(A/N) Two maybe more Hitoshi chapters before we stick with Momo again through Internships. I am going to clarify something here. It's probably going to sound like I'm bashing the teachers, which I'm not. They made bad decisions in canon especially when it came to this, and that will carry over to here. The reaction to said bad decisions however will not. I repeat once more that there will be no bashing in this fic. You'll understand by the end of this chapter I can assure you of that.
Hitoshi wasn't sure when it had happened, but somewhere along the line of living with Toru and seeing the others daily at school, Hagakure became Toru, Ojiro became Mashirao, and Yaoyorozu became Momo. He still wouldn't... couldn't speak, not yet, but he was working on it. Quiet whispers where no one could hear them over the shower going, practicing in front of a mirror when everyone else was asleep.
Not that the last one happened much anymore, not after Toru's mom had gotten him in to see a doctor and gotten him melatonin, which was apparently a magic sleep thing. Considering it knocked him out for almost 12 hours straight when he first took it, he believed the magic bit.
He'd been knocked out in the first round by the only quirkless person in the entire hero course, but he didn't mind. He didn't have the strength yet to handle a full fight at the level everyone else could, but he was working on it. He would get there, and he would advance to where they were now then beyond.
But Momo, Momo had gotten third place as far as he could tell with how the matches had been set up. He was proud, happy to see that his friend had gotten so far.
The podium started rising up with the victors on it. Something turned in Hitoshi's stomach despite the fact he hadn't eaten before the matches. He paled slightly in the sun as the podium rose. Momo on the third podium, Todoroki on the second, and Bakugo, chained and muzzled, on the first.
Hitoshi swallowed back the bile rising in his throat. He couldn't move, couldn't look away, muscles instantly locked at the sight of the silver muzzle. Momo looked horrified, making only one attempt before one of the teachers whispered something to her and she started arguing with them instead, casting glance after glance Hitoshi's way.
His heart was beating too fast, but he was stuck, stuck in place, unable to look away, unable to stop seeing it. Bakugo, hands locked in an iron block, chained to a concrete pillar, a muzzle encasing his mouth. He was restrained, and Hitoshi recognized the all too clear panic and fear in his wild eyes.
He couldn't breathe, felt the muzzle closing around his face, every muscle locked. He couldn't move, couldn't claw at the muzzle he could feel clipping into place over his face, digging into the only recently healed injury on his face.
"Hitoshi," Toru whispered harshly. He sucked in a deep breath, but it didn't fix his problems breathing, jaw locked so hard it hurt. "Hitoshi, come on. Mash, we gotta get him out of here."
Hitoshi didn't... couldn't move as Toru and Mashirao carefully turned him around, gently pushing his stiff body around.
"Come on, we got you," Mashirao whispered. "Can I pick you up?"
Hitoshi barely managed a whimper and a motion that could barely be called a nod.
Mashirao studied his face for a second, then nodded, bending down to wrap an arm around his knees, the other wrapped around his back. Hitoshi choked on the air he was only half breathing at the quick transition from stiff standing to the princess carry Mashirao was using.
"Toru, use your clothes and block off the stage," Mashirao said quickly.
Hitoshi wondered why no one seemed to be noticing his panicked breathing that was too fast, he was hyperventilating, and everyone was just staring at All Might giving out the medals.
He only saw Momo accept hers then drop it to the floor as soon as it left All Might's hand before Toru blocked his view of the podium with her outfit. The usual gym uniform. Blue, red, white.
"Come on Hitoshi, breath with me," She grabbed one of his hands, gently moving it around to rest on her chest. Hitoshi felt it moving up and down, the rough fabric under his fingertips, the warmth coming from the skin underneath. "Breath, we can't have you passing out."
So Hitoshi breathed, focusing on the uniform she had on, the tail fluff on the end of Mashirao's tail curled around Toru's hipbone to make sure she was right there, the view of his pale skin against the blue white red, the same uniform Mashirao had on, and the flash of the silver bracelet she was wearing.
He focused on the warmth of Toru's skin underneath the rough fabric, the fabric against the rest of his skin, the warmth from Mashirao's arms holding him carefully.
He focused on the cheering of the crowd, Toru's soft counting, the sound of their footsteps as they entered the hallways away from the loud crowd.
He focused on the scent of sweat and the detergent they used on the uniforms.
He focused on the taste of the blood from when he'd bitten his tongue snapping his jaw closed.
"That's better," Toru encouraged, her words loud in the empty echoing hallway. "Keep breathing with me."
