A scream rang out and Shouta's blood ran cold. He was on his feet in an instant, as was Ms. Joke. In fact, numerous of the observing Pros were stood up, fully alert. They all knew that kind of scream. It was one full of agony and fear. Pain and desperation.
Shouta had been, like everyone else, distracted by Gang Orca's appearance. Seconds ago, he had been quietly seething, thinking of creative ways to punish Todoroki for his childish behaviour. Watching as the half-and-half boy fought against a student from another school instead of the "villain" present.
Now he could feel his heart beating in his throat as he scanned the arena, trying to find the source of the noise. He knew it was one of his kids, he just knew. His class couldn't ever catch a break. If anyone was hurt, to would be one of his.
"Can you see who it is?" Ms. Joke said from next to him, for once taking a situation seriously.
"No." Shouta said.
As soon as the words left his mouth a high-pitched whistle filled the air. Shouta felt his heart stop and the air disappear from his lungs as realisation hit him. Why? Why did everything have to happen to—
"Bakugou."
"What?" Ms. Joke asked.
"It's Bakugou."
A large explosion suddenly erupted, orange and white sparks flying everywhere, lighting up thick plumes of black smoke. The entire arena shook with the force of the explosion as waves of heat hit the people in the stands. A second flash and an even bigger cloud of smoke joined the first, the ground shook again as the structure of the arena creaked under the strain of the explosion. The noise was… it was like a warzone.; booms and crackles as more things caught fire. Shouta could hear people screaming and crying. The klaxon signifying the end of the exam rang out and chaos broke out.
"Bakugou, Kirishima." Someone, possibly Shinsou shouted.
"Kacchan." Midoriya's voice was clearer in the fray. Bright green light created trails through the black smoke as he made his way towards his fallen friend.
"We need a medic." Someone else shouted.
"We need an ambulance." Another person corrected.
Shouta bolted through the stands towards the door, hurrying through corridors, trying to reach his students. Thudding footsteps told him that Joke was following him. He ran through door after door, weaving through the compound, trying to find a way to access the arena. Eventually he found his way into the break room.
A large proportion of students were inside. Shouta scanned the room, but he couldn't see anyone from U.A. Panic bubbled in his chest, he hadn't felt like this since the attack at the Summer Camp. He could barely breath.
"Ms. Joke." Someone called, a boy approached them.
"Shindou. What happened?"
"The U.A. kids are outside." The dark-haired boy said. "Bakugou's unconscious. The first aid people are with him. I don't know anything more. The U.A. students wouldn't leave him."
"I need to get to them." Aizawa said. "I need…"
"Come on, this way." Shindou said, guiding the two pro heroes to the small door leading out into the arena. Shouta distantly heard Ms. Joke thank Shindou for his help, but he didn't have time for that right now.
The first thing he saw when he got outside was a shaking Kirishima covered in blood. Kaminari had his arm wrapped around the redhead, resting his chin on his shoulder. Sero held Kirishima's other hand, talking softly.
The other class members were crowded behind the three of them, all in varying degrees of upset. Shouto appeared shaky on his feet and dishevelled as he leant against Iida. Midoriya was crying quietly as he stood between Asui and Uraraka.
"Sensei." Shinsou said, drawing Shouta's attention. The purple haired student was covered in ash and a few small burns.
"Kirishima, are you hurt?" Shouta asked.
"No." The boy shook his head. "This is… It's Katsuki's blood." He sniffed. "I used my Quirk. I hardened. He didn't hurt me. Just himself."
"Kirishima saved me." Shinsou said. "He took the brunt of the explosion."
"Katsuki took the brunt of the explosion." Kirishima said, his voice was hoarse, and his eyes seemed glazed over. Shouta looked over to the right. Staff members had coned off an area, with sidekicks standing guard. Shouta couldn't see Bakugou's unconscious body in the ground, the cavern surrounded by people.
"What happened?"
"He kept saying his ears hurt." Kirishima said. "They were bleeding. I don't know. He fell down and curled up into a ball and started screaming. Next thing I knew his hands were glowing."
"His ears?" Midoriya asked sniffing.
"Yeah. He said he could hear something." Kirishima nodded.
"Like a ringing sound or something." Shinsou added. Midoriya nodded slowly.
"Do you think it was Gang Orca's Quirk? He uses a hypersonic blast to paralyse people, could Kacchan have heard it?"
