“Fuck!” Bakugou stumbled through an alleyway, clutching the knife wound below his sternum. “Fuck,” he choked again, collapsing against one of the walls. He tore off one of his sleeves and rolled it up into a makeshift compress. It might be sweaty and dirty, but he’d rather be infected and alive than dead.

It was supposed to be a routine patrol, but a group of violent muggers had a hostage. One of the thugs had a concealment quirk and he got distracted trying to save the woman who had a knife to his quirk. Before he knew it, the knife was in his chest. It was stupid of him to get distracted like that, but the villain wasn’t letting up and the woman was barely 21. Bakugou himself was only 23, but it was his job to save civilians.

So now Bakugou was leaned up against a dirty alleyway with three unconscious villains less than 20 feet away, trying to heave in breaths against the blood that was slowly filling his chest cavity. The villain had been smart enough to remove the knife. 

“Are you alright?” a voice called from beside him. Oh right. She was still here. “Oh, of course you’re not alright. You’ve been stabbed! But don’t worry, I called for help. The police said they should be here with an ambulance in about six minutes!” 

“Are you okay, ma’am?” Bakugou wheezed out. He might be in pain, but he was a damn good hero who would do his job and prioritize the civilian.

“Am I okay? I mean, yes, I am thanks to you! That knife against my throat was so scary. I thought I was going to die! I swear I can almost feel the cut being made and me bleeding out- oh god. You probably don’t want to hear about how I almost died. You’re the one who was… who was stabbed! You’re the one that’s dying! I mean, not that you’re dying. You’re gonna be just fine! The ambulance is on it’s way!” the woman rambled frantically.

“Hey lady,” Bakugou coughed. The woman hummed in questioning. “You talk too much.” Just because he prioritized civilian safety didn’t mean he had to be nice about it.

The woman just chuckled. “So I’ve been told.”

“What’s your name?” Bakugou asked, doing anything to ignore the increasing difficulty of breathing.

“Koshizu. Hatanaka Koshizu.” 

“Koshizu, eh? Kind of ironic.”

“Hah. I guess so. And you’re Dynamight. Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight.”

“Yup. That’s me-” Bakugou was cut off by a particularly painful and wet cough. His breaths were coming out more like wheezes now. “Hey… can you do me… a favor?”

“Of course! Anything for my hero,” the woman- Koshizu responded quickly.

“It’s… it’s getting kinda… hard to breathe.” Bakugou paused a bit to try and catch his breath. “Can… can you… just talk… doesn’t matter… what you talk about… just need… a distraction.”

“Yes! Of course!”

“And… can you… hold… this up… to my chest… my arms… are starting to feel… numb.”

“Yeah. I can.” Koshizu moved to kneel in front of Bakugou, placing a firm hand over the compress so he can drop his own to his sides. She seemed to be unphased by the blood, which was good for this situation. “So…” Koshizu started rambling about her girlfriend, seemingly rambling through their entire history together since they met in high school. She told stories about her first kiss, favorite dates, and how she was engaged. Bakugou would hum every once in a while in response to something she said. What can he say? It was an interesting story. “...but recently I found out she cheated on me during the first month we were together.”

“No!” Bakugou sounded as affronted as he could whilst struggling to breathe.

Koshizu giggled. “Don’t talk! Focus on breathing. So I found that out recently. But she said it was because she didn’t know we were actually dating. Which is a stupid reason, I know. But she also swore up and down that that was the only time and she felt really bad about it. I trust that she’s telling the truth, but why wait so long to tell me? I mean, I guess I get it, too. This is the kind of thing that can ruin new relationships, and she’s proved time and time again that she’s devoted to me. I’m almost completely positive that I still want to marry her, but it was a little disappointing to find out.” Koshizu sighed, lost in thought for a second, when she heard the sound of sirens. “That must be the help I called. Dynamight, your saviors are here.” 

He didn’t respond, which wasn’t too odd, but he didn’t make any noise. Not even a hum. In fact, he wasn’t making noise at all. “Dynamight?” Koshizu only now noticed that the wheezing had stopped, and she could no longer feel the minute rise and fall of his chest. “Shit. Dynamight!” She looked around to see if the cops had come any closer. “Help! Someone help! There’s a hero here that’s severely wounded!” she yelled, hoping that they would get there faster.

As if on cue, police officers and EMTs came rushing in, the cops grabbing the unconscious villains and the EMTs rushing to her side. One of them took over with holding the compress as another one started to look her over. “I’m okay. Just… help him! Please!” she cried.

“How long has he been out?” An EMT asked, prepping Bakugou to be moved to a stretcher.

“Not long. Is he going to be okay?”

