𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐃 ʙɴʜᴀ

twelve

BAKUGOU KATSUKI KNEW HE FUCKED UP. He knew that. He could tell by the overwhelming silence in the crowd; not a single whisper or even a release of breath. He could barely even register his own, heavy breathing.

Was it silent? He could see the crowd cheering, their mouths moving and fingers pointing, hands pumping. But he couldn't hear it. A tidal wave had washed over him, and now everything sounded... like nothing. At first, their yells were just fading, like he just had water in his ears.

But as he slowly submerged even further into the depths of the sea, the noise ceased and all that remained was the beat of his own heart pounding in his chest and a desolate silence that accompanied it.

It was his punishment, he thought, for fucking up like this.

That was his last thought before he passed out, his body colliding with the cement below him.

ONE HOUR EARLIER

"Are you crazy listeners ready for some action?!" A voice yelled through the intercom. Immediately, the audience erupted in cheers and hollers in response. "Yeah, that's what I like to hear!"

Bakugou felt like he was going to throw up.

"Let's introduce our classes, shall we?"

Katsuki tuned Present Mic out, too wrapped up in his own mind. Today was the sports festival and people from all over Japan were gathered in Yueei's stadium to see him and his classmates. His nerves were at an all time high, his senses on overdrive. Every beam of sunlight pricked his skin, and his body was on fire. The crowd was loud in his ears, and he could smell the hot dogs that the snack vendors were selling.

"And of course, the class that's survived a villain attack recently, and personally the one I'm rooting for, Class 1-A!!"

Bakugou didn't even register his body moving as Kirishima shoved him. His feet dragged on the ground beneath him. An elbow dug deep into his side and he turned to give his red-headed friend a look. But it was only then that he realized the silence.

"Bakugou, please come up to make your speech, as first placer of the entrance exam!" Present Mic announced, most likely for the second time since Bakugou clearly didn't register it the first.

Fuck.

"Go, dude!" Kirishima whispered, pushing him forward.

Katsuki hated it. A thousand eyes felt heavy on his body, the stares burning right through him. How was he even supposed to make a speech? He couldn't talk. What if he says something terrible and offends everyone? He hadn't been approached about this.

Wait. Fuck. He had. Aizawa mentioned it to him and told him he didn't have to do the speech if he didn't want to. But he was having a bad day when Aizawa asked so he really didn't pay attention. How stupid could he be? Damn it.