A/N: OMG! On Wattpad, Lightning Serenade is currently ranked number one under the tag 'Shinsou.' I'm freaking out! Thank you to all of my readers! In celebration, I figured I'd also answer all the questions I asked last chapter!
Favorite MHA ships:
Favorite hero ship: Present Mic x Aizawa
Favorite student ship: Shinsou x Kaminari
Favorite villain ship: Shigaraki x Dabi
Favorite hero-villain ship: Dabi x Hawks
Favorite rare pair: Kaminari x Monoma is really growing on me since writing MonoShinKami!
Favorite crack ship: Aizawa x Shigaraki. Aizawa would never, but it's fun to imagine!
Favorite gay ship: Bakugou x Shinsou, which has been growing in popularity, I'm happy to see!
Favorite lesbian ship: Toga x Uraraka
Favorite straight ship: Bakugou x Uraraka, though I think their platonic friendship is much sweeter.
Favorite villain AU character: Kaminari. All of the traitor Denki fics I've read will contend that!
Favorite trans headcanon character: Nonbinary Sero, Genderfluid Kaminari, Trans Hawks
Other favorite rare headcanons that you don't really see anywhere else: I read so much fanfiction that headcanon and actual canon mix up. I don't know what's confirmed or not anymore. LMAO!
Now, onto the story:
Hitoshi and Neito loved Denki. One of the reasons was because, when it mattered, he could put everything aside in order to do the right thing.
Neito's classmates have heard it all. They know how he feels about Class 1-A and how they think they are so great. They know that he wants to be in Class 1-A, and that is one of the reasons he goes so hard. What they don't know is that he is so adamant about getting into Class 1-A because of a certain electric blonde boy who had stolen his heart is there. After the showdown between Neito and Denki, Class 1-B thought they were doomed to be enemies forever. Neito never talked about his affection for Denki with his classmates. They knew he had a soulmate, and that soulmate was Hitoshi, and he knew they would never understand. They would think he's throwing away a good thing, that he's passing over his literal soulmate just to go after someone who is powerful and had made it into Class 1-A. But Neito doesn't underestimate Hitoshi like others do, because he knows from multiple experiences just how powerful Hitoshi's quirk is, and just how capable and good Hitoshi is.
Denki is capable and good, too, which is another reason that he loves Denki so much.
But Class 1-B wouldn't understand; not when they already had the idea of unstable, unhinged, crazy Neito in their minds.
So, it took them all off guard when, instead of gloating and taunting Bakugou, as he was strapped to the podium to stand in the number one spot, he was quiet. When they all turned to look at him, ready for him to burst out with catastrophic insults and join in the leering crowd, they found him lurched forward over the railing, white-knuckled grip on the metal bar keeping him from falling from the balcony seating area, and paler than any of them had ever seen him before.
Neito was breathing hard, and had tears in his eyes, but that wasn't like him at all. He remembered the suffocating feeling of the muzzles that Yaoyorozu had made for them, and the pain of trying to fight against it. He could only imagine the pain that Bakugou was going through, but even more so, the fear. Everyone saw Bakugou's widened eyes, and took that as rage and indignation, but Neito could see the panic that Bakugou was attempting to fight back with pure anger.
Neito and Bakugou had been on Unit Echo at the same time, and before Neito had wound everyone up enough to pummel him, he had heard about Bakugou's run-in with a sludge villain who had almost suffocated him during a group therapy session.
Neito criticized everything everyone from Class 1-A did, but he never mentioned the fact that Bakugou never wore his uniform correctly, sporting a loose collar and a missing tie every day. There was a reason for that. Maybe Neito wouldn't have cared as much if he wasn't bonded with Hitoshi, who had had similar experiences being in foster care with a dangerous and powerful voice quirk. But did it matter that under different circumstances he would have been taunting Bakugou's erratic behavior right along with the crowd? Neito didn't think so, but he didn't feel like he was thinking at all in that moment.
When Neito lurched forward, trying to get to Bakugou as quickly as humanly possible, Kendou had saved Neito from a nasty fall by grabbing onto him, pulling him back from teetering over the ledge. Neito had turned around and beelined to the stairs, trying to get onto the field as quickly as possible, to get those damn chains and that damn muzzle off of Bakugou's face.