“He’s lost a lot of blood, but he has a chance. This is Dynamight we’re talking about. He won’t go down without a fight.” They started moving towards the ambulance, Koshizu following closely behind.

Koshizu wiped the tears that had started falling. “Right. I would just hate it if I was never able to properly thank him for saving my life.”

Most of Katsuki’s weekends were spent at the dorms, but Mitsuki had sent a “special note” requesting his presence over the weekend for family business. ‘Family business’ meaning he had a shoot on Saturday and his mother wanted to make sure he didn’t eat so that he was camera ready.

He didn’t know how things got bad so quickly on Sunday. Maybe it started when he got to his house late after losing track of time while studying with Kirishima. Maybe it was the way he talked back to the photographer for being too touchy. Or maybe his mother thought he closed the car door too harshly on their way back home. But now it was 14:00 on Sunday and Mitsuki was breaking down his door.

She yanked the duvet off of his sleeping body and shook him awake. “What the fuck are you still doing in bed?”

Katsuki took a few seconds to get oriented before Mitsuki impatiently slapped the side of his head. He growled. “It’s a fucking Sunday, hag! I was working all day yesterday.” 

Mitsuki crossed her arms and scoffed. “There are no days off when you’re an adult. There’s shit for you to do around the house! You need to clean the kitchen, take out the trash, and scrub the bathroom.”

“Why the fuck can’t you do it?”

“Because I’m busy! Besides, I paid for this house. You’re just living in it.”

“Actually, you only paid for half. Dad paid for the other half. And since it’s ‘your house’, why don’t you clean it then?” He didn’t know why he was talking back. Katsuki knew it would only make things worse. But Sunday was the only day of the week where he allowed himself to sleep in. Maybe not until 14:00, but the shoot had gone until 21:00 the previous night and being around his mother was exhausting without starving himself and posing for an entire day.

“I’m tired of your shit, Katsuki! I will not be disrespected by you in my own home. Get your shit together, got it?” Mitsuki started towards the door.

“Fucking bitch,” he grumbled under his breath.

Mitsuki whipped around again, her eyes looking as if they were on fire. “What did you just say?”

“I said you’re a fucking bitch!”

In a split second, Katsuki was being dragged out of his beds as he was hit with ringed backhands and fists from his mom. He could barely understand her tirade about respect and responsibility and eventually tuned out the world when she became too tired to use her hands and moved to her feet. All he could do was take it. He couldn’t fight back. Hitting his mom would make him no better than she was. But then again, that’s exactly what I did to Deku, wasn’t it?

Katsuki didn’t know how long it went. He lost count of the amount of hits his mother landed. But by the time he woke up, he had a migraine pounding against his skull and his body was sore as if he had just run a marathon. God, what time is it? He slowly picked himself up off the floor, feeling like he weighed two tons, and checked his phone. It was already 18:00. Shit! How was I out for four hours? He would have to leave for the dorms in about ten minutes if he wanted to make it back to UA before Sunday curfew. His mother avoided his face this time, which meant he got to avoid the prying eyes of Kirishima and Deku. 

His mother was holed up in her office again, allowing him to slip out of the house unnoticed. When his mother got this bad, she tended to avoid him for a while afterwards. At least he got out of his “house work.”

The walk to the train station was not that far, but it felt like an eternity with his aching legs, and every slight jostle on the train only reaggravated the injuries. Every time he felt himself nodding off, a particularly harsh turn would jolt him awake with a hiss. The people around him just averted their eyes at his clear discomfort. Even as he limped pathetically back to UA, he could only hear the whispers about the ‘Sports Festival Kid’, but had no faces to connect them to. They probably thought that he had gotten into a fight with some poor, unassuming kid and got his ass handed to him. They would be right about the second part, but would never guess that he was the unassuming kid this time around.

Katsuki arrived at the dorms at 19:25, five minutes before curfew and too late for his liking. He stopped in front of the door, massaging his temples at the seemingly ever-present migraine. He doesn’t know if she managed to land a hit on his head or if the migraine is from the stress of the weekend. Either way, it hurt like a bitch. But he had to suck it up before he got inside and was inevitably surrounded by idiots.

As soon as he opened the door, he was shoved a few steps back by a streak of blond hair bounding into his chest. He barely held in a hiss of pain before his annoyance took over. “Dunce Face, get the fuck off me.”

“Aw come on, Kacchan! We haven’t seen you all weekend!” Kaminari whined. Katsuki just rolled his eyes before shoving the other boy off him. The rest of the idiots were already making their way over. 

“Did you enjoy your weekend, Bakugou?” Kirishima asked.