"He shouldn't have been able to." Shouta said as he watched the people move around Bakugou's body. "Orca's Quirk isn't in the range for people to hear."
"But Kacchan's ears have always been different." Midoriya said. "He used to have really good hearing when he was little. Before his Quirk came in. The doctors thought it would have something to do with his Quirk, but it didn't, and then he started losing it. Maybe along with the hearing aids, it could have amplified the sound or something." The boy rambled.
"I don't know if that's possible." Shouta said, running his hand down his face.
"Hey, are you this kid's teacher?" One of the medics around Bakugou called and Aizawa nodded. "We've called an ambulance. He needs to go to the hospital. We've stabilized his bleeding to the best of our ability but… we're not trained for damage like this."
"Okay," Shouta nodded. "What's the ETA for the ambulance?"
"2 minutes. Going to Sacred Hope hospital." The man said.
"Okay, I'll be going with him." Shouta said.
"That's what I was going to ask." The man said. "You can come over."
"Thank you." Shouta said before turning. "Emi, can you watch my class?" Ms. Joke turned around.
"Yeah sure."
"I'll get Mic or All Might to come and get them." Shouta said. "Thanks Emi."
"Don't worry about it Shouta. I'll keep them safe."
"You are all to stay here." Shouta said to his class.
"No. I want to come with you." Kirishima said, his eyes snapping up to Shouta. "I can't leave him."
"Kirishima, you have to stay." Shouta said. "All of you do."
"I want to go with Kacchan too." Midoriya said.
"Look, if you leave here before your exam results are announced, you will be registered as withdrawing from the process."
"I don't care about my damn results." Kirishima said. "I need to be with Katsuki."
"Do you know how angry he would be if he heard you say that?" Shouta said. It was a low blow, he knew that. But the words slipped out before he could stop them. Kirishima visibly shrunk back.
"He'd be pissed." Kirishima said.
"Look, I understand you're all worried. But you can come to the hospital once you've got your results. There's nothing you can do at the hospital. You're all better off here. Get cleaned up and changed. Have some food and a drink. Calm down a little." Shouta said. "I promise, everything will be okay."
"We'll all wait here, Sensei." Iida said. "I will keep everyone in line."
"Thank you." Shouta said. "I will text Iida as soon as I hear something, okay?"
"Yes Sensei." The class chorused.
Aizawa nodded at his students before turning to walk through the cones towards Bakugou's body.
"Eraser." A deep voice called. Shouta turned to see Gang Orca approaching him.
"Is the boy okay? What happened?"
"I don't know yet, Orca. He's going to the hospital." Shouta said, he began to walk away, but he turned back for a moment. "Has your Quirk ever damaged someone's hearing?" he asked.
"Sometimes. Those with hearing issues have mentioned that it can hurt. I try not to use it around people with any ear related issues if I can help it." Orca said. "Why? Was the boy—"
"He's hard of hearing. He wears aids. He was apparently claiming his ear hurt shortly before."
"Eraser, I—"
"I have to go, Orca. I'm sorry."
Shouta walked through the cones and approached Bakugou's body. The ground around him was destroyed, Shouta had to step down into a large crater to get to him. He held back a gasp at the sight of the boy. His gauntlets were completely destroyed, as were his gloves. Holes had been burnt into his shirt, but his trousers were unscathed.
Bakugou's arms were an oozing mess of pink blistering flesh. A small amount of blood had pooled around him as it steadily dripped from his fingers. It had soaked into his hero costume, making the fabric tacky and stained.
Shouta knelt down next to the boy, his breathing was slow, but not too concerning. His face was covered in more blood, especially over his right eye. Katsuki's hair was matted against his scalp, and his neck was stained a reddish brown thanks to the stream of blood coming from his ears.
"His eye… Is it okay?" Aizawa asked the nearest first aid person.
"It's fine. He has a cut on his forehead. Head wounds always bleed a lot." She said with a reassuring smile.
"Will he be okay?"
"Hopefully." She said. "He's not at any immediate risk. He'll be in a lot of pain, and the chance of infection is high."
Shouta sighed. He got back to his feet and pulled out his phone, dialling a familiar number.
"There's my favourite listener." Hizashi said. "How's it going, have they got your results?"
"Hizashi. I need you to come here. Bring All Might, or Nemuri."
"Why? What's happened?" Hizashi asked. He heard Hizashi get up and pick up his keys.
