Maskless (Bakugou public identity reveal and au)

Chapter 7: Standoff

A solid two weeks pass by before the doctors allow Bakugou out of his medically induced coma. In that time, a press conference was held. A panel of Pro Heroes spoke about the fight where Dynamight's identity was revealed.

"The villain has a mind control quirk called Parental Guidance," All Might announced in his strong voice. "He can control the actions of children using illusions of made-up parental figures and mind manipulation, and the interrogators dealing with him tell us that this is how he discovered Dynamight's age at all. It was an accident."

Uproars of shouted questions were as constant as the bright flashing of cameras, and upset reporters were difficult to pacify. Questions of what will happen next for Dynamight were presented aplenty, though nobody could offer an answer. Worried parents and citizens wondered about his condition, only receiving reminders that Dynamight is stable.

Nobody knows what really should happen next, but there is a common consensus, even from everyone grateful for Dynamight's sacrifice, that no child should be fighting on the front lines of dangerous battles.

Yet, as red eyes slowly open and darkness recedes, Bakugou Katsuki has yet to remember where he is or the circumstances around his arrival. "Guuhhhh," he groans, eyes snapping back shut against the bright light in the cleanly white room.

"Bakugou," a voice questions, and the red eyes fling back open. Bakugou tries to turn his head toward the voice, but his attempts are thwarted by something around his neck. Beginning to fret, he tries to reach for whatever it is, but his arms are also restrained; he soon finds that his legs are, too. He tries to speak, but something is in his sore throat and chokes him painfully.

Breaths speeding up, Bakugou prepares to set off an explosion through his hands, wishing to tear away whatever material is so tightly clinging to skin all over his body, but that voice speaks again. "Bakugou, do not use your quirk," it commands. For some reason, mainly because of how awfully familiar the voice sounds, Bakugou acquiesces. He stops his attempts, but the tension and apprehension in his body continues to run high. He hears a weary sigh, and finally sees the tired face of his homeroom teacher above him.

Eyes widening again, Bakugou tries to speak, only aborted words he chokes on escaping his mouth. Aizawa furrows his eyebrows and watches his student struggle for a moment. He takes a deep breath. "I'll call in someone to remove that tube. They were keeping it in to help you breathe until you woke up." He leans over and clicks a button as he speaks, once again turning his heavily bagged eyes on Bakugou. "You dug yourself into a ditch with this one, kid," he says somberly.

Bakugou makes an angry sound of some sort, and Aizawa shakes his head. "Try talking when you can actually breathe on your own." Bakugou scowls, and Aizawa smirks a bit. The expression drops quickly. "We need to talk about your after-school activities," he explains.

Feeling as if the world has been dropped on his head and his heart has stopped, Bakugou stares in shock at his teacher. Confusion and terror cloud his brain before his mind somehow catches up, recalling what happened before he woke up here, in what he can tell is the hospital, pathetically strapped down in a patient's bed.

After his memories have flooded back, Bakugou closes his eyes. A small pearl of a tear drips from one eye and down onto the crisp hospital pillow under his head. Aizawa averts his gaze, looking instead toward the wall opposite Bakugou. There is an intense silence between them and surrounding each slow and calculated movement Aizawa makes.

"Yeah, kid. I know."

A couple of nurses rush inside, an odd interruption of the heavy air, taking stock of Bakugou, who silently avoids eye contact with everyone in the room. The breathing tube is removed, and the nurses prop Bakugou up into a slight sitting position, adjusting his mummified limbs. Aizawa holds a glass of water with a straw up to Bakugou, who looks away and ignores the drink despite his parched and sore throat.