UPROAR
Summary: Just because you're a Pro doesn't mean you're immune to the shit life throws your way. But that's part of the fun, right? Right…? Ugh, All Might made it all look so easy. Aged-up. Rated T for now. Connected drabble series.
A/N: Double update comin' in hot! Like I said, I tried to make these last two chapters as long as I possibly could to make up for missing an update. There's not much else to say, so let's just get right into it! This chapter's title comes from a song by Slash, Miles Kennedy, and The Conspirators. Enjoy!
Chapter 13: Mind Your Manners
"You sure you wanna stick around?" Kirishima questioned, tossing his spare shirt at him. He plopped his duffle bag onto the empty seat next to Bakugo to zip it closed and awaited the blond's response. "They said she'd be fine."
He sat low in the worn chair of hospital waiting room, ignoring the stares and whispers of the others seated nearby. He highly doubted that he was the strangest thing to ever walk in here, but he'd asked to borrow a shirt to cover up the soot and blood regardless. It was a bit flashy for his taste, but he'd learned to expect that by now. It was a black T-shirt with bright, neon green vector patterns that clustered at the bottom hem and gradually spread out as it reached the collar. Despite his clear suspicions that Kirishima had chosen it specifically because he knew he would hate it, Bakugo slipped it on right there in the waiting room.
"They probably won't let you in until she wakes up, anyway." The redhead insisted, slinging his bag over his shoulder now that the mission was complete. "And that's only if you lie and say you're family, which …" He chuckled. "Well, who would ever believe you two were related?"
The blond could only grunt a vague response, not in the mood to have this conversation right now, but also not irritated enough to ignore his best friend's reasoning altogether. It was definitely a strange limbo of a mood, precariously straddling the line between its growing better or fouling up worse.
"Look man, I'm not gonna stand here and nag you like your wife." Kirishima stated. "I dunno what you're tryin' to accomplish here but I'm gonna head out before the last trains leave." He paused. "Unless you wanna split a cab back home."
At that point, someone got up from their seat and tiptoed tentatively closer to the not-quite-arguing pair.
"Um, excuse me?"
They turned toward the girl, whose mother was apparently too stunned to keep her from interrupting.
"A-are you…" The young teen lowered her voice, peering around like they were being watched. "R-Red Riot?"
Bakugo gave a hearty puff of amusement – usually he was the one getting recognized, so this was probably a nice change of pace for the redhead. Though Kirishima, for his part, struggled to answer. On the one hand, he didn't want to start a commotion in the quiet waiting room so late at night, but the girl had the courtesy to be discreet after all.
"Um, yeah." He answered in an equally low voice. "Yeah, I am."
The girl grinned and practically tackled him with the ferocity of her hug, squeezing as hard as her young arms could. Caught completely off-guard, Kirishima was forced back a step before regaining his footing and seizing in shock as her mother leapt up from her chair across the room.
"Please, excuse my daughter!" She reached them in a flash and attempted to pry the girl from his torso. "Kimiko, come here, don't be rude!"
She ignored her mother and clung even tighter. "Thank you." She buried her face into Kirishima's shirt, which had become damp from a mixture of tears and whatever else her tiny shaking shoulders had conjured out of her. "Thank you for holding up our building – if you didn't, then me and my family would've – we wouldn't –" Her lip began to tremble again, and she muffled her wail by burying her face into his shirt again.
Bakugo watched the encounter silently, unwilling to admit that while Red Riot was the reason the building stood standing, the opposite was true for Ground Zero who nearly earned his namesake tonight.
"Kimiko, please!" Her mother pleaded, tugging on her daughter's shoulders, red in the face. "I'm so sorry, please understand she's very upset about her brother."
"Her brother?" Kirishima finally spoke.
"He fainted from smoke inhalation." She explained, quickly catching herself. "But the doctors say he'll be fine! My husband is inside with him right now – we're waiting out here for the O.K. to be discharged."
"Ah, I'm glad I could help." His voice was as soft as ever as he placed his hands on hers atop her daughter's shoulders. He crouched down to be at Kimiko's eye-level and gave her a smile. "See? The doctors say your brother is gonna be fine! So, don't cry! You don't want him to come out and see you crying, do you?"
She sniffled and shrugged, scrubbing her face with her sleeve. "I dunno…"
"C'mon." He insisted, trademark grin spreading across his face as he stood back up and offered her his hand. "Let's get you something to drink. What do you like – juice, hot cocoa?"