"Bakugou got hurt. I need to go to the hospital. Joke was here, she'll stay with the rest of the class whilst you get here. I'm going to go in the ambulance."
"Ambulance? How bad is it?"
"He's unconscious but stable."
"Gods Sho'." Hizashi sighed. "I'm on my way. I'll be there in 30 minutes."
"Thanks 'Zashi."
"I love you, Sho'."
"Love you too."
As Shouta hung up the phone the ambulance crew came towards Bakugou's body with a gurney. They moved quickly, getting Bakugou onto the gurney and moved to put him in the ambulance. Shouta followed silently, climbing into the emergency vehicle behind them.
"Are you his teacher?" the paramedic asked, as she began to work on Bakugou, cleaning his burnt arms.
"Yeah." Shouta said. "I need to ring his parents."
"Go ahead." The paramedic said.
Shouta scrolled through his phone contacts. He was required to keep his student's parent's phone numbers in his phone for situations like this. He found the number he was looking for quickly and dialled it.
"Hello?" Masaru answered after only two rings.
"Bakugou Masaru?"
"Yes?"
"It's Aizawa Shouta, I'm ringing to—"
"Which hospital?" Masaru asked, his voice breaking.
"Sacred Hope."
"How bad is he?"
"He's unconscious. He's in the ambulance now." Shouta said.
"Okay. My wife and I will be right there." Masaru said. "Thank you."
"I'll see you there." Shouta said as Masaru hung up.
Shouta sighed, running his hands through his hair, sending up a silent prayer that Bakugou would be okay.
Katsuki shifted on the gurney, groaning softly. He moved his head and the groan turned into a whimper.
"Bakugou?" Aizawa said softly. The boy's fingers twitched, and he tried to move again.
"Hello Bakugou, you're on your way to hospital. Don't worry. You're safe." The paramedic said. "Can you tell me your given name?" Katsuki whimpered again, his eyes sluggishly opening. Shouta leant forwards, making sure he was in Bakugou's line of sight.
Bakugou gasped and scrunched his eyes shut in pain. He tried to bring his hand up to his head, but the paramedic gently stopped him. Bakugou let out a sob.
"Bakugou? Can you tell me your given name?" the paramedic repeated.
"Sensei…?" Bakugou mumbled, looking back at Aizawa.
"I'm here Bakugou." Shouta said softly. Bakugou's eyes seemed to focus more as Shouta spoke, becoming more aware of his surroundings. "We're going to the hospital. You're okay and I've called your parents. No one was—"
"Sensei." Katsuki said again, his voice hoarse and breaking. "I can't hear anything."
In the end, the paramedic was forced to sedate Bakugou in the ambulance. The boy had become panicked when he realised he couldn't hear anything. His breathing had become erratic and he fought against the paramedic as she tried to clean the blood off of his face.
He had struggled and cried, trying to spark his hands despite the burns that covered them. Shouta had erased his Quirk and tried his best to calm him down. He had attempted to sign to the boy, but Bakugou couldn't seem to focus and he wouldn't look at Shouta for long enough.
When they got to the hospital, Bakugou was whisked away by nurses. Shouta had tried to follow but a nurse approached him, asking for Bakugou's details. He could provide the boy's name, age, birthday and Quirk as well as informing them about that he was hard of hearing. But he didn't know much else. He also told them that Bakugou's family were on the way.
He sat uncomfortably in the waiting room, burying his nose in his scarf. He worried about Bakugou. The poor boy had been through so much this year already. If he lost his hearing completely… Shouta didn't know what his future would hold.
Of course, there were plenty of heroes with impaired hearing, his husband was one of them. But as far as Shouta knew, there was no completely deaf hero. Shouta didn't know how they'd continue his training, didn't know whether he could even stay on the course.
He hoped that wouldn't be the case. He hoped that his hearing loss could be fixed. That maybe it was a temporary issue. But he was a logical, realistic man. He knew it didn't look good. He zoned out whilst he was sat in the waiting room, not paying attention to anything around him. That was until his name was called.
"Aizawa." The teacher looked up to see Masaru and Mitsuki Bakugou running towards him. The man's eyes were rimmed red and his hands were shaking, the woman looked more calm, to the untrained eye, but Shouta could see the panic in her eyes.
"Where is he? What happened?"