“Yeah. You could say that. But now I need to fucking sleep for the next twelve hours,” Katsuki grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. It felt like his migraine was getting worse.

“Sleep? But you promised us you would help us cram for the exam tomorrow!” Ashido cried in a shrill voice. It was as if she wanted his head to explode.

“And didn’t you say last week that you were going to sleep in today so that you could?” Kirishima added.

“You didn’t forget, right?” Sero asked incredulously. Katsuki totally forgot. It must have been obvious on his face because Kaminari was immediately hounding him.

“Holy shit. Bakugou forgot!” Kaminari laughed, slapping Katsuki on the back. This time, he couldn’t suppress his wince. The group immediately stopped laughing, eyes turning towards the sound that sounded unnatural coming from their friend. “Woah, sorry man. I didn’t mean to hit you that hard.”

“It’s fucking fine. You didn’t. I just… I just pulled a muscle training… earlier,” he lied. But it didn’t do anything to stop the looks on his friends’ faces. “Don’t fucking look at me like that.” He pushed his was past the group and started towards the elevator. 

Upon realizing that no one was following him, he turned around and called out, “Am I fucking tutoring you guys or not? Let’s fucking go!” Katsuki rolled his eyes when the rest of the squad started scrambling after him. “Idiots,” he mumbled under his breath.

-

Turns out, tutoring a bunch of loud, extroverted teenagers in a class they were absolutely dreadful in was not the best thing to do while nursing several injuries and a possible concussion. Every time they had their focus on anything other than him, he felt like he was going to pass out. But Katsuki promised he would tutor them, and he didn’t go back on his promises.

When his vision started fading in and out again, he dug his fingernails into his palm. He was startled out of his stupor when a light hand touched his shoulder. He turned his head to the source and was met with red eyes dripping with concern. “You okay, bro? You seem kind of out of it.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Just tired,” Katsuki mumbled.

“You sure? You’re looking a little pale, Blasty?” Ashido added. Did he look pale? He didn’t know. His whole body felt like it was vibrating, bouncing back and forth between on fire and completely numb. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton and his mouth felt the same. He was sure if he was going to throw up or completely black out. Water.

Katsuki slowly pushed his seat out and stood up, stumbling in the process. He felt several hands supporting him, adding to his pain, but he was too out of it to react.

“Woah, man. You don’t look to good,” Sero commented. 

“I- I’m fine. I just need-” Katsuki didn’t finish his sentence before everything went black.

“Holy shit!” Sero screamed as all of them dove to catch him. Kirishima, being the closest, ended up with an awkward armful of dead weight.

“What the fuck just happened?!” Ashido said frantically.

“I don’t know! He just fucking collapsed!” Kaminari panicked.

“Obviously! I was asking why!”

“Well I don’t fucking know why! I know just as much as you do!”

“It was a rhetorical question, Kami!”

“Guys! Stop fighting and help me!” Kirishima bellowed.

“Right. Sorry.”

Kirishima lowered him to the floor, resting his head in his lap. He assessed his friend’s condition, taking in the pale, clammy skin and shallow breaths. “There’s something more going on than just exhaustion.

Sero’s brow furrowed and he kneeled next to Bakugou’s head, pulling out his flashlight and opening Bakugou’s eyes. “He has a concussion. We have to try and wake him up.”

Ashido knelt down and shook his shoulder gently. “Blasty, we need you to wake up.” Bakugou stirred, but didn’t open his eyes.

Ashido shook a little harder while still being as careful as she could. “Come on, Bakugou. You have to wake up.”

Slowly, Bakugou opened his eyes. “Th’ fuck? Why ‘m I on th’ floor?”

Kaminari exhaled in relief. “You passed out, bro. You have a concussion.”

“Shit. I was hoping it was just a migraine.” Bakugou slowly sat himself up, head spinning at the change in position. He shoved off any attempts of help from Kirishima.

“You knew about it and didn’t say anything?” Ashido scolded, slapping his shoulder.

“Jesus Christ, Raccoon Eyes. Go easy.”

Ashido huffed in annoyance. “Do you have any other injuries we don’t know about besides the concussion and supposed ‘pulled muscle’?”

“I think I have a few bruises somewhere. I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Sero exclaimed.

“I didn’t really check.”

Kirishima pinched his nose bridge in annoyance. “God, Bakugou. Take off your shirt.”

“At least take me out to dinner first, Shitty Hair.” Kirishima leveled him with a deadly glare. “Alright, fine!” Bakugou removed his shirt slowly, partly due to the pain and also to delay as long as possible. Bakugou winced at the gasps from his friends. And he understood why. When he looked down, he was surprised himself. It looked like Jackson Pollock entered his blue period and decided to use him as a canvas.

