrumental in his former classmate's kidnapping.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Bakugou showcases his Supreme Chef talent and his Neat Freak tendencies while staying at Shinsuke's apartment.
  • Dabi was able to uncover Bakugou's vigilante identity through the brand of his hair dye along with his shoddy dye job. Dabi himself has experience with dying his own hair to hide his true self.
  • Bakuou uses the name "Ground Zero" when meeting the League of Villains.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Bakugou immediately picks up on how Dabi means "cremation" and tries to get away from him.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished:
  • Bakugou comes clean to Nedzu and Aizawa about his past as Izuku's decade-long bully. It's because of this that they're forced to expel him.
  • Shinsuke offers Bakugou a long-term stay at his apartment while providing food, T.V. and a shower without payment. Bakugou returns his kindness with rude remarks and no signs of gratitude. He even delivers an explosive attack on him when Shinsuke calls him out on his ingratitude.
  • Bakugou does his part to stop a group of home invaders. His involvement in the fight along with leaving behind blood and fingerprints result in the police and media to identify him and deduce that he's become a criminal.
• No-Sell: The Street Thieves think they have the upper hand by shooting Bakugou with a Quirk cancelling gun. But it doesn't stop the blonde as he's been training himself on how to fight while Quirkless.
• Not What It Looks Like: In Chapter 10, Bakugou's blood and fingerprints are picked up in the Asui Family home which leads to the officers and public to believe that Bakugou was involved in their home invasion.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: With his Quirk malfunctioning and the Slime Mugger having captured him and coming dangerously close to stealing his grandmother's necklace, Bakugou decides to swallow his pride and calls out for help.
• Original Character: Katsuki makes the acquaintance of Shinsuke, a mysterious blue haired man with medical knowledge who offers food and shelter to the homeless boy.
• Point of Divergence:
  • The story begins when Bakugou's animalistic display at being crowned the Sports Festival winner results in various online users accusing him of being an undeserving bully.
  • Because Bakugou was expelled from Yuuei, the League of Villains decide to target Shouto Todoroki during the Forest Camp Raid.
• Rage Breaking Point: The patient and collected Shinsuke reaches his in Chapter 5 after having had enough of Bakugou's ungrateful and bratty attitude during his one month stay at his apartment.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Shinsuke is akin to a responsible adult. He took in Bakugou knowing that he was homeless and hated by everyone and never asked for anything in return. And even though he did kick him out after Bakugou blasted him with his Explosion Quirk, Shinsuke admits that it wasn't the best choice for an adult to do to a troubled teenager.
• Rivals Team Up: Downplayed in Chapter 11. Bakugou loses his rival title as he wants to make a better relation with Izuku. But the two boys team up to take down Muscular.
• The Runaway: In the end of Chapter 2, Bakugou decides to run away from home hoping to make a name for himself so his parents can be proud of him.
• Run or Die: Bakugou and Shoto try to run away from Dabi after the villain is distracted by the blonde's explosion.
• Saying Too Much: Katsuki yelling at Shoto makes it easy for Dabi to find their hiding spot.
• Shadow Archetype: In Chapter 13, Bakugou sees Dabi as a reflection of his past self who enjoyed hurting others with his violent power.
• Shout-Out: At one point in the story, Bakugou calls Shinsuke a "self-centered Rapunzel bastard".
• So Proud of You: Mitsuki and Masaru are openly proud of their boy for being honest about his past sins.
• Something Only They Would Say:
  • Izuku is able to see through Bakugou's disguise after hearing him swear.
  • Shoto also discovers Bakugou's true identity after he calls him "Icyhot".
• Stalker without a Crush: Dabi has made it a hobby to spy on Bakugou whenever he's out doing his vigilante runs.
• Street Urchin: Despite running away to make something of his life, Bakugou ends up living like a street rat as he still has nowhere to go and resorts to digging through the trash for the sake of sustenance.
• Swapped Roles: In their past, Izuku was a Quirkless boy with no hopeful future but still dreamed of being a hero who helps the public while Bakugou was admired for his strong Quirk and was destined to become a true hero at Yuuei. But in the present, Izuku gained his own Quirk and is attending Yuuei to be a true hero while Bakugou is left with an uncertain future while he commits his own acts of vigilantism without using his Quirk.
• Tempting Fate: In his youth, little Bakugou used to express relief that he never had to dig into garbage for food like the homeless do. Cut to the present where he resorts to doing just that to survive.
• The Unapologetic: Discussed with Bakugou. All his life, he's been antagonistic and hostile towards everyone around him on the grounds that he's better then them and is on his way to becoming the next Number One Hero. But now that his goal is no longer obtainable, he stops to realize how such an unapologetic attitude has led to his miserable position.
• Unwanted Assistance: Izuku still wants Bakugou to go back to Yuuei and is willing to talk with their teachers to convince them to let his "friend" back in. But given his pride and refusal to accept his victim's help, Bakugou pushes him away without shame.
• Vigilante Man: Zigzagged. Bakugou gets the idea to hunt down and beat up anyone he sees being a jerk to civilians at night. However, part of his motivation in stopping them is to rob them of their money.
• Villain Takes an Interest: The League of Villains have noticed Bakuguou's violent acts of vigilantism and offer him a chance to take part in their upcoming raid at the Heroes' Summer Camp.
• Villainous Rescue: In Chapter 7, Spinner saves Bakugou after he's brutalized by the Slime Mugger Odei (it helps that Spinner had a grudge against the guy for being Quirkist). He even treats Bakugou's wounds with a bag of instant-healing substance called Bloom.
• Would Hit a Girl: Bakugou ends up having to fight against Mandalay in Chapter 11. Though he tries to hold back from hurting her more than needed.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Bakugou discovers that Shinsuke organized his own mugging so the explosive blonde would intervene and allow them to meet. Unlike common examples, the blue-haired man had no sinister intentions and only wanted to help the boy.
• You Are Grounded!: Shinsuke says to to Bakugou after he finds the boy in the ruins of a building along with a weakened Dabi by his side.
• You Remind Me of X: Shinsuke confesses to Bakugou that he reminded him of himself in regards to wanting to achieve a dream of being somebody with his talents but was unable to, leaving him lost and unsure of what to do with his life.

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