"He's being seen to. They're examining him now. I don't know much more." Shouta said, standing to meet them. "It was during the second exam, I'm not 100% sure, but the other student he was with said it started with his ears. Most of the damage was done by an explosion. He… he set off his own Quirk, the biggest explosion I've ever seen him make."
"His ears?" Mitsuki asked. "It's always his fucking ears." She muttered.
"How long has he been in there?" Masaru said.
"10-15 minutes?" Shouta said, he was unsure himself. "I'm sorry, I don't know."
"Is that his blood?" Mitsuki ask, looking at Aizawa's hands.
Shouta looked down, he wasn't even aware he had touched Bakugou. But there was no mistaking the reddish-brown stains on his fingertips were blood.
"It must be." He said softly. "I'm so sorry."
"What for?" Mitsuki asked. "You didn't hurt him. It was an exam. He chose to take it, to pursue a dangerous career."
"I should have done more to protect him." Shouta said.
"From himself?" Masaru asked. "You're never going to be able to do that. He's always been headstrong, more willing to destroy himself than lose."
"It's made for some interesting games of Monopoly." Mitsuki murmured and Masaru smiled sadly.
"Please don't blame yourself, Aizawa. We've seen how much you care about our son. We know you're not to blame." Masaru said.
"You're too kind." Shouta said with a small bow.
"Bakugou Katsuki." A doctor called out, causing Masaru and Mitsuki to turn around.
"Yes." Mitsuki said. "We're his parent's."
"Follow me." The doctor said, turning and heading back through the double doors. Mitsuki jumped to follow, but Masaru turned back to Aizawa.
"You can come too, if you want. I know you're as worried as we are."
"Thank you." Shouta bowed again, as he followed the couple and the doctor.
"My name is Dr Anzai and I'm in charge of your son's care." The doctor said. "He has a mixture of 2nd and 3rd degree burns over his torso, arms and hands. His forearms were the worst damaged but the majority of the burns are 2nd degree."
"Okay." Mitsuki said quietly.
"He has a deep laceration above his right eye, that required seventeen stitches. Some of his fingertips are also cut but they're more superficial." Dr Anzai said. "His ears are what concern me. Both show signs of severe trauma and both the inner and outer ear are swollen. We've removed his hearing aids, but both were fragmented and destroyed."
"Is he deaf?" Mitsuki asked bluntly.
"We don't know yet." Dr Anzai said, coming to stop outside one door. "As I said, Katsuki's ears are very swollen, we can't do a proper examination until the swelling has gone down. Right now we've given him a large amount of anti-inflammatories to reduce the swelling and we'll keep checking."
"Is that everything?" Masaru said.
"He's severely dehydrated. We believe that's a side effect of his Quirk going out of control." Dr Anzai said. "We've got him an I.V. to get more fluid into him and we've given him a mild Quirk suppressant to stop him from activating his for a couple of hours."
"Thank you."
"He was given a sedative in the ambulance, so he's currently unconsciously, he should wake up soon. He's on mild painkiller, but he should be lucid, we need to talk to him about what happened so we can evaluate the situation more. Then if he needs it, we'll put him on something stronger."
"Can we see him?" Mitsuki asked.
"Yes. No more than four people at a time right now." Dr Anzai said. "He's in this room, I'll be back to check on him in an hour."
"Thank you, Doctor." Masaru said with a bow.
The Doctor walked away, and the three adults slowly entered the room. Bakugou was, as expected, unconscious on the bed. He had a bandage wrapped around his head, arms and chest. An I.V. was attached to the back of his right hand. Mitsuki gasped as she saw her son and Masaru was silently crying.
Katsuki looked peaceful in sleep. The pristine white bandages made him seem small and the lack of frown lines made him seem childlike. His face had been wiped clean of blood, but under his eyes there was still the black smudges left over from his eyeliner. His hair, that peaked out of the top of the bandages, was dirty, covered in a mixture of sweat, blood and ash.
"Oh my baby." Mitsuki said quietly, as she sat on a chair next to her son's side. Masaru sat next to her whilst Aizawa stood at the foot of his bed. Mitsuki rested a hand lighting on Katsuki's bandaged one. "Katsuki, can you hear me, Hanabi?"
"Can you wake up, Katsuki?" Masaru asked, his voice hoarse as he held back tears.
The couple spoke to him softly for a long time, despite the likelihood that their son couldn't hear them. Mitsuki stroked up Katsuki's arm repeatedly, trying to coax him into consciousness. The tension in the room was thick, suffocating even. It didn't lift until Katsuki's face scrunched up in a scowl and he groaned.