“Dude. What were you even doing for training? Did you throw yourself into a giant washing machine or something?” Kaminari joked.

“Or something,” was all Bakugou could respond with.

Sero raised an eyebrow. “It looks like you got shoved down several flights of stairs.”

“Not this time,” he muttered.

Ashido squawked. “‘Not this time’?!”

“Where did you get these injuries, Bakugou,” Kirishima asked with a hardened voice. Bakugou just looked away. “Bakugou.”

“Pissed off my mom,” he mumbled, voice barely above a whisper.

Kaminari balked. “Your mom did this? God, I’m gonna punch her. I don’t care that she’s hot.”

“Kami!” Ashido scolded with a slap to Kaminari’s shoulder. “But he’s right. She shouldn’t have done this.”

Bakugou waved them off. “It’s fine. It’s not usually this bad.”

“Not usual- scratch that. I’m gonna fucking murder her,” Kirishima growled darkly.

“Do not kill my mom, Shitty Hair.”

“Fine. But we have to tell someone!”

“No! We can’t!”

What? Is his pride that important to him? “Bakugou! Your mom can’t get away with this!”

“She can and she did! Just let it go!”

“But she hurt you! We have to do somethi-”

“Kirishima! Drop it.” Bakugou closed himself off, turning away from Kirishima.

“But…”

“Please,” Bakugou pleaded, his voice on the edge of breaking.

“Okay… Okay. I’ll let it go. But can you at least let us help you right now?”

Katsuki barely felt his heart tear before everything went black.

Twenty seconds. They say your brain activity continues for twenty seconds after your heart stops before it shuts down. To the rest of the world, it was twenty seconds. But for Katsuki, it felt like an eternity of being alone in his mind.

He couldn’t see. He couldn’t hear. He couldn’t feel. But he could still think. It was as if he was floating in an endless abyss.

So this is how it ends.

Hah. Who would’ve thought that I would die this way. Bounds behind Izuku, miles away from Eijirou, at the hands of the one I promised to kill,. My attacks didn’t even touch him.

But it’s okay. I fought my hardest. I gave it my all. Hopefully it wasn’t for nothing. Hopefully everything I did wasn’t meaningless.

I wish I could tell you, Izuku. I wish I could tell you how proud I am to see you become the hero I could never be. I am proud to have fought by your side. To have fought for you.

I wish I could tell you, Eijirou. I wish I could tell you how much I love you. I know you know. But I don’t think I would ever be able to say it enough. I wanted to tell you in person. One last time.

When this whole thing started, I felt grief. The grief of losing my childhood all too soon. Of losing the opportunity to actually be your best friend again in the careless way that kids are. Of losing the chance to grow alongside my soulmate, my other half, and graduate together. Of becoming pro-heroes with all of my friends without having to know the horrors of war before we were even adults. But that’s not how things went.

So now I’m just grateful. Grateful for the time we had together.

I didn’t even get to say goodbye. But hopefully you’ll feel it.

-

The war was over. All For One was defeated. Tenko was saved. The whole world was saved. They had won. But Izuku didn’t feel like he did.

They had won, but Izuku still arrived too late. The war was over, but a new one had just started. There was no one to blame for Kacchan’s death. It was war. Death was inevitable. But why did it have to be him.

The worst part was having to fight through the pain. When he arrived at the battlefield, Izuku wanted to scream and cry until everything disappeared around him. He wanted to hold his best friend and shield him away from the world. But everyone was counting on him. So he pushed everything down and kept fighting. He kept his eyes on the goal and fought to win. For the world. For everyone who had died. For Kacchan.

It wouldn’t be until the next day that Izuku would actually be able to see Kacchan up close. He wished he hadn’t. His face was mangled, half of it burned nearly beyond recognition. His arm was barely an arm anymore. The worst part was the gaping hole in his chest. Izuku had been filled with rage. He wished he could kill All For One one million times over. He sort of wished Tenko had died, too. No. He was just as much a victim of All For One as everyone else. But instead he just threw up.

Seeing Kirishima was a different kind of pain. He had been all smiles and relieved laughs, celebrating their win. His joy was so infectious, it almost made Izuku forget what he was going to say. Until he asked the question.

“Where’s Katsuki?”

What could he even say? How do you tell someone that their other half was gone? How do you tell them that their world had been destroyed when everything around you keeps moving? Instead of words, the tears that had been missing for the past 24 hours finally reappeared. He looked over his shoulder towards the body of the boy who he’d never hear laugh again that was laying blissfully unaware on the other side of the room.

