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English
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Books Read - Completed (MHA)
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Published:
2020-06-20
Words:
857
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1/1
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Quiet, but so Loud

Summary:

The restraints left him unable to get away, but they didn't nullify his Quirk.

In which Bakugou leaves (and maybe made some friends along the way)

Notes:

okay so this is the first thing i've ever published and im kinda (incredibly) nervous.

i came up with this yesterday evening, and some ppl on discord said i should post it, so naturally i rewrote the entire thing.

have fun and enjoy this mess!! :D

edit: now with proper italics!! yay!!

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

The crowd cheers as confetti rains from the sky and the podium with the first year winners rises from the ground with a rumbling sound.

Cheerful music plays, the atmosphere is delighted. The day was long and everyone is exited for the award ceremony and the food, drinks and hero meet-ups that come afterwards.

There is a short pause when the audience sees the first place though, when they take in the concrete slab he's chained to, the heavy-duty restraints around his arms and the muzzle, covering the bottom half of the winner's furious scowl.

Bakugou Katsuki is raging, trying to squirm out of the chains he's trapped in, desperately angling his body in order to get some, any kind of leverage with which he could get his hands free.

The speakers project the muffled growls and yells through the stadium, making them audible even over the general noise.

Some people start laughing at his ridiculous display, he's been arrogant and angry ever since he first made that disrespectful vow.

He finally got what was coming for him, they think.

Then a boom echoes across the field, and he doesn't need speakers, everyone is already hanging at his lips: All Might, in all of his glory, drops into the open roof of the stadium, and the crowd goes wild as they realise that he's giving out the medals.

By the time he goes to congratulate Tokoyami, Bakugou has gone still. Nobody pays him attention though, as he hangs in his restraints, staring numbly at the floor, all previous anger gone.

Tokoyami glances over at his classmate's sudden calmness, but then All Might is hugging him and moving on.

He then goes over to Todoroki, who looks at him with that neutral, emotionless gaze of his.

To their side, noise starts up again, but it's only quiet, occasional whimpers as All Mights booming voice congratulates Todoroki on second place.

The whimpers grow stronger though, more frequent, until they get picked up by the speakers and even All Might has to pause.

Pained gasps are coming from the winner of the festival, and no one is able to react fast enough.

The restraints on Bakugous hands start smoking, then fire is licking up his biceps and the next moment, they suddenly blow off, the heavy metal clanking as it skids across the floor.

But not even the explosion is able to mask the terrified scream coming from the student, the voice cracks audible even through the muzzle.

The teachers stare in shock as the smoke clears and reveals Bakugous arms; red, glistening, burned; his palms open and bloody, still smoking.

Still he desperately claws at the muzzle, sparks popping off uncontrollably, painfully.

When it too hits the ground with a clang, Bakugou is retching, coughing up blood, then vomit joins it with a splatter.

Bakugou is trying to suck in breath, tears streaming down his face, as students, heroes watch in silence.

Then, he leans back against the concrete, presses his palms against it with a quiet hiss, and sets off his Quirk.

The explosions start as small sparks, become fireworks, start raging, chipping away at the wall towering above him, and eventually, it falls apart.

It takes Bakugou with it, drags him down backwards, and leaves the world watching as he claws his way out of the debris and the chains he was trapped in, shaking as he rights himself.

He stands a little lopsided, chest heaving, mouth and arms covered in blood, crying.

He looks young, and small, and hurt, and yet has never been more powerful.

The dust settles around him.

In a quiet, hoarse voice he rasps:

“I only said no. I only said no to first place.“

The words echo in the silence.

Then he takes the first wobbly step forward, and then a second one, and then All Might shakes himself out of his trance.

Approaching Bakugou, he lifts his hand.

“Young Man-“, he starts, though his usual bravado is strained.

He is cut off.

“Don't touch me“, his student says, giving his hero a look. It's angry, it's disappointed, it's scared, and a thousand years wouldn't be enough to decipher all the emotions swimming in his scarlet eyes, threatening to spill over.

The hero backs off.

Bakugou continues his way down. He stumbles, he almost falls, he catches himself.

Todoroki gives his medal an unreadable look. For a second, one might recognize a burning determination in his eyes, then it's over. He lets go of the colorful ribbon, and the clang of metal on concrete is accompanied by his footsteps as he walks off the podium and joins Bakugou.

After a moment of hesitation, Tokoyami too drops his medal and jumps down to walk behind his classmates.

Together, they face the rest of the first years. They part for them.

As they approach, Midoriya and Kirishima step forward and join their friends.

A moment later, Uraraka follows, then Kaminari, Sero and Ashido make their decision too.

Together, they walk quietly out of the stadium and never look back.

(Ashido flips the audience off over her shoulders as she walks through the door.)

Notes:

cries

pls give me feedback