#antibakugou

look, it's not his fault the factory blew up. that isn't even what he got famous for. he was just trying to sabotage the equipment while he rescued a bunch of little kids that were getting used as test subjects. it's only because he got caught on camera leading them all out of the burning building, one particularly adorable little girl clutched in his arms, that anyone even knows he was there. the fact that he was silhouetted against an explosion in the background made it look like ten time more badass than it was. he was just trying not to drop her.

obviously, he gets arrested for vigilanteism, but he's been through that song and dance before. vigilanteism is classified as a form of illegal quirk use, and he doesn't have a quirk. ergo, he cannot be a vigilante. the police are still scratching their heads when they have to let him go, but he walks. the gaggle of reporters waiting outside are impressed.

the story spreads like wildfire. izuku becomes an overnight sensation. he gets given a hero name -- the green shadow -- and he has like four different fanclubs inside of a week. there's calls for him to be given a hero license, or at least some kind of award.

he keeps doing vigilante work, obviously. first some underground heroes ask him for help with a case, then a support company gives him a suit (for "cosplay purposes" obviously) and pretty soon he's doing actual patrols and meeting fans on the street. he thought giving a few radio interviews (on present mic's show! he's living the dream!) would make it all die down, but people are hungry for more of him. in just a few months, he's a household name. the calls for him to be legitimized increase.

the hpsc ignore all of that. quirkless people can't be heroes. izuku was probably just in the right place at the right time to be in that picture. they don't need to do anything, or acknowledge him in any way. that would be counterproductive, and send the wrong message to the public.

the public disagree.

the thing about the hero rankings is that not every individual person can rank every individual hero. there's thousands of heroes in japan, so even if approval rating data was gathered via website, it would be impractical for people to select from a list of choices. as such, the forms are write-in. people are given five blank spaces, and told to list the heroes they approve of most.

when approval ratings for the next billboard chart are being collected, the hero with the number one approval rating is the green shadow.

the hpsc are furious, but find that, according to their own rules, they can't actually do anything about it. they have to give him the ranking, even though he's not really a hero. a hero is defined as someone who works within the justice system and uses their natural abilities to stop crime and protect citizens, after all. technically, izuku fits that definition.

this is when bakugou becomes aware of what's been going on. he honestly didn't even register the green shadow as being a thing until he was told he got the second highest approval rating. obviously izuku isn't on the payroll, so he doesn't have a "cases resolved" stat, but being the number one most approved hero in japan is enough to get him to number 10. bakugou is pretty pissed.

he gets even more pissed when he finds out who the green shadow actually is.

bakugou does what he always does when deku gets to much attention: he goes to put the nerd in his place. unfortunately the only time he can find deku reliably is during a patrol, so he has to settle for a very public call out. he's fine with that, and fine with having witnesses while he berates deku for trying to be a hero without a quirk. he's fine being recorded while he picks a fight with deku on a crowded street. he's even fine when the cops who come to break up the fight let deku go after they drag him away. little punk's not worth arresting.

he's less fine when his approval rating takes a last minute nosedive, knocking him out of the number one spot he should have been claiming this chart, and relegating him to sixth place. lower than he's been since his debut.

it kind of goes from there. izuku keeps doing increasingly badass things. his approval rating keeps going up. the underground heroes he works with start listing him as a consultant, so he even starts getting paid and has a record of his resolved cases. over the next three charts his rank keeps climbing. first number ten, then number eight, then number seven, then jumping up to four. after two years walking the fine line between vigilante and hero, he's at number two and knocking on number one.

bakugou, meanwhile, continues to decline. he keeps getting into very public fights with deku, and while he considers himself the "winner" in each fight he notices that deku is focused not so much on him but on keeping people out of the way and minimizing damage to their surroundings. people are praising deku for "handling things so well" and "preventing collateral damage" and they're criticizing bakugou for equally stupid things. his approval rating keeps dropping. his resolved cases are dropping too, as he spends more time fighting with deku and doing public appearances to try and salvage his approval rating. his rank drops lower and lower.

the chart where bakugou drops out of the top ten is the same chart where izuku makes number one.

all might reaches out to izuku, at that point. he says he regrets giving ofa to bakugou, and that if he had the choice he would take it back. he says izuku is much worthier recipient. izuku says he wouldn't take it if he had the chance; he likes being a quirkless hero, even if he had to find a loophole to do it. however, the fact that bakugou has ofa, and is using it so recklessly, is becoming a problem. all might asks what they can do, and izuku says he has a plan.

all might throws his weight around to pressure the hpsc into giving izuku a hero license. honestly, it's kind of absurd that their number one isn't a real pro. they should be ashamed it took them this long. the hpsc cave and plan a huge public ceremony to make izuku officially a hero. maybe once the people are satisfied on that front they'll lose interest.

obviously, bakugou has to crash the ceremony and try to kill deku.

izuku does something pretty sneaky at that point. for the firs time in their professional rivalry, he gives bakugou his undivided attention. he starts talking trash, baiting bakugou, goading him to further anger. finally he drops his ultimate bomb: telling bakugou he's only worth anything because of ofa, and that if he can't win with the quirk he was born with his victory doesn't count. bakugou takes the bait, and hands ofa back over to all might like he's taking off his gloves.

bakugou loses, obviously.

after that, things wrap up pretty nicely. bakugou goes to prison for trying to kill someone, finally. izuku becomes number one, and a proper hero for all the world to see. all might gives ofa to someone who really deserves it, one of the kids izuku rescued from the trigger factory. izuku's first hero friend, eraserhead, introduces him to his student, logical ruse aka hitoshi shinsou, and it's only eighteen months before they're planning a wedding. everyone lives happily ever after.