Kirishima’s face immediately fell. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as his brain tried to comprehend what he was saying. “Wait… but we won. How- how did- No! This… this isn’t real! This is some sick joke! It has to be.” His legs gave out and Midoriya caught him, lowering him slowly to the floor. He didn’t say anything about Kirishima’s hardened claws digging into his back. “Please.”

Izuku just held him tighter, letting his tears flow freely. “I’m sorry, Kirishima.”

He didn’t notice that the rest of the class had regrouped at their location. Ashido, Kaminari, and Sero led their group of friends, all smiles just as he had been.Their faces fell just as fast at the sight of Kirishima and Midoriya.

Ashido wore her own look of confusion. “Kiri, what-?” She didn’t even finish her sentence before getting cut off by a gasp from Sero and a look of utter horror from Kaminari. She wished she hadn’t followed their gazes across the room. “Bakugou-” her voice broke as her breath hitched. A wave of shock, disbelief, and dread passed through their class.

Izuku didn’t flinch when Kirishima started screaming. He didn’t move when he felt the blood start pouring from the punctures on his back.

Ashido’s breaths were coming in short bursts. “Oh god. Oh god.”

Kaminari had ran out of the tent, shoving his way through the crowd as quickly as he could.

“Denki, wait!” Sero called after him, not too far behind.

Day 1: This Wasn’t Supposed To Happen // on AO3

Summary: Nitroglycerin, besides being a highly explosive chemical, was also used to lower blood pressure. When your whole quirk revolves around the nitroglycerin that your body produces, it's hard to not know the effects it has on your body. Bakugou knows what to avoid in order to survive. It's even written in his medical file. He was stupid enough to think that people would actually care to read it.

Alternatively: No one gives Bakugou any respect.

Day 2: It’s All My Fault (It’s Not My Fault) // on AO3

Summary: Bakugou feels like he deserved a lot of things. He's done a lot of bad things in his life. He bullied Deku. He ended All Might. He's just an asshole in general. So what if a few people are calling him names... or messing with him... or beating him up. He deserves it. Right?

Day 3: Empty // on AO3

Summary: *THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 362 OF THE MANGA*

Bakugou doesn't survive Shigaraki/AFO's attack. He thinks about the things he lost but also the things he had. Deku loses his best friend. Kirishima loses his lover. The class loses a piece of them.

Day 4: Bruised // on AO3

Bakugou goes home for the weekend and pisses off his mom a little too much. He was going to go back to the dorms to sleep it off, but he forgot that he had to tutor the squad.

Day 5: Losing Blood, Losing Breath // on AO3

Most of the UA student body (meaning all except a few students from Class 1-A) did not think very highly of Bakugou. With the Sports Festival, Kamino, and his general demeanor around school, people tended to think he was full of himself and borderline villainous.

Bakugou shouldn’t have been surprised when students started messing with him after summer break. He did end All Might’s career. And he was an asshole in middle school. He deserved it.

It started with small things. Whispers in the halls as he passed, in which Bakugou wouldn’t hesitate to clap back at. Rude messages stuck to his locker that he would pointedly explode. One student managed to fill his locker with news clippings of Kamino. That particular incident may or may not have caused a three hour spiral in his dorm, followed by two hours of scrubbing scorch marks off his floor. But he couldn’t do anything about it. It was all deserved.

So he just let it happen. Even when the shoving and tripping started, he didn’t tell anyone about it. Not even Kirishima. Bakugou considered it a self-imposed punishment.

That all changed when three general studies students followed him into the bathroom at the end of the week. It had only started with the typical antagonizing before one of them shoved him particularly hard into a sink. His reflexes kicked in and he threw a punch. Although they were only general studies, they were second years and they outnumbered him. Bakugou was then being held down by two students while the third threw punches. They only managed to land a few before Bakugou used his quirk to get out. It wasn’t enough to cause damage to the students and was only used for shock, it did singe two of their uniforms. Aizawa was fuming when he walked into the scene.

“You three! Get out of here,” Aizawa barked at the second years. They nodded before scrambling out of the bathroom. Aizawa turned his glare back to his student in front of him, who was pointedly looking at the floor. “Bakugou! What the hell were you thinking? Getting into a fight like that!”

Bakugou immediately looked up in surprise, jumping to defend himself. “But Sensei, they-”

“I don’t want to hear any excuses! You’re already on thin ice from your fight with Midoriya.”

“You don’t understand! I was just-”

He was cut off again by a hand in the air, barely suppressing a flinch. Bakugou curled into himself at the murderous glare that his teacher was giving him. “I think I understand perfectly. Bakugou Katsuki, you need to keep your temper in check. One more infraction and I won’t hesitate to expel you. Is that clear?”