"Really, that's not necessary, you've done plenty already!" Her mother insisted, following the pair to the vending machine. She turned back around after seemingly just remembering the stoic blond still seated behind her. "Thank you as well, sir. Call it a mother's eye, but I can tell by the state of you that you're also a hero. However, please forgive me for not knowing your name."
Bakugo shook his head negatively, acutely aware of all the cellphones that had popped up to record Red Riot's encounter several minutes ago. No one was watching this quiet discussion when they were be filming such a tender moment between the pair across the room.
"I didn't help." He stated tersely, jutting his head to point out Kirishima and the little girl by the vending machine. "That guy has a hard time saying 'no,' by the way, so I'd get over there before your kid empties out all the cocoa."
"Oh, dear!" She spun on her heel and dashed away, chiding Kimiko for trying to swindle a hero out of multiple sugary drinks.
Watching more people approach Kirishima by the vending machine to either shake his hand or get a selfie, Bakugo quietly slipped out of the waiting room and made his way to the nurse's station. The hospital was busy thanks to the fire, so he waited surprisingly patiently for one nurse to finish her phone call before turning to help him.
"I'm looking for Uraraka Ochako." The name still tasted unfamiliar on his tongue, even though he and Deku still spoke regularly.
The nurse typed in her name and scanned the information on her computer screen. "Are you friend or family?" The question was stated as naturally as saying "good morning."
"I'm…f–"
Friend? Hardly. What kind of friend indiscriminately blasts someone hard enough to obliterate the support beam she'd just put up?
"Forget it." He sighed.
"Pardon?" The nurse tilted her head curiously.
He didn't bother trying to explain himself. Instead, he simply turned around and made for the exit without another word. Once outside, he fished his phone from his pocket and dialed the only person who could possibly help him sort out this night.
The call rang for a while before finally connecting on the last ring before voicemail.
"You better have a damn good excuse for this one, Sparky."
"I'm so sorry, Uraraka!" Deku exclaimed, dark brows knitting together as he brought the phone as close to his face as he possibly could – as if that would transport him into the hospital room with her. "The time difference – we were in the lab – I didn't even hear my–!" He could hardly get his thoughts in order, he was fraught with juggling so many emotions. "What did the doctors say?"
"She's going to be fine, Midoriya-kun." Sayaka, otherwise known as the Pro Hero: Gaia, answered for her.
She held the girl's phone for her so she could focus on her breathing. Currently, they had her on a nebulizer to ensure she had the freshest air possible and the machine roared with purpose beside the hospital bed. The oxygen swirled within her mask and she took deep, even breaths. Sayaka had arrived too late to all the fanfare of the various monitors, IVs, and finger pricks, but she'd made it just in time to catch the tail-end of the doctor's explanation of the nebulizer.
"She had us worried for a moment there, though…"
"No kidding!" His wide green eyes locked onto the older woman, who seriously needed to work on her conversation skills. She had nearly sent him to the ER tonight too with her terrible delivery of news. "What on earth happened?"
Apparently forgetting that she was on a video-call, Ochako frantically gave her boss the universal hand gesture for "ixnay" while Deku watched.
"I saw that!"
She startled with a tiny squeak, caught red-handed.
"Uraraka, tell me what happened." His tender voice was sincere. "Before I go reading rumors online."
The young brunette sighed and nodded her head, giving Sayaka permission to spill the details.
"Well, you see Midoriya-kun." She began. "From what I can understand, the doctors seem to believe that our Ochako-chan succumbed to smoke inhalation."
Deku placed his fingers to his chin in thought, probably attempting to scour through the vast information network that was his brain for everything he knew about the condition.
"She went into cardiac arrest from the lack of oxygen and was found unresponsive underneath the building. The heroes that recovered her performed CPR and possibly saved her life."
Ochako peered out the window at the dark sky, where the bright smoldering building was still visible, and pressed her fingers to her chest to feel her strong heart beating beneath the hospital gown almost in defiance of Sayaka's words. Breathing was still a bit of a hassle what with all the wheezing, but as long as she didn't try to inhale too deeply, she could spare her throat and nose a little scratchiness.
"What was she doing underneath a collapsing building?" Deku demanded, previous kindness disappeared from his voice. "Why was she down there all alone?!"
"Midoriya-kun, I assure you I would not have sent her on a mission I didn't think she could handle."
