My Hero Academia (Anime only) Stories

At The Same Time

Summary:

Bakugou's shampoo and conditioner finally ran out at the same time. 

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Bakugou stared at the almost empty bottle in his hands. He slowly squeezed the last few drops of conditioner into his palm. Gingerly he set the empty bottle next to the empty one of shampoo on the shelf in his shower.

It finally happened.

His shampoo and conditioner ran out at the same time.

It had been a few years since Bakugou made the pact with himself. Since he promised himself, he'd do it if he ran out of both simultaneously.

At first, he was irritated that it didn't happen. Then, after he started at UA and made real friends, he started using more shampoo each time he showered, so there was no chance of running out of both together.

He lathered the conditioner into his hair, careful not to miss a spot. He refused to look shitty if he was going through with this when his body was found. Most likely by one of his idiot brigade, Kirishima being the most probable.

Bakugou closed his eyes.

How could he do that to Kirishima? How could he make his best friend find his body? It would break Kirishima. Bakugou's death could be why Kirishima didn't become a hero. Bakugou couldn't imagine ruining Kirishima's life like that.

He leaned against the shower wall. Tears spilled down his cheeks, mixing in with the shower water.

His legs gave out. He collapsed to the floor. He hung his head low and let the water rinse the conditioner out. He stayed that way for minutes or hours. It wasn't until the water grew cold that he picked himself up.

Wrapped in a thick towel, Bakugou thumbed through his contacts until he found Kirishima's name. His friends made it a habit to remind him they were there for him when he needed it. That was the first time Bakugou had ever utilized it.

They lied. They all lied.

Kirishima answered the phone, but he was heavily distracted. "Hey, Bakubro, now is really not a good time. If this is about the test we got back today, I promise I'll study more next time." The words poured out of him in a rush.

"Kiri-" Bakugou tried to keep the hitch out of his breath. It didn't matter. Kirishima wasn't paying enough attention.

"I gotta go. I'll call you later, bro."

"Yeah," Bakugou muttered into the air after Kirishima had hung up.

Bakugou sat at his toilet lid, clad in only a towel, and dialed the next number. Kaminari may not have been the brightest in school, but he was a genius regarding people, emotions, and cheering up.

If Kirishima wasn't available, Kaminari was the next best option. Except, he didn't answer.

Bakugou groaned in frustration as the voicemail notification started. He hung up and tapped the following number.

Mina wasn't the best at comforting people but would do it in a pinch. Bakugou wasn't looking for cuddles and a heart-to-heart. He only wanted someone to tell him not to go through with it. All it would take for him to get out of this dangerous headspace was to know someone wanted him to stay alive.

Voicemail. Again.

Bakugou was more broken-hearted than irritated at this point. Due to his lack of participation in the Bakusquad group chat or calls to his friends, the squad should have answered immediately and made a giant spectacle of Bakugou reaching out to them.

Their silence seemed like more of a sign than his shampoo and conditioner. The one-time Bakugou needed his friends, and none of them answered their damn phones.

He dialed the last number he could rely on. Bakugou was not super close to Sero. They were a part of the squad, but Bakugou didn't spend much one-on-one time with them. Still, Bakugou would have given his life to protect Sero, and he knew they would do the same.

Calling Midoriya would have gotten Bakugou the results he sought, but Bakugou couldn't stomach begging the person he told to kill himself to stop Bakugou from doing the same thing. He'd rather die than ask Midoriya to help him with this.

Unfortunately, Sero also did not answer their phone.

Bakugou clutched the phone tightly in one hand. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he rocked on the toilet seat. Instead of hanging up at the voicemail sound, Bakugou took a shaky breath and started to speak.

"Hey, I didn't plan to unload this on you, but you were the last person I tried. I didn't want to be cliche and leave a letter detailing all the shit that led up to this, but I couldn't leave you guys without an explanation. So, here it is. I'm tired. I'm so fucking tired. Mentally and physically. I know I hide it well. I doubt any of you have noticed. Don't beat yourself up over it.

"I'm not on track to becoming a hero. A villain, more like. Everyone knows it. I understand how the media and other classes whisper behind my back. I know what they're still saying about me, how I'll never be anything but a villain in training. Even the League of Villains thought I'd be a good candidate.

"Anyway, there's a lot of other things as well, but it's too late to get into that. I wanted to let you and the squad know I love and appreciate everything you have done for me. I know I don't show it, but it's true. Thank you for being my friends. I'm sorry I can't stay any longer. I needed someone here to tell me I'm worth living, but it's okay. You have lives. It was stupid of me to ask someone to drop everything to be here and coddle me. Share this voicemail with the rest of the squad."

Bakugou hung the phone up and let it drop to the floor.

He exited his bathroom and changed into a comfy pair of pajama pants and an oversized sweatshirt. He wanted to be comfortable in his last moments.

He climbed into his bed and sat cross-legged in the middle. He closed his eyes and took a few deep, steadying breaths.

After a few seconds, he crossed his arms across his chest and laid his palms flat against his neck. He flinched when he felt the heat from his palms caress his skin.

'Just a little more.' He thought. 'Just a little more, then it'll be over.'

Just as an explosion was about to rip from Bakugou's palms, his door forcefully slammed open. Bakugou dropped his hands in shock. Small pops rained around him on the bed, slightly scorching the comforter.

Sero stood in the doorway, panting, eyes wide in horror. Their phone was clenched tightly in one hand, still playing Bakugou's voicemail.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Bakugou asked, shocked.

"I'm here to tell you, you're worth living," Sero gasped, staring directly into Bakugou's eyes as they said it.

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Words: 1,150

Published: 9/5/23

Also posted on AO3 (Jasper_Raid)