Full Circle

11) Bullying Speech

It was almost the fourth month of school, and time had flown by. But Bakugo almost dreaded how close the fifth month of the year was. His mind was counting down the mere days until the Pro Hero Q&A that he and his students would be forced to attend. Not to mention that everything seemed to be coming to a close. 

Bakugo's class was almost finished with their book, and they were extremely enthralled in attempting to analyze the author's point in writing the way he wrote. They even tried to make a game out of seeing if they could get Bakugo to slip some of his omnipotent information about the book. They failed, of course. 

But at least they gave good effort, and for that Bakugo had mockingly applauded them. 

But even as he walked in the classroom, he dreaded the upcoming lesson--because it would be a hard one. 

Right after the bell rung, the class quieted and Bakugo found himself at the podium much faster than normal. He looked around the engaged classroom, and with a sigh he spoke up with a gentle voice. 

"Today's topic will be a bit harsh, and heavy. I expect you all to treat this with maturity and respect." He commented before deciding the podium wasn't the best place to begin discussion. Instead, he moved to sit on his desk with his legs propped up. 

"If you remember, one of the requirements for entering the Hero Courses of UA, was that weekly therapy sessions and mental health evaluations are mandatory." He saw some students stiffen while others simply nod, confused at where this conversation was headed. "I was one of the staff members who pressed for mandatory mental health checks at this school. This is because I know that society isn't fair to people, and that discrimination and abuse can happen to anyone at anytime. Especially so in today's society. Now, I am not about to read anyone's report out loud, nor am I forcing you to share your pasts. This class period, I simply want you to open your ears and mind to listen." 

Bakugo made eye contact with every student, so they knew he was serious. 

"Now, what I will say is that these therapy sessions have vastly improved the class's mental health a whole. And I am going to say this one time and one time only: I'm proud of every single one of you." Bakugo reached over to his side and grabbed a clicker to the projector he would be using for today's class. 

With a click of the power button, he turned on the projector and continued to speak while it slowly loaded. 

"That being mentioned, I believe that you all would benefit from learning about mental health from someone who you have spent a lot of your time with these past few months. Aka, yours truly." Bakugo gave the class a small, humorless smile. He angled his body sideways so he could see both the board and his class if he so chooses. "A couple of you have named a few heroes and commented about them being your role models. But I am here to tell you that being a good person, and a good role model for younger generations is not always second nature. It takes time to learn genuine kindness." Bakugo took a deep breath, before moving on. 

He clicked to start the presentation. On the first slide was a picture of his four year old self with another green haired child, both holding up All Might figurines. 

"This was me and my childhood friend before the age of four. As you can see, we both idolized All Might. Some of you also might have impeccable taste in picking idols like we did." He clicked again. And a picture of him on the first day of UA was displayed on the board, angry scowl and all. A small laugh behind him was heard as the photo was displayed. 

"I was taught in this class, you know? I sat where Green Dye is currently sitting. But as you can see, I was a lot different then than I am now.

"As you all already are aware, my quirk is called Explosion, and guess what? It's pretty self explanatory. But I essentially have nitroglycerin sweat. And if you all haven't researched your favorite homeroom teacher, nitroglycerin sweat lowers my heart rate to an extreme amount--which makes my body force itself to run on constant adrenaline rush so I wouldn't strain my body or pass out. No one realized that my quirk had such a drawback until my third year of UA." Bakugo clicked again and another photo popped up next to the first. This time it was of him with his lips curved up and eyes distant as he thought about something humorous. Sero had taken it. 

"When they figured out the reason for my constant anger since my quirk manifested, doctors and researchers were able to team up and create a medicine I can take that fuels my quirk without causing me to constantly force myself into an adrenalin frenzy. But I can't just blame the quirk for my anger and belittling of others." 

He turned his attention to the class. "From a young age, I've always been complimented for my powerful quirk, while my childhood friend had been pushed aside. Society and even my family had engraved my brain into thinking that the stronger I was, the better I was. So I took my anger and heightened ego and combined the two. Then, I found myself bullying others weaker than me." He stared into his students' eyes. 

It didn't take long for students to look away, either remembering experiences of being the bully, being bullied, or at least witnessing one of the two. Checkered Backpack looked abashed. After she had been sent to Nezu, she was told an alarming number of facts about discrimination and quirkless statistics. She remembered leaving the office feeling like she was about to hurl. 

"But I can't just blame them by name, because society itself is what taught the people around me that strong was never wrong, and that weak was meant to be preyed upon. My goal in this class is to get you all a better understanding of societies failures and rebuild your generation, and the generations beyond, so that everyone can enjoy life." 

He looked back on the screen, clicking back a couple times, to the photo of Izuku and him. 

"You all also need to realize your self worth outside of societal standards." He whispered, more to the photo than the class. His eyes were staring deeply into the green eyes on the screen. The bright smile of his childhood friend never waning as he held up his prized figurine to the camera. 

Bakugo cleared his throat. "I did a crap job explaining." He laughed at himself. "But the premise is there. If you all feel that your quirk has drawbacks that are affecting you mentally and physically, come to me or go to Nezu or Recovery Girl. The three of us will try to help you or find a trusted, specialized person to help." 

He looked at the somber class, their heads bowed in various stages of thought. 

"Class dismissed for the rest of the day. You can go to the dorms and hang out, or you can stay and ask questions or whatnot." He said softly before turning his gaze back to his childhood friend's. 

He stayed looking at the blown up photo on the board, long after the last student had lingered in the school.