"I should have been there tonight helping with the fire." He shook his head in disbelief. "I knew I should have brought you here with me. Uraraka, I'm so sorry I wasn't there." He was so sincere it almost broke her heart. "There are problems down here, as well. Have you seen the protests that have erupted here? It's like nowhere is safe anymore…"
She turned back to the camera to peer into his deeply doleful gaze, and gave him an encouraging smile that she hoped he could still see beneath her misty mask. He shouldn't have blamed himself for her injuries, but she understood his frustration. Even now, she couldn't help the pang of guilt she felt for making him worry. But would it have made any difference if she'd kept the severity of her condition from him? He'd find out one way or another through some form of media, so it was better he heard it straight from the horse's mouth. Well, technically the horse's boss' mouth, but she wouldn't split hairs about it.
There was a polite knock on the door and both women peered up as the doctor came in.
"Excuse us, Midoriya-kun." Sayaka begged his pardon, especially considering the frantic state he was in. "The doctor needs a word."
"Alright." He nodded his head and did his best to match Ochako's warm smile. "Keep me posted on any changes, please."
"Roger." Sayaka winked.
The doctor entered the room with a nurse close behind. She held her hand out for the nurse to pass over Ochako's charts and stood at the foot of the bed while perusing them. She nodded her head and mumbled under her breath as she considered all the information before her, and the two heroes waited for her diagnosis with bated breath.
"Good news, Uraraka-san." She clapped the chart shut and placed it in the file attached to the foot the bed. "You'll be able to go home first thing tomorrow morning."
The young hero's entire body seemed to sigh in relief.
"Your vitals have returned to normal and stabilized enough that we don't think you're at any elevated risk of relapse. So, it's really just a precaution that we're keeping you overnight in order to monitor you." She smiled. "But you'll be free to leave once we finish up some final paperwork and show you how to use the at-home nebulizer you'll be taking with you."
"That's a relief." Sayaka said, as the nurse worked on reading the monitors and IVs and other various medical things they'd stuck into her poor sidekick's body.
"But the battle's not necessarily over." The doctor warned. "You'll be taking home the nebulizer to use for the next 5 to 7 days in order to fully clear out your chest. Use it once for 20 minutes before bed and after waking."
Ochako nodded with wide eyes, a bit overwhelmed by everything going on.
"I'll also be prescribing you an inhaler for any asthma-like symptoms you may experience over the next few weeks. Use it anytime you feel short of breath or have a coughing fit."
Ochako swallowed her nerves. This all sounded quite serious.
"What about work?" Sayaka suddenly questioned.
"Ah, yes." The doctor seemed to just remember something. "You're a rescue hero, right?"
Ochako nodded.
"I would definitely take it easy for the next week while the nebulizer works its magic. After that though, it'll be up to your discretion. Let's set a follow-up exam for next week and see how your recovery is coming along."
Both women nodded, feeling like bobble-heads in the shadow of such a flurry of information.
"Oh, don't look so serious." The doctor insisted. "You should be very proud of yourselves – you saved that apartment building and all its inhabitants." Her glasses seemed to twinkle with sudden deviousness. "And thanks to you and your fellow heroes, this hospital is silent as a morgue tonight!" She whirled around with a cackle, leaving her patient to marvel at her very dark doctor humor.
"Would you gimme a damn minute?!"
Bakugo snatched a hasty Mirko by her shoulder to stop her and she whirled around with fire in her eyes. He opened his mouth to demand she give him a damn minute, but then his phone started to ring from the pocket of his joggers. More startled than anything, he quickly retrieved it and scowled at the caller ID. Fucking Deku always had the worst damn timing in the world and he forcefully silenced the call as if he were shoving his face out of the way in person.
"I'm not dickin' around here, Sparky."
Mirko's armored foot was tapping impatiently, and passersby were starting to stare. Her biceps rivaled Bakugo's when they were folded across her chest like that and that quirk of hers was powerful enough to make the ground start shaking around them. She was several inches shorter than he was, but she more than made up for it with the glare in her blood red gaze.
Bakugo had rushed over to the agency from the hospital after practically pleading with her over the phone to stay back before she went to her office to complete her paperwork. And as much as he didn't want to agree, Kirishima had been right. He had to tell Mirko about what had gone down tonight at the fire, so he figured doing so outside the lobby would give them enough privacy from nosy peers. He quickly put his phone away before Mirko got tired of waiting and immediately got back to business.
"Why the hell would I be lying about a cat-girl?!"
"I don't know!" She barked back. "To make yourself look pathetic enough for me not to suspend?!"
He felt his shoulders stiffen hard as cement, suddenly just as heavy to bear.
"Did the thought not even occur to you, or did you just think your actions tonight would have no consequences?"
"She admitted she was gathering intel!" He raged, ready to breathe fire if only his quirk permitted. "What the hell was I supposed to do – just let her go?"
Mirko snatched the collar of Kirishima's vivid shirt to pull him in close. "You were supposed to catch her." She snarled directly into his ear before shoving him away.