He didn't care that Bakugou had called him crazy and unhinged. He didn't care that Bakugou didn't think he was good enough for one of his close friends. None of that mattered, because Neito would hope that someone would do the same if it was Hitoshi in that situation. Someone had to do something, and sometimes that someone was going to have to be Neito.
By the time Neito had made it to ground level, pushing past the crowds on the stairs trying to beat the traffic out of the arena, the winners were out of sight once again, and Neito was too late.
So, when Denki had yelled out for them before leaving school grounds that evening, Neito had a hunch that it was going to be about Bakugou instead of the almost-kiss, and he was right, of course. Neito had kept his eyes on not only Hitoshi, but also Denki throughout the sports festival.
When the winners were announced and presented to the crowd, Neito was looking over at Denki instead of the podium. Denki's color draining from his face and the fact that he almost vomited gave Neito the idea that something wasn't quite right, and he felt the visceral reaction come over himself as soon as his brain had comprehended what he was looking at.
Neito was just happy that some of the teachers and UA administrative staff had taken Hitoshi aside, out of view of the commotion, probably to talk to him about how far he had made it as only a general studies student. It was a surprise to everyone, and there was murmuring among the crowd about how such a powerful quirk had passed under the radar of the hero course.
But that murmuring quickly turned to sneering in distaste at Bakugou's erratic behavior, because that is how it might look to those who don't know someone's trauma and specific triggers. It didn't excuse their nasty behavior toward a literal teenager, but it did give reason behind it. It was cruel and heartless, but maybe not senseless.
Hitoshi and Neito were walking in silence as they started to head away from school grounds. Neito had already quickly and quietly explained to Hitoshi what had happened while he was being offered a chance to prove himself further to potentially transfer to the hero course. Hitoshi's excitement was quickly overshadowed by Neito's anxiety.
Neito had tried to be happy and excited for his soulmate, but Hitoshi saw right through him. Something was more important than Hitoshi potentially joining the hero ranks, and Hitoshi wanted to know what that was. So, Neito had told him what had happened.
For something like that to happen in the broken foster care system, it was something that could be prepared for. For something like that to happen at UA? In front of a crowd of people who hurled insults instead of expressing concern over how a teenager was being treated by authority figures? For the blatant misuse and abuse of power the organizers had displayed against a student? It was shocking and frightening.
So, they walked in silence, both thinking about how Bakugou must be feeling and wondering how to show their support, even if it came later than they would have liked. It was no use imaging rushing onto the stage, copying a helpful quirk, and breaking Bakugou out of the chains that bound him and the muzzle that silence him. Not that Bakugou would have much appreciated being rescued like a damsel in distress anyway...
They both stopped short when they heard Denki calling their names and rushing over to them.
"I have an idea. I don't know if it's any good or not, but I could use your help," Denki had huffed, catching his breath after rushing to catch up with the duo.
Neito wanted to bring up the almost-kiss right then, when all three of them were finally together, but even being himself, he knew that another matter was more pressing.
And Denki's idea had been amazing and thoughtful, as always.
"Do you think he'll be mad we didn't run it past him? I would, but he should already be back home and in bed by now…" Denki pondered.
"It's perfect," Hitoshi supplied, giving a small, reassuring smile. "I think it shows we support him, and the more people we can involve, the better. He won't feel indebted or anything because this is all happening after the fact as a response instead of intervening in the moment. But you know him better than we do. What do you think, Denki?"
"Exactly that. He's too independent and proud, but he likes to make waves and be a leader. Showing a lot of support afterwards would be the next best thing to it not happening at all," Denki explained before pausing. "At least, I think. What if I'm only thinking that to protect myself because I didn't think to jump into action like Neito did?" Denki asked, thinking aloud.
"No!" Neito jumped in automatically. "We all know how he would have reacted as soon as I got down there. He wouldn't want anyone's help in the moment, least of all mine. It was thoughtless. Like I'd really be able to fight off the organizers myself to get to and release Bakugou? It was dumb."
"It was heroic," Denki whispered encouragingly, taking a step forward before hesitating.
It probably wouldn't look good to reach out and physically comfort Neito right in front of Hitoshi when the two blondes had already gotten caught almost kissing.
"It would have been an amazing display to watch you two use Hitoshi's quirk against the adults to get them to go away. Then Neito could switch and use something like Kirishima's quirk to break the chains. It would have been amazing! But with Hitoshi pulled aside, it would have been nearly impossible to get past the organizers to even get the chance."
