Maskless (Bakugou Public Identity Reveal and AU)

Chapter 5: His Student

Aizawa Shouta is an unshakable sort of guy. He has been on many missions in his time, and though his is usually out of the heroic limelight he sees more than most Pro Heroes do.

But this--this shakes him to his core.

There stands Aizawa's supposedly quirkless student, body wrapped in the now-flimsy uniform of the Pro Hero Dynamight, which has been reduced to tatters hanging off of him. One gauntlet was destroyed, the other severely fragmented but still hanging onto his right arm. His left arm is mangled and broken, sticking the wrong direction like his leg and ankle on the opposite side.

Blood covers his student's body grossly, obscuring mych of the color of his outfit and giving his skin a sickening sheen where it is visible around the purples, blues, greens, and dreadful yellows of rapidly blooming bruises. The ground around him is red with his blood, which continues to dribble off of the boy. 

The boy.

He is just a boy, and look at him. His hair a mess of spikes and matts tangled with blood that drips down from his chin and off his head. There is blood everywhere, and gashes just as prevalent. Somehow more unsettlingly, Aizawa considers as he squeezes his eyes shut, limbs being held down to the ground by the hands and quirks of many kidnapped children, is the massive hand still resting around Bakugou's neck and the evil grin of the villain's face.

Aizawa Shouta is by no means a holy man, but, when he sees reinforcements arrive, he thanks whatever higher power that is out there.

The scene is taken under control quickly after the swarm of Pro Heroes arrives, led by none other than All Might himself, who wears no smile to be seen. He crashes into the large villain controlling the children, pummeling him until he is a mess, and the other secure the kidnapped kids, hauling them into secure vehicles with quirk inhibitors just in case they attack in the villains' favor again. A few heroes surround Bakugou, who has fallen to his knees limply, and Aizawa feels his stomach drop when his battered student collapses fully to the ground.

"Don't touch him!" he screams at the heroes, fighting to get away from the last of the children still attacking him. The pros look over at in shock--Eraserhead is known for being a bit reclusive and quiet if not speaking about a mission at hand-- one of them loosely pulling Bakugou to have him lay on his back. Finally freeing himself, Aizawa rushes over to the kid, falling beside him between the heroes, ignoring the pain in his keens from slamming them so harshly into the ground, and his trembling hands move to check if the kid is okay. 

Someone grabs his hand, and Aizawa turns to meet the eyes of the second ranked Pro Hero, Endeavor standing above him with furrowed brows of fire. "Don't touch him. He could have hurt his spine, and must have at least gotten a concussion," he commands seriously, brooking no argument. "You know this, Eraserhead. Don't disregard your training."

Aizawa nods weakly, and his eyes turn back to Bakugou's, no smirk, scoff, scowl, or sneer to be seen on the boy. Aizawa scrunches up his face to stop himself from tearing up, and he tilts his head towards the sky. "He's my student, Endeavor," he says quietly, earning a few pairs of shocked eyes from the heroes around him, though he knows they will likely keep quiet about his admittance. Endeavor looks away. "Endeavor, he is my student," he repeats in a vehement hiss, "and i have no idea. I knew something was wrong, but this?" He motions to Bakugou's wrecked form. "I promised I would protect my students. I wanted to protect children from having to face what we see every day. He should not need to live a life like this or feel this sort of pain." He droops, brows pressing even lower on damp eyes.

He feels a pat on his back as he sits there, dejectedly and uselessly staring at his student's hurt face and limp body. It feels like hours, though it was no more than thirty more seconds before an ambulance noisily arrives, the best of the best pulling Bakugou away and quickly shooting off to the hospital.

Aizawa would not take no for an answer when he obstinately jumped into the vehicle.

He silently watches in worry as the paramedics operate, staunching Bakugou's wounds and keeping him breathing until they arrive at the hospital. His lungs collapsed once, his heart stopped twice, and he woke up from the briefest and longest second of Aizawa's life.

Bakugou had seized on the gurney, the paramedics going into a frenzy as his eyes open and his breathing quickens, and he panics. Terrified red eyes roll around in their sockets over the oxygen mask strapped to Bakugou's restrained head. Aizawa leans forward, carefully grabbing onto Bakugou's uninjured hand and leaning into this line of sight. The heart monitor is still beeping like crazy, but Bakugou's eyes focus and still. the paramedics do not stop the hero.

"Hey, kid." Aizawa says gruffly, pushing his fears and worries out of his voice so he can sound like his teacher self.

Bakugou's eyes water, fat tears trailing off of them in rivulets as his hand grapples at Aizawa weakly, trying to pull him towards himself. "I don't wanna go. Please. I don't wanna die," his weak voice chokes through trembling lips.

Aizawa bites his lips so hard it bleeds. "I know, kid," he says measuredly, even as his heart hammers in his chest. He nods stiffly, hoping it comes off as placid, and his vpice gets a bit nasally. "You're alright. I promise. It's okay."

"I don't wanna go. Please. Please. I don't wanna..."

Aizawa watches as Bakugou's eyes close again, tears still flowing from them. "You won't, kid. You're staying right here," he assures weakly, even as he feels the hand gripping at him go limp. Raising his face towards the ceiling, Aizawa squeezes his eyes and mouth closed tightly as he falls back into his seat with a thump, one hand still holding Bakugou' now resting at the boy's side.

If the kid does not make it, he doesn't know what he will do.

He would never forgive himself.

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Word count: 1045