“But-”

“I said. Is. That. Clear?” Aizawa ground out, his eyes flashing red and hair starting to levitate.

Bakugou nodded minutely and looked back at the floor. “Crystal.”

“Good. You have detention for the next two weeks. Now get out of here before I change my mind.”

Bakugou wasted no time getting back to his dorm, ignoring the calls of his idiot squad from the common room, slamming his door to make a point and locking it. He made a beeline towards his mirror and slowly lifted his shirt to assess the damage. There were blotches of angry red, about the size of three fists (go figure). It wasn’t too bad, but the dickhead who did it had a surprisingly heavy hand. It would probably fade in two weeks, less if he treated it properly. But he wasn’t going to.

He had the rest of the day to sulk in his misery before the weekend started, and then he would figure out how to move forward. Bakugou decided that he would just keep his head down until people stopped. If they stopped. He wouldn’t speak unless spoken to. Wouldn’t look at anyone in the halls. He would try to remove himself from confrontations if they happened. And if someone got physical, he couldn’t fight back.

Aizawa was right. He had to keep his temper in check. What was he thinking using his quirk on general studies students as a hero student? UA was his dream for as long as he could remember. He didn’t want to lose his life’s work because he couldn't act right.

The rest of the weekend was filled with silent studying, bakugou unwilling to be around people for the time being. Maybe he would feel better on Monday. Maybe it was a one time thing.

-

Bakugou was taken by surprise on Monday. He didn’t know how people found out, but apparently word spread that Bakugou couldn’t fight back or else he would be expelled. More random students started catching him at the end of the day, taking advantage of the fact that he was self-isolating and that no one would lend a glance to the Beast of 1-A. Some people he’d never even seen before came out of the woodworks, giving him a piece of their minds through harsk kicks and fists. Physical confrontations spiked as people realized there were no consequences if they didn’t get caught. And Bakugou. He just took it. It was easy to blame the bruises on training. After all, everyone seemed to think Bakugou trained like he was crazy. His body was constantly sore, and bruise cream could only do so much.

His body itched to fight back, but he would quiet the buzz with the thought of they’ll kick you out. UA was his everything, and he wasn’t a pussy.

Everything came to a head a mere week after the bathroom altercation when a group of business class students who were clear die hard All Might fans cornered him in an alcove. Like every time before, he bit his tongue and took it. But as soon as they left, he broke. He curled up against the wall, head tucked into his knees as his body was wracked with sobs. His mind was going a million miles per minute, torn apart in a war with itself.

I can’t take this anymore.

Pussy. Think about what you did to Deku for years. And you can’t handle one week?

I need to fight back.

They’ll expel you. You’ll have nothing.

But it hurts so much.

You deserve it.

Bakugou didn’t know how long he was sitting there before Aizawa showed up.

“Bakugou? What are you doing on the floor? School ended thirty minutes ago.” Well I guess that answers my question.

Bakugou jerked his head up in surprise at the voice. “Sensei!” He quickly wiped his face off with his sleeve and scrambled to stand up, wincing at the sudden motion. He missed Aizawa’s eyes widen at his student’s clear display of pain. “I was just leaving.”

Aizawa’s brow furrowed when he noticed Bakugou’s black eye and split lip. He pressed his lips into a thin line. “Did you get into another fight?”

Bakugou’s face filled with fear as tears started to gather in his eyes again. No. No… No! Please. “I didn’t touch them. I swear! They cornered me but I didn’t fight back. I didn’t hurt them. Please don’t kick me out! Please. I’m sorry.”

Aizawa sighed tiredly. “Let’s get you to Recovery Girl. You can explain the situation there.”

Bakugou just nodded and wiped the tears as they fell. “Yes, sir.”

The walk to Recovery Girl’s office was quiet, slow, and painful. It felt as if every bruise from the week had suddenly become new again.

Recovery Girl tutted at the sight of his face when he walked in and gestured for him to sit. “What happened this time?”

“Bakugou was just about to explain himself.” Aizawa answered, crossing his arms and staring expectantly. Bakugou ducked his head at Aizawa’s stare.

“Hmm. Before you start, do you have any other injuries I should know about?” Recovery Girl prodded, both verbally and physically, earning a wince from Bakugou. He just silently took his shirt off in response. Recovery Girl failed to suppress a gasp at what she saw, and Aizawa seemed just as shocked even in his silence. Bakugou’s torso seemed to be covered in an array of mottled purples and blues, some of the colors fading into a sickly green.

Aizawa’s irritation was quickly fading, and concern was taking it’s place. “How did this happen?” He kept his voice soft.

