Lightning Serenade

Chapter 44: Not a Filter I

A/N: My polka-dot foot tan is getting stronger with every passing weekend. In other news, a kid decided to yeet himself off a wall into the lazy river today, so I had to yell at him for that. I was also tyrant of the slides today when kids would try to climb up them or go down headfirst. I absolutely ruined some kids' days today... maybe even their whole lives, all because I said they couldn't go up the slide and get kicked in the face, like god intended. I also received a thumbs down last weekend after telling kiddos to get away from the pool edge after we were closed and everyone was supposed to be leaving (key word: supposed). She gave me a literal thumbs down, using her actual hand, when I walked past a few minutes later.

TLDR: I'm the ruiner of kids' lives. Now, let's get started, so I can ruin some fictional kids' lives! :D

Everything had been going well.

Neito asked Denki for help with math, and Denki suggested that he just join in Bakugou's study group with him. After the offer, the blond boys had stared at each other for two seconds before bursting out laughing, knowing exactly how much of a disaster that would turn out to be. So, Denki readily agreed to learn during Bakugou's study group, and then bring that knowledge over to Neito and Hitoshi when they studied later in the week.

Neito and Bakugou were not on friendly terms, even after teaming up to rescue Denki together. Bakugou could hold a grudge, after all. And tying him up instead of allowing him to take on the villains who were after him head-on was unforgivable. While Neito and Bakugou shared heated glares every time their eyes met, Bakugou's full of rage and Neito's full of challenge, Hitoshi and Bakugou had been getting along just fine. Well, as well as anyone can get along with Bakugou, that is.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Hitoshi asked, standing a few meters away from Bakugou in the center of the training gym.

"How many goddamn times do I have to ask before—"

And, with a smile, Hitoshi enveloped Bakugou's mind, taking over his free will completely.

It was completely foreign to Bakugou. He had never felt anything like it. The lack of control was almost liberating, in a way. He didn't have to be so damn perfect because, under Hitoshi's quirk, he couldn't be anything at all that Hitoshi didn't command him to be.

Hitoshi's quirk had been getting stronger and stronger. He could hold up to five people at once under his quirk, but the more people he added, the easier it was for the stronger ones to break free. With just one person getting all of his attention and the full force of his quirk, it was virtually impossible to escape from unless there was an outside force, like a sudden shove or some pain, that would give the clarity needed to break out of the hold he had over their mind. Even then, he was getting better at holding that down, too.

It was almost laughable how Denki could just as easily break through his brainwashing just as easily as he had that first time, back on Unit Beta. Actually, it might have been even easier and more efficient on Denki's end, now, even as Hitoshi's quirk advanced and his skill increased. It was like nothing changed how Denki experienced and interacted with Hitoshi's quirk.

After taking an extreme amount of pleasure bossing Bakugou around and having him mindlessly follow his commands, Hitoshi released his hold on Bakugou's mind.

"How the fuck can a nerd like Deku break through your quirk when I can't?" Bakugou grumbled, kicking at the ground in frustration, shoulders and arms tense with frustration.

"My quirk has advanced a lot since then," Hitoshi answered, even though Bakugou wasn't really looking for an answer and just wanted to drown in self-pity. It wasn't Hitoshi's style to let a friend drown in self-pity, though, so too bad for Bakugou. "I think I'd be able to hold him until I decided to release him if we ever got a rematch where he would answer me again."