They ended up in one of the abandoned waiting rooms. Mashirao gently set Hitoshi down in one of the corners opposite the door, then crouched in front of him, conspicuously leaving his view of the door unobstructed, and multiple exit points for Hitoshi to leave if he wanted. Toru settled next to Mashirao, although didn't drop Hitoshi's hand, even if it took some awkward maneuvering. Hitoshi was glad for both of them. He couldn't talk at the moment, and one hand was occupied by Toru, so he couldn't sign either, so he settled for trying to convey his gratefulness with his eyes.
"Feeling a little better?" Toru asked quietly, tracing patterns into his palm.
Hitoshi nodded slightly, trying to systematically go through and relax all of his muscles, which were aching from being clenched so long.
"I'm having words with the teachers," Mashirao said, glaring at the door.
"Don't. It won't fix anything." Toru shook her head, tracing a star. "They won't care."
Mashirao paused, then hummed in agreement. "Right. It's too late anyway."
"They probably don't even realize that was wrong," Toru laughed bitterly, tracing a teardrop shape into Hitoshi's palm. Hitoshi agreed.
"I don't think anyone besides us realized something was wrong with that."
"Yeah." Toru shifted to pull her phone out of a hidden pocket. "Momo wants to know where we are. Hitoshi?"
Hitoshi considered it, then nodded. Yeah. Having Momo would help. Toru smiled gently at him, and quickly typed something to her phone and tucked it away.
"Do you want us to stay here, or would you like cuddles," Mashirao asked patiently.
Hitoshi twisted his hand ever so slightly to grab onto Toru's hand, then tugged her forward. Cuddles. He wanted cuddles. To erase the horrible thought that if they'd muzzle one kid, they could very well muzzle another.
Toru and Mashirao shifted around, moving so they were tucked on either side of Hitoshi, and Hitoshi relaxed into the contact.
Momo arrived a few minutes later, panting slightly when she did. "I had to make sure no one followed me," she explained quietly. "Should I lock the door, or leave it open?"
Hitoshi made a motion like locking a door. It was probably best, if Momo was here, that meant the ceremony was over, which meant people would be coming.
She closed the door behind her, locking it in a quick motion. "I noticed the panic attack, are you feeling better now?"
Hitoshi nodded. He still couldn't talk, and it would probably be a while before he could walk or anything, but he was better.
Her shoulders relaxed just a tad. "Alright. That's good. I'm going to text Iida and say where we are and that we shouldn't be disturbed. He'll funnel everyone away."
Momo tucked herself in next to Toru, pulling out her phone to type on it for a moment.
"Did they unchain Bakugo?" Mashirao asked quietly, shifting so Hitoshi could hunch and make a valid attempt to tuck his head underneath his chin.
"Yeah," Momo sighed, shaking her head. "They got rid of the thing too during the giving of the medal itself, although he just cussed them out and refused the medal. He wasn't happy about the unfinished fight. I'm going to see if he'll fight me for an hour or two later today. Maybe it'll get some energy out."
Hitoshi shuddered lightly at the thought of Momo fighting Bakugo.
She laid a hand on his shin, rubbing her thumb back and forth soothingly. "I'll be careful, don't worry. I'll probably have someone nearby too just in case."
Hitoshi offered her his empty hand, and she took it, smiling softly at him. "I'll be careful. Bakugo won't kill me."
"If he does I will kill him," Toru said with absolute certainty.
"I'll help," Mashirao commented.
"Don't kill anyone," Momo admonished lightly. "It'd be bad for a lot of reasons."
"Okay fine," Toru huffed, tracing an X on Hitoshi's hand. "I won't kill anyone. Just a bit of maiming then."
"No maiming either," Momo said, narrowing her eyes. "We are not inflicting pain on Bakugo because he will not be killing me."
"Fine," Toru huffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I won't maim him."
"Thank you," Momo sighed.
Hitoshi just sighed into Ojiro's chest and closed his eyes. Maybe he'd wake up and find this had all been a bad nightmare. Probably not, but he could hope.
Although, without the panic clogging his mind, his brain wandered to other places. The teachers had let it happen, they'd let Bakugo be muzzled, even muzzled him themselves. They muzzled one kid, one that didn't even have a vocal quirk. Who was to say they wouldn't do it to another? Who was to say they wouldn't see him and think 'villain' and put the muzzle back on?
He'd have to be careful. He wouldn't speak, not in front of the teachers, perhaps not even at school. Too risky, he didn't want to be muzzled because of the risk of him speaking to other students, the risk of him brainwashing them.
Of using the quirk he couldn't actually use without having a panic attack.
(A/N) Oh Hitoshi… Not a correct thinking pattern, but a valid and perfectly reasonable one. We know Aizawa would never muzzle Hitoshi, but he doesn't. I've had this planned for months, been waiting to get to this point. Don't worry, this'll play into a bigger plot point a bit later….*evil cackling*