Neito had a small, blissful smile on his face as Hitoshi and himself walked with the new plan in place.
"What's got you smiling again so soon?" Hitoshi asked. He had worried that Neito would be stuck in a foul mood for quite a few days after the muzzle and failed rescue incident, but here he was, smiling and dazing off into space.
"Denki noticed that I had rushed to go to Bakugou," Neito said, his smile widening as he turned to face Hitoshi. "He noticed that you were pulled away from the rest of the students. He was watching us just as much as we were watching him."
Hitoshi nodded slowly in thoughtful agreement. "This is a good sign," Hitoshi murmured, throwing a small smile in Neito's direction.
The day had been a rollercoaster, and they were in for a long night. Who knew what kind of reactions Denki's plan would bring the following day? As far as the soulmates were concerned, it was worth it just to ease back into Denki's favor alone. They would do whatever it took, and it also helped that they would be helping with an issue that they had already strongly opposed, even if it centered around another student that they didn't particularly get along with.
At 4:00 a.m. the next morning, they all met in the gym furthest away from the school's entrance gate. Todoroki came in around 4:45 a.m., like he always did, and was met with the sight of Yaoyorozu and Monoma stuffing their faces with donuts and ice cream and handing off muzzle after muzzle to Shinsou and Kaminari. Denki greeted him and invited him to help.
Todoroki was not the social butterfly. He also was not very socially aware. However, even he immediately understood the general purpose and was immediately relieved. Standing at second place on the podium, next to Bakugou, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to react or respond. He was very glad to find out that that was not typical and acceptable for adults to restrain a student like that. Living with Endeavor had greatly skewed his normalcy meter, but he was learning. He was glad that his sinking feeling as he stood up there, with Bakugou never giving in or relaxing for even a single second against the chains that bound him, was in tune with how his classmates seemed to be feeling as well.
Todoroki had briefly wondered if he was broken beyond repair from lack of socialization and endless training. This small validation of his own thoughts and feelings was a great relief that maybe he wasn't a lost cause.
Plus, any sign of teenage rebellion that would make his father go over boiling point with anger was a cause that Todoroki wouldn't hesitate to get behind.
Neito was just glad that he quickly figured out how to work with Yaoyorozu's quirk. It was very tricky and took intense concentration, but he was getting more efficient with every mask that he produced after studying the materials and designs all night. He couldn't help but preen under Yaoyorozu's praise at getting the hang of her quirk so quickly; he didn't have to tell her that it was tricky, and that muzzle was literally the only thing he was capable of making because she was already fully aware, and yet she complimented him anyway.
He had always wanted to try Yaoyorozu's quirk, and it was more exhausting than he thought it would be, but it was also super satisfying feeling the completed muzzles exiting his body, one after another, completely formed and perfect. The caffeine from the chocolate ice cream was helping at least a little bit, and he would be fine until school ended and he could crash that afternoon.
When 6:00 a.m. hit, Todoroki, Kaminari, and Shinsou started taking armfuls of muzzles to hand out to classmates who were willing to partake in the demonstration while Yaoyorozu and Monoma continued to shove food in their mouths and output more muzzles, with an undefined goal to just make as many as physically possible until the very last minute.
Bakugou sat in one of the vast gyms, empty besides himself, sweating and panting and crying. He was just so frustrated and felt so alone. When the door opened, he turned to snap at whoever it was to leave. When he saw who it was, he added a more personalized bite to his words.
"What the fuck do you want, mindfuck? With those eyebags, I thought you'd be sleeping in until the last possible second," Bakugou sneered, hoping that the purple-haired general studies student would think his tears were just more sweat. Or better yet, maybe he'd just be offended and leave.
No such luck.
"Denki is organizing a demonstration in protest of how you were treated at the sports festival," Shinsou informed, ignoring the remarks, and definitely noticing that there were tears among the sweat on his face, but gracefully not mentioning it. "We're passing these out to anyone who wants to participate, and we're wearing them until you get a public apology and an official change to the policy to make sure it never happens again."
"I don't need your pity," Bakugou spat, turning away, and starting to do some push-ups, hoping that Shinsou would take the hint and leave.
"It's not pity," Shinsou supplied, walking in further and sitting down a few feet away from where Bakugou was, trying his hardest to ignore him as he focused on using the correct form for each push-up, not allowing his fatigue to make him sloppy.
