A sharp whistle blew, and the students of 1-A took off of the outdoor rubber track. Today's training was just to see where they stood after the Quirk Training Camp. They were supposed to be tested there, but Bakugo's abduction and villain attack kind of quelled that.
Two students were missing, however: Katsuki Bakugo and Shoto Todoroki—and for good reasons. They both suffered from the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress, but they were in different stages of acceptance. For instance, Shoto was attending his first therapy session, talking things through with his English teacher, Pro-Hero Present Mic, also known as Hizashi Yamada, or Yamada Sensei to the students.
Bakugo, meanwhile, was under close watch by All Might, who had just had his arm taken out of the cast and sling.
"Why do you have to watch me." The teen griped.
"Because you are suspended." All Might responded, frankly, to Bakugo's repeated question.
He was sitting in an empty classroom, watched and surveyed by the former Number One Pro Hero. And he was miserable. "Yeah, but, like, why does it have to be you?"
"It won't be forever. Or even all day. You see, Young Bakugo, I am the on-call staff for the dorms. I will be patrolling. I don't have time to watch you."
That relieved the teenager. "Well, I don't need a damn sitter. Why can't you leave me alone now?"
All Might frowned. "I think you misunderstand. You will be watched 24/7, 1-on-1. Two weeks. I just switch out with Yamada Sensei after school hours."
Bakugo punched the desk. He scowled at All Might, looking for a reaction. He received none.
"Let's go for a walk." All Might suggested. "You're wiggling in your seat, still."
"I don't want to." Bakugo frowned.
"Okay, then let's talk." All Might more-or-less ordered. "What got into you last night?"
There was silence as Katsuki tried to stare down his idol. Again, he received no reaction. It bothered him. He finally talked- more like he finally muttered. "Dunno."
All Might leaned forward at the desk. "I find that hard to believe. You can't say you know anything?"
For a minute or two, Bakugo stared at his classmates, testing on the field, before he finally answered. He looked at All Might. "Can you promise to keep it a secret?" He asked in earnest.
"Of course." All Might nodded.
The teen took a breath. "Ever since you had to save me and subsequently retire, I feel that everyone is out to get me. I have no one to trust. I want to be a hero more than anything, sure, but even with my drive to be the goddamn best, the League of Villains still saw ME as potential for a pawn of evil. Last night, I thought that Todoroki was asking me about my rejection of counseling because he wanted to get 'better' and frame me to be weak." He looked at All Might. "I'm not weak."
"You have proven that a million times over." All Might assured. "Fear not for that. As far as Todoroki and what he has going on- it doesn't affect you, and likewise, you shouldn't affect him and his treatment."
The bell rang. "Class in five." Bakugo sighed. It hurt to sit on his bottom.
All Might stood. "I'll take you to meet your classmates downstairs." He began. "And Young Bakugo—"
"Hm?" Bakugo reacted in curiousty.
"You don't need to worry about what counseling is like- it would be almost exactly like this."
That got Katsuki thinking- if Shoto was facing his demons, why couldn't he face his own? Time to dwell on that would have to wait, however, because his fellow students would be coming through the downstairs locker rooms soon. Bakugo waited outside the gym.
Class 1-A didn't use the indoor gym too often. For the most part, they trained outside because of the nature of their quirks. Physical Education was required like most high schools in Japan, and so indoor facilities were reserved for the business and support students.
Shoto came out with the rest of the students, thoroughly confusing Katsuki, who knew that he was in therapy. Bakugo had nothing to say to his classmate, but was still annoyed that he had been ignored. If last night really happened, why did no one say anything about it?
A nightmare? No. All Might knew. Bakugo ignored the other students greeting him and asking where he had been and ran to catch up to Todoroki. He sidled up to him, after telling Ida to 'fuck off' for ordering him to 'walk like the others'.
"Shoto. Tell me what happened last night." Katsuki ordered.
"I don't think you want to know." Shoto replied, shouldering his bag. He changed the subject. "I hear you're on suspension."
Bakugo frowned. "Yeah." Was all he wanted to say but he followed it up with his concern about Present Mic being his monitor until nighttime. He just prayed that Aizawa wasn't watching him at night.
After all of the students were dismissed, Bakugo waited back. He scowled at his teacher and waited for him to notice. Aizawa knew the boy was throwing attitude, but frankly did not care much. Mic Sensei appeared in the hallway and Bakugo stood.
"Dinner is at 6. Be there and don't cause any trouble for Yamada Sensei, please." Shota Aizawa warned.
Bakugo's glare increased. "Fine. As long as it's not you."
"Testy, are we?" Present Mic sighed. "What do you want to do?" He asked as they headed for the dorms. They made an agreement that Mic would do his best to not make it obvious that Bakugo was on watch, but no steadfast promises were made. "If you try and do something stupid, there will be repercussions. I don't expect anything of the sort, however. I'm sure you will behave." Hizashi said, more-or-less just hoping rather than believing the boy's capabilities for obedience.
"I want to go to the gym." Bakugo said. He looked at his instructor's face as he was about to speak. Bakugo went back to scowling at the grass. "I know. Off-limits." He sighed. "Then I'm going to my room."
In the meantime, Aizawa moved to the staff dorm suite that he shared with his husband. Mic and Aizawa had two rooms across for each other with a sitting area in-between. They decided to move into one room and use the other as an office that they could use and still stay in the dorm. He thought that he would hate it, but as it turned out, UA had a nicer staff housing situation than the downtown Tokyo apartment the two had shared before. Shota went to take a nap. He was on Bakugo's night watch, anyways.
The day passed too slowly for Bakugo. He felt like he was grounded, which, he kinda was. When dinnertime came, Katsuki heard a knock on his door. He opened it to find Shoto.
"Can I come in?" He asked.
"No." Katsuki said, closing the door in his face.
The visitor knocked again. "May I come in?"
Bakugo sighed. "Fine." He stepped aside. "But why?"
Todoroki handed him instant noodles and chopsticks. "Because we need to talk."