“Just some kids. They cornered me. Same place where you found me,” Bakugou answered as if it was no big deal.

Now Aizawa was confused. “And they just started hitting you? Do you really expect me to believe that?”

“They were just saying and doing the same things everyone else was. It’s nothing new.”

“Nothing new? How long has this been going on?”

“Like, the physical stuff? Or Everything”

Every time Bakugou spoke, Aizawa got more confused. “It’s more than phy- You know what. Just start from the beginning.”

“It just started with the comments. They were just saying things about me being… crazy, I guess. Which I guess they’re kind of right. And they would say how I would probably become a villain. But that was only when the year started. I was used to those things. After Kamino, they would just say things like how I caused All Might’s retirement. I didn’t have anything to refute that because it’s true. Some people started saying that I was already a villain and working for the League. But I’m not weak! That didn’t bother me. It was a little annoying when they would mess with me during lunch. Or when one kid poured Calpico in my backpack. The locker thing wasn’t… pleasant.”

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. “Locker thing?” Don’t tell me some kids shoved him into a locker.

“Someone filled my locker with article clippings of Kamino.”

“Oh.” Somehow, that’s worse.

Bakugou continued. “There was always a little bit of shoving and tripping. But that was fine. Everything anyone did was something I deserved. I guess last Friday, those three kids you saw me with got cocky and one of them shoved me into the sink. My reflexes just kicked in so I threw a punch. But they were bigger than me and I didn’t want to use my quirk.”

“But you did. I could smell it.”

“I only used it to surprise them so I could get out of their hold. Two of them were holding me while the other one threw the punches.”

Aizawa was starting to get angry again. But this time his anger was for Bakugou. “Did they do all of this? Are they the same kids who beat you up today?”

“No. I don’t know who did it today. Everyone just started blurring together after the first few times.”

Aizawa wanted to pinch his brow. This kid. “The first few times?”

“I guess someone heard that I would get expelled if I got into another fight. As long as they didn’t get caught, no one would find out. People took advantage of that.”

This started because of me. “Bakugou,” Aizawa started, with a hardened voice, intent on apologizing. But he was cut off by his frantic student.

“But I never fought back! I didn’t touch any of them after what you said! Please don’t expel me. This is all I have! I swear I’m not a villain. I’m trying so hard to become a hero,” Bakugou rushed out, his voice breaking at the end. He lowered his head, trying to hide the tears that started yet again. “Please. It’s the least I can do to make up for all the damage I’ve caused.”

“I’m sorry.”

Bakugou looked up at his teacher, confusion clear on his face. “Why?”

Aizawa’s heart broke at the simple question and he sighed. “I’m sorry. I should have let you explain yourself last week. What happened then was not your fault. What has been happening for quite some time was not your fault. Nothing in this situation, including what happened with All Might, was your fault. I’m sorry that I didn’t do anything about it. And I am so sorry that I didn’t give you the opportunity for me to do anything.”

“It’s not my fault?” Bakugou asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

Aizawa walked slowly towards his student, telegraphing his movements, and pulled him into a tight embrace. “No. No one should have gone through anything that you did.” Aizawa only held on tighter when he felt Bakugou start shaking with silent sobs.

Bakugou ignored the ringing in his ears and the pounding of his head following his Howitzer. It was the first time he tried it in a real fight and the first time he performed it without knocking himself out completely. He lifted his head, the aching in his entire body fading as the adrenaline took over, gearing him up for the rest of the fight. But when his eyes landed on Todoroki, the boy was knocked out. “Huh?”

You put out your flames! His mind seethed. Slowly, Bakugou picked himself up off the ground, stumbling towards his opponent. “Hey…” This wasn’t supposed to end like this! “Hey!” He didn’t give it his all!

Bakugou ran across the field, pickin up the limp boy by his shirt. “Stop screwing around!” He shook Todoroki, trying in vain to rouse him from unconsciousness. “Didn’t I tell you that there was no point, damn it?!” Bakugou could feel the sting of frustrated tears in his eyes, too focused on the feeling of true victory being snatched from him to notice the lavender fog that began to surround him. “To get first place like this! Like this?! Like…” Everything faded to black faster than Bakugou could finish the thought of I’m going to die.

-

Bakugou knew everything about his quirk. With a quirk as powerful as his, he needed to. This meant being hyper aware of the effects that his nitroglycerin had on his body. After a near death experience at the dentist when he was five, Bakugou was careful about avoiding any injuries that would require surgery and had to keep a strict lifestyle to counteract his unnaturally low blood pressure. He knew what things were dangerous for him and had it written in his medical file as soon as possible. Maybe Midnight forgot. Or maybe she didn’t care enough to read it. 