"Katsuki?" his mother said softly, bringing her hand up to gently caress his face. He slowly blinked open his eyes, wincing and whimpering as he did.
"Katsuki, can you hear us?" Masaru asked.
Katsuki turned his head slowly, but not in the direction of his parents. He saw Shouta first. Recognition flickered in his eyes briefly, before they fluttered shut again. He rolled his head towards his parents as his mother touched his face again.
"Hanabi?" She said. Katsuki opened his eyes again, looking directly at his parents. "Are you okay?" Katsuki made no move to reply. Instead he stared at his mother's mouth. "Katsuki?"
"Are you okay?" His father asked again.
Tears pooled in Katsuki's eyes as he forced them shut. One or two slipped free, running down his face until they dripped from his chin. His chest heaved as he tried not to sob. He let out a noise, a mixture between an wail and a keen. A broken and rough sound as he became unable to hold back.
"It's gone." He choked out. "It's gone. It's gone."
Shouta wiped away his own tears as Mitsuki and Masaru began to cry. Mitsuki got up to sit on the edge of Katsuki's bed. She moved to gently cradle his head as Katsuki continued to crying.
"It's gone. I can't hear you. I can't." Katsuki sobbed.
"It's okay, it'll be okay." Mitsuki said, stroking Katsuki's hair. Shouta didn't know whether she said that for Katsuki or herself. Masaru wiped his eyes, getting up to move around the edge of Katsuki's bed. He sat on the other side of the bed, tapping Katsuki on the shoulder as he sat down in an attempt to get his attention.
It took a few minutes for Katsuki to notice at turn his head. Tear-filled red eyes met brown and Masaru tried to smile.
"It will be okay." He spoke as he signed, his hands shook most likely due to his emotional state than unfamiliarity with the language. "You will be okay."
"I can't hear you." Katsuki said, looking down at his father's hands.
"No, but you can still see." Masaru signed.
"I can't sign. My hands." Katsuki said, twitching his left hand slightly, as if to draw attention to the fact his fingers were bandaged together.
"We sign. You speak."
"Ok." Katsuki said, sniffing heavily. Mitsuki had gotten a tissue and wiped away the tears on her son's face. "What did the Doctor say?" Katsuki asked after a moment. Masaru recounted what the doctor had said in quick, efficient movements, showing Shouta that this was not the first time the father and son spoke using sign language. "So will I be able to hear again?" Katsuki asked.
"We don't know." Masaru told his son, a frown on his face. Katsuki nodded, as much as he could without further injuring himself. He turned to face Shouta, for the first time really acknowledging the teacher.
"Did I hurt anyone? Eijirou he was right next to me. And Shinsou." Katsuki asked. Masaru turned slightly, as if to translate what Shouta was saying. However, when Shouta began to sign himself, the man smiled sadly.
"No, only you were hurt." Katsuki nodded. "Everyone else was fine."
Katsuki nodded again as Mitsuki ran her hand through his hair. Masaru placed his hand on Katsuki's bandaged one and the boy sighed.
"I'll give you guys some privacy." Shouta said. "I promised I'd tell the class what happened."
"Thank you, Aizawa-san." Mitsuki said, not looking up from her boy.
Shouta left the hospital room, heading back towards the waiting room. He sighed as he sat down on one of the cushioned seat before taking out his phone. He saw that Hizashi had messaged him, letting him know that both he and Midnight had gotten to the rest of the class.
From Aizawa-sensei:
Bakugou is awake.
His injuries are bad, but he's alive.
From Iida Tenya:
Thank you Sensei. I will let the rest of the class know immediately.
Shouta rested his head in his hands and sighed again. Today was a long day. He had wanted things to go well, he had wanted all of his students to pass. Shouta had planned to take his class for a meal out after their victory. Instead he was forced to watch a child realise his life as a hero was possibly over.
He got back up, heading towards the bathroom. His hands itched due to the dried blood coating them. He turned the tap on at the sinks, as hot as it could go. He gagged, bile rising in the back of his throat as he watched reddish swirls go down the drain.
He was the teacher; he was supposed to protect his students. No matter what the Bakugou's had said, how many times had he failed Katsuki? How many times had that child gotten hurt on his watch?