"It's actually kind of personal. Everyone hates that that happened to you, sure. But I was muzzled in foster care for 'safety.' Denki organized a rally at the local mall and got a lot of signatures against the practice. So, you can imagine how it made him feel seeing the practice spread to somewhere as prestigious as UA instead of being wiped out by the demonstration," Shinsou explained evenly.
"Dammit," Bakugou growled, shifting to a kneeling position, and looking over at Shinsou. "He thinks he gave someone the idea?"
"I wouldn't put it past him," Shinsou admitted with a shrug. "If it's any consolation, it's as much about relieving everyone's guilt for not acting in the moment as much as it is about how you were wronged and how no one wants it to happen again."
"You know just what to fucking say, don't you, smartass?" Bakugou grumbled.
Shinsou just smiled widely in response, knowing that he had Bakugou on board.
"But I'm not… I can't…" Bakugou started, gesturing toward the muzzles next to Shinsou.
"Oh! Here! This one is mine specifically. It's supposed to be a secret, so I'd appreciate if you didn't tell anyone, but right now, you need it more than I do," Shinsou said, grabbing a specific one, even though it looked like all the others.
Shinsou explained that Yaoyorozu had made some adjustments and that it covers the face but allows for talking and breathing and everything else like it wasn't even there.
"Use it if you want. I don't want you to feel left out of your own demonstration. If it's still too much, no big deal. This whole thing is because this happened to you in the first place, so don't feel pressured," Shinsou explained, handing his prized possession over to Bakugou.
"Don't feel pressured," Bakugou repeated mockingly.
Shinsou just smiled at him, knowing that the whole conversation was pressure and small manipulation in order for Bakugou to feel better about the demonstration taking place in his honor.
Shinsou had started toward the door to pass out more muzzles when Bakugou whispered, "Shinsou—"
Shinsou stopped in his tracks and turned around to see Bakugou standing, holding out the muzzle to him from the center of the gym. Shinsou thought that Bakugou was just going to choose not to participate, but what he actually asked surprised him.
"Will you show me how to put it on?"
And Shinsou did. He warned him that it's a weird feeling the first few times and he can either verbally tell him to stop or tap his arm any time he felt like he couldn't handle it. Bakugou was about to scoff, but quickly uncovered the serious concern behind Shinsou's words, and silently nodded his understanding instead.
Shinsou thought that Bakugou would tap out a few times, his hands hovering around his face and the muzzle and his breathing quickening, but he powered through, slowing his own breathing and recentering himself each time. He also showed him how to feel for the release button to remove it on his own once it was on.
"How does it feel?" Shinsou asked, stepping back to give Bakugou more space when the straps were adjusted correctly.
"Not terrible," Bakugou admitted before immediately amending, "actually, pretty easy now that I'm talking right through it."
"Yaoyorozu is amazing," Shinsou offered with a smile and a shrug, gathering up the muzzles and continuing his mission to pass out the others, leaving Bakugou to continue working through his anxiety about the faux muzzle alone.
Shinsou knew Bakugou was stubborn and wouldn't want to see him struggle through it. He seemed fine once he was able to speak through it easily, but Shinsou figured that Bakugou would need some more time to be completely comfortable with it. Shinsou knew from experience that he himself wouldn't feel completely comfortable if he didn't know he was in control and could take it off whenever he wanted, and he also knew that Bakugou wouldn't want to show weakness in front of anyone, even just Shinsou, by taking it off, so he left to give him that freedom.
Bakugou was actually really appreciative and spent the rest of his gym time feeling out the mask, pressing it against his face, and breathing through the claustrophobia. Shinsou was right: Yaoyorozu was amazing, and the mask couldn't have been more perfect. Bakugou thought that there was no way he'd be able to handle something like that over his face when he couldn't even stand to button the top button of his shirt or wear his uniform tie, yet there he was. And Shinsou was pretty amazing, too, to give Bakugou this precious item for him to use through his own hard times.
Shinsou had quickly and easily handed out muzzles to students who had started trickling in and heading to class. As Shinsou rounded the corner back toward the gym to get another armful of muzzles to hand out, a realization came to him.
Bakugou had answered his question without hesitation, even after seeing what he could do at the sports festival. Shinsou often failed to notice right away, like he used to, after being spoiled by getting immediate answers to his questions from his soulmate, friends, and foster family.
Bakugou had also used his actual name, and no one would believe him if he told anyone.