Bakugo stumbled backwards from the jolt but refused to fall.
"Don't bother filling out your paperwork, either. As far as the official reports are concerned, you were never there. That's the goddamn last thing we need getting out." She placed her hands on her hips and Bakugo didn't dare tell her about the photograph that was currently doing rounds online. "Y'know, kid, in the years we've been workin' together, I never really minded that mouth of yours or that shitty attitude that sent the other Pros runnin'." She chuckled darkly and shook her head in disbelief. "But for you to stand there and expect me to clean up your mess for you – and the most pathetic part of this whole thing is: I did!" She released an ironic whistle. "Did you really learn nothin' from me in all this time? You can't count on anyone but yourself."
"I wasn't – !"
"Save it." She silenced him with a finger dangerously close to his chin. Strength like hers could have easily broken it for him if she so desired. "Did you want me to praise you for not realizing you were feeding a spy – and then for letting them escape?"
"Would you just –"
"Did you even realize that you're the reason the building almost came down tonight? Or did your personal crusade take priority over civilian lives? Let's not forget those of your fellow heroes'!"
Bakugo was forced to seethe in silence for once, palms detonating even through his trembling fists. He was so mad he could actually feel his boiling blood surging through his veins, powering his muscles with energy he couldn't rightfully release.
"What?" Mirko baited him. "Nothing to say for once?"
It physically pained him to remain this stoic in the face of a person whose antagonistic reputation preceded his own by over a mile. He didn't want to admit she was right, but he could never lie. He just wanted to do the right thing, but he never could have predicted that it had been the wrong thing all along.
"Rescuing someone from the danger that your own carelessness caused does not make you a hero." She continued. "Real heroes don't have to play nice if they don't wanna, but they have to do better than the enemies they're fighting. Otherwise, we may as well be the villains, after all."
His entire body went slack at the idea of his shortsightedness nearly causing an old classmate her life. Kirishima had been there, too, but they both knew a building collapse wouldn't be enough to kill him. That meant Mirko already knew about Uraraka, and that this conversation actually had nothing to do with letting a villain escape.
"…I didn't know she was there."
"Would it have made a difference if you did?"
"Of course, it would have!" He threw her venom right back at her. "You act like you got me all figured out, but you don't have a clue! The reason the villain got away in the first place was because I let her go in order to save Uraraka instead!"
Mirko didn't spare him any slack – he needed to hear this. She'd worked with him long enough to know the only way to get through his thick skull was to drill straight through it.
"I'm gonna need you to pay attention now. You willingly jeopardized an in-progress rescue that we intentionally left you out of because we determined your quirk too risky to use." She huffed. "And now you've got nothing to show for disobeying orders but stupid excuses. Can you even acknowledge how bad the situation would have been if that gravity girl didn't run in and stabilize the foundations that you took out?"
"Her name is Uravity."
"It may as well be Joan of Arc to you!" She took a stomping step closer and shook the sidewalk again. "And you're still too stubborn to see that you should be down on your knees kissing her feet! If it weren't for her, that building would be gone and so would half its tenants. And for what? A cat-girl with intel that any mook could look up online anyway?!"
Bakugo averted his heated gaze to the ground.
"I'm putting you on leave until we can figure out what the hell to do with you." She announced. "Any further actions you take as a hero will no longer be affiliated with this agency and will henceforth be considered Vigilantism."
The word sucker-punched him harder than Mirko ever could. "Is that a fucking joke, Rumi?!"
"Does it look like I'm laughin'?" She snapped. "You've had enough warnings. It's time for you to learn that nobody is above the law, no matter how talented they are. What you did tonight crossed the line that no hero can ever cross. You almost killed someone tonight."
A/N: God, I love tearing Bakugo down! He's my favorite character, worry not, but what's the point of featuring him if you don't teach him a lesson along the way? Good thing we only write about our faves, otherwise redemption would not be coming and he would probably just go blowing off steam by blowing things up! Sorry if this was a little ~dramatique~ towards the end – I may have had the Game of Thrones playlist on Spotify going and I also may have gotten a little too swept up in the moment ^^;; I'm also obsessed with Mirko (as if you couldn't tell that by now) and I'm sad we haven't actually seen a whole lot of her in the manga so I had to improvise how she'd react to something like this. Not only does she seem like she'd defend her friends and fellow heroes if it cost her life, but she also seems big on not relying on others, so that's why I made her so quick to attack Bakugo's hotheaded decision that almost got Ochako killed. But don't worry, things should take an interesting turn in the next chapter. See you all then!