The skin of Shouta's hands were angry and red, due to the temperature of the water, but he didn't pull them away, not noticing the burn. A lone tear ran down his cheek and he let out a shaky breath. He turned off the tap and tried his hands before wiping his cheeks.
Shouta left the bathroom, returning to the waiting room. When he got there, he was surprised to see his entire class stood there, along with Present Mic and Midnight. Shouta should have expected them to show up.
"Sensei!" Several members of the class called out when they saw him. Hizashi came up to him immediately, wrapping his arms around him. Shouta buried his face into his husband's chest, inhaling the vibrant fruity scent Hizashi constantly had.
"Are you okay?" Hizashi said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"No." Shouta replied. "But this isn't about me. We all need be here for Bakugou right now."
"How bad is he?"
"He might be deaf."
"Completely?"
"Yeah."
Hizashi sighed heavily against Shouta's hair. He rubbed his hand up and down Shouta's spine in reassurance before pulling away.
"How's Katsuki?" Kirishima asked. He had cleaned the blood off of his body and was wearing his school uniform, like every other student. His hair was down, hanging limply at the sides of his face, as though he had been forced to shower and hadn't bothered to reapply his gel.
"Like I said to Iida, he's awake." Shouta said as Hizashi slipped his hand into his own.
"Is that it?" Midoriya asked.
"I'm not going to tell you his medical chart." Shouta scowled slightly. "That's his private information."
"Sensei is correct, we can't expect to know everything." Yaoyorozu said.
"Can we see him?" Kirishima asked.
"I don't know. His parents are with him for now, it's their decision. But I can ask." Shouta said. "But…" he sighed again. "He can't hear anything."
"Like, ever?" Kaminari said.
"Nobody knows yet." Shouta said.
"He can see though, right?" Midoriya asked. "We can still sign to him."
"Yes, if you know sign. That's how he's been communicating so far." Shouta said.
"Hey, we should all start learning." Mina said. "In case this is permanent? So we can still talk to him."
"I think a lot of us already can." Ojiro said.
"You can?" Sero asked.
"Well yeah." Satou shrugged. "Kouda signs pretty much exclusively. Ojiro, Tokoyami, Shouji and I all know sign language."
"Yeah, and I grew up with Kacchan, I learnt when he did."
"Midoriya has been teaching me." Kirishima added.
"I can too." Jirou said quietly.
"I've been teaching myself." Todoroki said.
"Wow, so, those of us who don't know should learn." Mina said with a small laugh.
"I think maybe, you should decide amongst yourselves, two people who should go and see him." Shouta said. "He's most likely tired and in pain, so he might not be in the mood to talk."
"Kirishima should definitely go." Kaminari said. "There's no question about that."
"Yeah, as much as I want to see him, Blasty would want to see Kiri." Mina nodded.
"Midoriya should go to." Todoroki said simply.
"Okay." Shouta nodded. "He's in room 4510. Down there." Shouta gestured to the corridor. "Go and ask his parents if you can see him."
"Yes Sensei." Midoriya and Kirishima said, before the redhead added.
"Has anyone told Best Jeanist?"
"No." Shouta shook his head.
"Someone should. He really cares about Kats and is probably expecting to hear from him."
"Okay." Shouta nodded. "I'll see if I can get in contact with him."
Kirishima and Midoriya went down the corridor and the rest of the class began to talk quietly amongst themselves. Midnight, who had been standing quietly at the back of the group, weaved her way through the students to join Shouta and Hizashi.
"I don't have Hakamata's phone number." Shouta said. "Do either of you?"
"He's in the group chat?" Hizashi said.
"I'm not putting it in the fucking group chat 'Zashi." Shouta rolled his eyes.
"I have his agency number." Midnight said. "My boys worked with some of his sidekicks a few months ago." She said, getting out her phone.
"Your boy toys you mean." Hizashi teased.
"Hey, they're my sidekicks, you ass." Midnight scowled, handing her phone to Shouta. "It's ringing." She said as Shouta put it to his ear.
"Hello, Genius Agency. Thimble speaking, how may I help?" a cheerful voice answered the phone.
"Hello, this is the Pro Hero Eraserhead. ID number 0811183. I need to speak with Best Jeanist."
"Good Afternoon, Eraserhead. Unfortunately, Best Jeanist is in a meeting right now. But I can take a message. I am under the agency's confidentiality agreement and anything you say is private." Thimble responded. Shouta could hear the man typing on a computer, no doubt checking his identification information was correct.