-

Shuzenji sighed when she saw Midnight and Cementoss carrying in Bakugou and the Todoroki boy. She knew that this year’s class of hero students would make her work for her salary.

“I have to repair the field for the awards ceremony,” Cementoss said.

“You can go. We have it covered,” Shuzenji dismissed him. “Did they knock each other out?” She asked, hobbling her way over to the dual-quirk user, who seemed to have a few more pressing injuries than Bakugou. She gave him a quick assessment and determined that he did not require medical attention.

“Bakugou turned himself into a human projectile and blasted Todoroki out of the ring,” Midnight drawled, clearly annoyed at the unconscious blond. Shuzenji hummed in response. “Bakugou then followed him out of the ring, so I had to knock him out before he tried anything.”

“You did what?!” Shuzenji immediately turned her attention to Bakugou, whose lips had taken on a blue tint. “He’s not getting enough oxygen.”

“What?!”

“I can’t feel a pulse. Kayama, get me an epinephrine shot from the bottom shelf of that cabinet!”

Midnight frantically opened the cabinet and fumbled with the syringe in her hand, moving as quickly as she could back across the room to Recovery Girl. Midnight watched with a baited breath as Recovery Girl injected the syringe in his chest. She checked his pulse again. “Damn it. It’s not enough. Get me another one!”

Midnight frantically grabbed another one. “This wasn’t supposed to happen!”

“Would it kill you to actually read your student’s medical files? It states very clearly that anesthetics could kill him!” Shuzenji scolded. She stabbed the second syringe into his chest and injected it. A few seconds passed before Bakugou’s back was arching as he gasped. He tried pushing himself into a sitting position before being forced to lay back down. Midnight let out a breath.

“Th’ fuck happened?” Bakugou slurred.

“Your heart had stopped due to Midnight’s quirk,” Shuzenji explained, shooting a glare over her shoulder at Midnight. “I had to inject you with epinephrine. You might start feeling the effects of it shortly.”

“Idiot. Could’ve killed me,” the boy grumbled, slowly coming back to his senses.

“You shouldn’t have followed Todoroki out of the ring!” Midnight retorted.

“Kayama!” Shuzenji snapped, effectively shutting her up. She turned back to Bakugou. “It was very irresponsible of her. You’re going to feel a little jittery for around half an hour. That is normal. Now, I’m going to have a talk with Nezu. Kayama, I trust you wont try to kill him again?”

“I’ll be fine, old lady. I’m not a fucking kid,” Bakugou growls. 

“Yes. Of course,” she tutted before getting up to exit the infirmary. “Todoroki should be waking up shortly.” Midnight nodded.

Bakugou and Midnight sat in tense silence until Cementoss returned ten minutes later.

“We need to start the awards ceremony soon,” he announced upon entering.

“Okay.” Midnight looked at Bakugou expectantly.

“What?!”

She rolled her eyes. “You won first place.”

“The fuck? I’m not accepting that shit!” Bakugou snarled.

“You have to. You won.”

“No I fucking didn’t! You saw Icy-Hot give up! That’s not a real win!” he argued. Bakugou got up to leave the infirmary but was stopped by a tight hand around his arm.

“Stop being so difficult!”

“Get the fuck off me!” he screamed, trying to jerk his arm away. His limbs weren’t cooperating due to the combination of the buzz from the epinephrine shot and the underlying exhaustion from his heart stopping.

Midnight grabbed his other arm, trying to hold him still. “Cementoss! A little help?” Cementoss molded some of the floor to wrap around Bakugou’s forearms and encase his legs.

Bakugou roared. “Let me go!”

Midnight crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “God. We’re going to need quirk restraints and a damn muzzle.”

“Don’t you dare muzzle me!” 

“I can watch him,” Cementoss said with little interest.

“Thanks.” Midnight exited the infirmary, ignoring the screams of protest from Bakugou.

-

Bakugou was panicking. Being raised up into a stadium full of people while chained to a block of cement, muzzled, and pumped full of adrenaline was not at all how he imagined his first Sports Festival to end. 

The sounds of thousands of people jeering at him flooded his ears as he struggled against his restraints. He screamed words that were incoherent to the crowd for someone to let him go, but no one was moving to help him.

Why won’t they help me? He thought. Is this not wrong? 

He looked to his peers, who refused to meet his eyes. Why did they do this?

The crowd cheered for the other winners while they screamed for his punishment. What did I do to deserve this?

He thought of the kid with the tail in his class. And the others from the cavalry. Why were they allowed to say no and not me?