Bakugou has messed up. Completely, irretrievably screwed up. Done something that has left him sitting quietly in a police station, staring down past the handcuffs encircling his wrists, watching the floor without seeing it. Unable to see anything other than his dreams silently dissolving away. For he has crossed the line. Done something that has sealed his fate once and for all.
Hasn't he?
King
is a haunting My Hero Academia fanfic by Phantomrose96. A story about how much U.A. has invested in Bakugou Katsuki, and how far they are willing to go to ensure that said investment is well rewarded. It simply wouldn't do for him to prove all his worst critics right, after all... No, it wouldn't reflect well upon them at all. And so... steps must be taken to ensure that all goes well.
See also Origin of a Non-Hero, another story by the same author.
This fanfic contains examples of:
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: This ties into how Shouto knows Fujimori: after his face was burned, Fujimori was brought in to ensure that Endeavor wasn't exposed as an abuser, and that all the blame for the incident was pinned solely on his mother.
- Ambiguous Situation: The exact circumstances behind Shouto's decision to transfer to Shiketsu are unclear. Plenty is implied, but the question of how much agency Shouto had in the matter is left up in the air.
- Amoral Attorney: Fujimori Hiroji will do whatever it takes to ensure that his clients - that U.A. gets what they want. Everything else, including Katsuki, the boy he's supposedly defending, is nothing more than a means to an end.
- Armor-Piercing Question: While thinking out loud about the situation, Izuku muses about the school's seemingly spotless record and wonders about the hidden cost of their perfect reputation. Katsuki doesn't take it well.Midoriya: I thought Endeavor was a fluke... I wonder how many Endeavors U.A. has made?
- Broken Pedestal:
- Izuku realizes that U.A.'s seemingly flawless reputation comes at a high cost, wondering just how far they're willing to go to preserve that reputation.
- Shouto initially assumes that Aizawa will take his side when he arrives, and is heartbroken when he realizes otherwise.
- The whole class comes to regard Aizawa and U.A. this way by the climax, upon realizing that Shouto was forced to leave due to whistleblowing.
- Cynicism Catalyst: Midoriya's faith in both Bakugou and U.A. is shattered, and he takes a much more cynical stance towards both.
- Dark Fic: At the end of the day, this is a story about Katsuki killing a man, and the steps U.A. takes to ensure their sterling reputation remains intact.
- Deconstruction Fic:
- Takes a sledgehammer to U.A. by delving into how they ensure that they maintain their status as the best Hero School.
- Picks apart Karma Houdini and the Karma Houdini Warranty by placing Katsuki in a position where he doesn't necessarily want his warranty to be extended...but what he wants matters very little to his 'defenders', who have ulterior motives behind helping him out.
- The whole fic is happening because the "bazooka mode" of Bakugou's gauntlets finally claimed a life, an innocent life, as collateral damage, and the result was so gory that Bakugou blocked the memory out of sheer horror.
- Foil:
- Shouto, Izuku, and Ejirou each react to Katsuki's legal woes and the mystery surrounding them differently. Shouto immediately leaps to conclusions based on his past experiences with Fujimori; neither Izuku nor Ejirou like those conclusions, but have trouble refuting them. Izuku struggles more due to his own history with Katsuki, while Ejirou tries his hardest to stay faithful and keep believing in his friend.
- Aizawa, like Bakugou, has his hands effectively tied by U.A. His history of harsh behavior comes back to haunt him as well - much like his class struggles to believe in Bakugou after how explosive his temper has proven to be in the past, Aizawa's Scare 'Em Straight attitude makes it harder for them to not see him as complicit.
- Gaslighting:
- Fujimori exploits Katsuki's shock over the situation to manipulate his memories, forcing him to repeat his version of events until he can no longer clearly recall what really happened.
- He did the same thing to Shouto when he was five years old, in order to ensure that Endeavor got full custody while his wife took all the blame.
- Green Thumb: Fujimori's Quirk lets him reverse the withering of small plants. Notably, this has absolutely nothing to do with his manipulative abilities; those come naturally to him in a way completely unrelated to Quirks.
- He Knows Too Much: A non-fatal example is implied at the end. Aizawa has to intervene to stop Todoroki from beating the shit out of Bakugou over what happened and drags him to his office. The next time his classmates hear of him, they learn Todoroki has transferred to Shiketsu; it's not clear if he quit in protest or was drummed out as part of the cover-up.
- Ironic Echo: While questioning his assertions that everything is fine, Izuku calls Katsuki by the name he originally wanted to take as his heroic moniker: King Explosion Murder. Doubles as a Title Drop: the part that isn't included in the title describes what happened.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Katsuki begins the story believing that his has just run out. U.A. intervenes on his behalf. Ultimately, it's Zig-Zagged: the murder has been covered up, but Katsuki's classmates are aware that something happened, and that U.A. and Aizawa are complicit, severely damaging their view of all involved.
- My Greatest Failure: Shouto blames himself for how Fujimori twisted his testimony around to ensure that his mother was institutionalized and blamed for everything.
- Nothing Is Scarier: For Katsuki's classmates, knowing that they're being Locked Out of the Loop regarding what happened to him, but not knowing exactly what it is - being left to speculate about what must have happened - is potentially worse than having the Awful Truth confirmed.
- Not Me This Time: When Iida reports that Bakugou is having a fight, Aizawa immediately assumes the other party is Izuku due to their long rivalry. It's actually Todoroki.
- Once More, with Clarity: At first, Katsuki is haunted by mental images of the torched wick of a torso. It's only after Fujimori's work is done that he has a longer Flashback putting this into full context.
- Poor Communication Kills: Shouto misinterprets Katsuki's insistence that things have been 'resolved' as him gloating about how Fujimori helped him.
- Revealing Cover Up: Played With; Shouto immediately recognizes that Fujimori's involvement in Katsuki's case means that U.A. is taking pains to conceal something. Unable to prove precisely what that is, however, he and his peers are left to speculate and make educated guesses about what that might be.
- Status Quo Is God: Deconstructed; after painting a grim picture of what it takes to maintain the status quo at U.A., Shouto transfers out.
- Sunk Cost Fallacy: One of the main reasons why U.A. is willing to go so far to 'help' Bakugou; having previously expressed so much faith in him after the Kamino incident, they have invested far too much into the notion that he will become a great hero to risk any other outcome.