"Listen, I'm a teacher a U.A. I'm calling about Bakugou. It's imperative that I speak to him now." Shouta replied.
"Bakugou? Is he okay?" The receptionist asked, his voice losing its cheerful edge. "Please hold, I'm putting you through."
Shouta was only on hold for a moment before Hakamata's voice came through the phone.
"Aizawa? What's happened?" Shouta recounted the story quickly, mentioning how Gang Orca's Quirk was most likely the cause. Hakamata had growled under his breath as Shouta spoke, a sound that was 100% Bakugou.
"He's at Sacred Hope if you want to come visit." Shouta said. "Not that you have to, but if you want."
"Aizawa, I'll be there." Hakamata said. "I'll be there in about 20 minutes."
"Okay." Shouta said.
"Thank you for letting me know." Hakamata said before hanging up.
"Holy shit, guys." Kaminari said suddenly. "We have ID numbers now."
"Do we have to remember it like Aizawa-sensei did." Sero asked
"Probably, but I'm sure it's easy." Kaminari said.
"You already had student I.D. numbers; I doubt either of you remembered them." Shouta sighed. Out of the corner of his eye Shouta saw Iida, Momo and Todoroki scowl and the very notion they hadn't remembered. "How many of you passed?" He asked Iida.
"17." Iida said. "Shouto, Shinsou and Bakugou failed."
"Sensei I'm sorry—" Shinsou started.
"I'll talk to you later about it." Shouta said, Shinsou flinched at his words and Shouta frowned. "I meant what I said earlier. It's not the end of the world."
"I have Bakugou's results." Iida said again, "They let me take them when I said I was class rep. I looked at them. I know it was inappropriate but… Sensei they failed him over what happened. They said it was proof he didn't have control over his Quirk."
"What?" Shouta exclaimed.
"That's bullshit." Midnight scowled. "If anyone can control their Quirk, it's that kid."
Iida got a piece of paper out from his school bag and handed it to Aizawa. Shouta quickly scanned the report.
"What's it say?" Hizashi asked.
"He had lost 20 points before blowing up. Apparently, he had a small argument with another contestant."
"That was me." Shinsou said. "He wanted me to use my Quirk." Shouta nodded at his words.
"They also marked him down for his attitude. Although he wasn't hostile, according to this he didn't talk to the people he was rescuing very much. He wasn't reassuring. But they took 40 points off for his explosion."
"40? That's not fair." Uraraka said. "It wasn't his fault."
"Yeah, that's ridiculous." Sero scowled.
"I get why I failed. But Bakugou doesn't deserve to fail. He did nothing wrong." Shouto said.
"I'll see if I can talk to the exam board. But I doubt they'll listen." Shouta said.
Katsuki was nestled against his mother's body in the too small bed. She stroked his hair as he drifted in and out of sleep. The only thing that stopped him from slipping away into unconscious was the burning pain in his ears and the throbbing in his arms.
He could hear a faint buzzing of the hospital equipment; it was distant and Katsuki couldn't quiet tell if he was imagining it. There was a sharp ringing in his head and he could feel the soft vibrations of his mother's chest as she exchanged words with his father.
Masaru gently ran his fingers over the back of Katsuki's bandaged hand. It was a reassuring action that Katsuki remembered from his childhood. When his Quirk had first manifested, and his hands were sore to the touch, his father would sit with him. He would stroke the back of his hands as he slept, massaging them gently to relieve the pain.
Katsuki's brain felt scattered. He remembered what happened, he remembered the pain and the explosion. Eijirou shouting his name and the whirring of an oncoming explosion. Was that the last thing he'd hear? He hoped not.
His mother's chest vibrated, much more than it had been before, indicating to Katsuki she was speaking lounder. He shifted so he was looking up at Mitsuki, his bandaged brow furrowed. She smiled at him before directing her attention towards the door. Katsuki followed her gaze to see Eijirou and Izuku coming in.
Eijirou waved at him and Katsuki couldn't help but smile.
"Eijirou." He said, his voice cracking.
"Am I invisible or something?" Izuku signed, his lips moving along with the words, presumably speaking.
"I see you, nerd" Katsuki grumbled.
"How are you?" Kirishima asked, his hands moving slowly.
"You can sign?" Katsuki asked, his voice breaking.
"I'm learning." Kirishima smiled as he signed, he turned briefly to Midoriya who nodded.
"He wants you to know I've been teaching him. He wanted to surprise you."
"I'm surprised." Katsuki sniffed.
Mitsuki smiled at the boys before sharing a look with her husband. She got up, helping prop Katsuki up on pillows. She tapped his shoulder and her son looked at her.
"We're going to find your doctor to tell them you're awake." She signed. Katsuki nodded.
"Okay." He said, closing his eyes as she leant down to kiss his forehead.
Katsuki watched as his parents left the room and his boyfriend and friend took their place.
"You didn't have to learn for me."
"Yes, I did."
"How are you feeling? Sensei wouldn't say." Izuku asked.
"I'm okay. Deaf and in pain but I guess I'm alive." Katsuki said.
"We were all so scared." Izuku signed. "Everyone is here, we're all worried about you."
"I'm fine. I'll be back at school before you know it." Katsuki said. After a moment he spoke again. "I failed the exam, didn't I?" Izuku frowned and Eijirou reached out to take Katsuki's hands.
"Yes, I'm sorry." Midoriya frowned. "You're not the only one though."
Katsuki nodded.
"Maybe it's for the best." He sighed heavily and Eijirou pulled away.
"No." He signed, turning to Midoriya and speaking to him, Izuku translated for him.
"Don't say it's for the best. You're an amazing hero, you will be. You can try again. There are classes you can attend. It's not the end of things."
"Not if I can't hear anymore." Katsuki said. "Aizawa didn't say anything but I could see it in his eyes."
"You don't know that." Izuku pointed out.
"I don't want to talk about it." Katsuki said, looking away from Izuku as he tried to sign more. "I don't want to waste time on building false dreams if it's not going to happen. I'll wait and see what the doctor says."
"Okay." Kirishima signed.
"You both passed, right?"
"Yes." Both boys signed.
"Good." Katsuki nodded. "Get Icyhot to look after Hoshi for me whilst I'm here, okay?"
"He'll love that." Izuku smiled. "He could do with cheering up. He failed too."
"No way." Katsuki said. "What a fucking world? Who was the other? Shinsou?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?"
"He didn't want to use his Quirk. That couldn't have been good for his results."
"Yeah." Eijirou nodded.
"How long have you been learning to sign?"
"Since you got together." Izuku explained for Eijirou. "He knows the basics."
"Why?" Katsuki asked. He turned to Eijirou who smiled somewhat sadly.
"I love you." Katsuki felt his heart stop and butterflies fluttered in his stomach. Izuku couldn't hold back a smile as Katsuki felt tears once more spring to his eyes. Eijirou watched him hesitantly, his face morphing into a frown as he saw Katsuki's expression.
"What?"
"I love you." He repeated, and the dam broke. Katsuki began to cry in earnest. Thick, fat tears ran down his face as his shoulders shook with the effort of holding back sobs. Eijirou got up from his seat, moving to sit on the bed. He put his hand on Katsuki's shoulder.
"You don't know how much I wanted to hear you say that." Katsuki said, breathing hard. "Now I might not, ever." Eijirou put his hand on Katsuki's chin, guiding his face up to look at him before he pulled away to sign.
"Yes, you will. I will tell you every day."
"Every day?" Katsuki asked. "Promise?"
Eijirou placed his hand on Katsuki's cheek, brushing away tears with his thumb. He nodded, leaning in and pressing a kiss to Katsuki's cheek. The redhead offered Katsuki a smile, soft and warm, one Katsuki couldn't help but return.
"Kiss me properly." He said, his voice quiet, unsure.
Eijirou complied immediately. This kiss was different from any other they had shared before. It was as though Eijirou was trying to convey all of his passion, his love, through that one moment. If their first kiss had been a promise to stand by each other, then this one was a promise of so much more.
It was one of compassion and hope, one that whispered words of reassurance and spoke of brighter days to come.
Katsuki tried to grab a hold of Eijirou's tie, to keep him close. Eijirou held Katsuki's face in his hands, careful not touch any of his bandages or his ears. When they broke apart, they didn't move very far. Their noses brushed against each other, and the smiled.
"Eiji, I love you too." Katsuki said. Eijirou kissed him again, this time lightly, before he leant back. Katsuki blushed when his eyes fell to Izuku. "Sorry Izuku." Midoriya smiled.
"It's fine. I'm invisible, remember." Izuku signed.
"Still. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I'm glad you've found your person."