Chapter Text
Tranquility.
A rare commodity in Dormitory 1-A of Heights Alliance. When you shove twenty rowdy teenagers, with the drive to become not only heroes but popular heroes, into a single living facility with only each other for support 90% of the time, noise and chaos was just going to happen. It was inevitable.
Hero life tended to draw in a certain kind of people. Attention seekers. People that wanted to be noticed and acknowledged. To be seen, remembered, and admired. Heroes were this era’s biggest celebrities, after all. So a dorm full of aspiring heroes was bound to be overpacked with big personalities that wanted to be the center of attention.
That wasn’t always the case. In fact, class 1-A had its share of the shy and the brooding. The socially awkward who flustered with any praise, and the loners who just wanted to do a good job and not be stared at.
Then there was whatever the hell Bakugo was. With his constant bellowing about being the best, his explosive personality specifically crafted to earn him attention, yet the perpetual insistence on being left apart from everyone else’s chatter. Not to mention his inability to comply to any sort of standard that would make him tolerable, let alone admirable. Who even understood that guy?
Bakugo wasn’t the point, though. Bakugo should never be the point.
The point was that in a building filled with powerhouses learning to be more independent while simultaneously adjusting to the ins and outs of communal living with people outside their families, a quiet evening was a rare treat.
It helped that the common area was currently only occupied by the majority of the girls. Plus Aoyama. Trading the latest gossip while others did their homework. All winding down from the day while they sipped some of Momo’s best tea.
Some of the guys had gotten permission to get some extra Sunday night training in Gym Gamma. Bakugo and a few of the people who could stomach him had gone out early in the afternoon, and Izuku and his clique had done the same a few hours later. The remaining few were all doing their own thing, though it had been overheard that Mineta and Kaminari were having a spectacle showing of some kind in Mineta’s room. Gross.
It was best to just not think about it. Thinking of Mineta was enough to ruin anyone’s good mood. They’d all rather speculate on crushes and trade embarrassing stories from junior high. All while Jiro quietly strummed an impromptu tune on her guitar.
Tranquil. That was the word for the moment.
It couldn’t last, of course.
“Uraraka-san! This way! I will clear off the couch and then you can lay Midoriya out,” Iida proclaimed, his booming voice preceding him into the room. He rushed in as quickly as he could without the use of his leg boosters, followed by more of their classmates.
“Okay!” Ochako guided the unconscious body of her friend into the common room, clasping one of his arms carefully in her hands to keep him from floating away.
Though Iida said he’d clear the couch, its occupants quickly got off their seats without further prompting, drawn to action by the commotion. Todoroki was hot on Ochako’s heels, slipping past her. Together he and Iida cleared the closest couch of any extra clutter and pillows.
Izuku was unconscious, but he didn’t appear to be hurt. It was hard to tell for sure when he was floating several feet up in the air, though.
“Kirishima-kun, are you doing okay with Bakugo? I could have floated him here, too.” Ochako fretted.
“Nah, I got him, no problem.” Kirishima grinned as he hoisted the dead weight of his friend higher up on his back. “Hey, Sero. Can you clear off the other couch? I’d like to get Bakugo off my back before he wakes up and crushes my skull between his hands.”
“Ha, yeah, no doubt. Just a second,” Sero chuckled as he moved the extra cushions on the longer couch to the floor to make more room for the blond’s long form.
Bakugo was in a similar state of unconsciousness, looking oddly peaceful, the usual pinch between his brows gone. He didn’t appear hurt, either, his breathing long and even. When added to Kirishima and Sero’s lighthearted back and forth, it really didn’t seem that serious of a situation.
Or maybe it was just that the two of them had no idea how serious all of this was. Ochako and Iida seemed beside themselves with worry. Most of the others were inclined to take their stance in this situation. Two of their classmates, two of the more powerful ones even, had to be carried back into the dorms and that couldn’t bode well.
Not with their history of being targeted by villains.
“What happened?” Momo demanded, though she lingered off to the side. She wanted to remain close at hand for anything her friends might need of her, but she also didn’t want to get in their way. “Do you need anything? Some smelling salts? A first aid kit, perhaps?”
“No. Midoriya and Bakugo aren’t hurt. They just fainted,” Todoroki explained evenly, fluffing a pillow in preparation for Izuku’s head.
“Fainted? Hold on, I’ll get some cool towels for their heads,” Tsuyu took off to the girl’s washroom with a ribbit.
“Thanks, Tsu-chan!” Ochako called out after her even as she gently guided Izuku down towards the couch before releasing him from her hold. He settled perfectly with barely a bounce and she sighed, checking him over. “It doesn’t look like he’s in any pain, at least.”
“No, I don’t think so, either,” Iida hummed thoughtfully. “But I’ll go get a teacher to check them over just the same.”
“That’s a good idea,” Momo nodded firmly. “Mr. Aizawa will definitely want to know what’s occurred.”
Todoroki looked Izuku over, his brow furrowed. “Maybe… we shouldn’t have brought them back here. We should have taken them straight to Recovery Girl.”
“I-it… it’s not that serious! Like you said, they aren’t actually hurt.” Ochako tried to assure him but didn’t sound so sure herself now.
“Or maybe we should have waited until the authorities arrived to clear things up before we brought them back,” Todoroki continued his muttered thoughts.
“Oh…” Ochako flustered without answer, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
“Okay, that all sounds very melodramatic, but what the heck even happened?” Jiro asked after setting down her guitar. She looked between the two unconscious teens. “What on earth can take out both Bakugo and Midoriya at the same time?”
Tsuyu hopped back with two cool, damp towels, already neatly folded. She handed one to Kirishima and one to Ochako. “Was anyone else hurt?”
“Thanks, Tsuyu,” Kirishima nodded his head as he swept the fringe of hair from Bakugo’s forehead and laid the towel out.
Ochako did the same for Deku, holding her breath when he seemed to grimace under the cool touch, but otherwise remained unconscious. She sighed softly. “No one was hurt. Not really. We all went to the convenience store a couple of blocks down. It was sort of a coincidence that we even ran into each other.”
“Heh, yeah. Bakugo was so sure you guys were stalking us, though,” Sero admitted sheepishly.
Iida sighed, shaking his head. “I’m going to inform the teachers. I’ll be right back. Keep an eye out on Midoriya and Bakugo,” the class president instructed as he took off. As if anyone planned to do anything else.
“Okay. So was there an attack on the convenience store? Some thief that got carried away?” Momo asked as she primly took a seat on one of the low, backless chairs.
“No! Nothing like that,” Ochako waved her arms in a negative motion. “It was more like just a fluke accident. Bakugo was being Bakugo-”
“He was being loud and angry,” Kirishima admitted sheepishly.
“He scared a little boy who was there with his mother,” Todoroki kept explaining. “It was essentially a quirk manifestation accident. According to his mother, it was the first time he ever displayed his quirk. She’s not really sure what it is, because she didn’t know much about the boy’s father and she never saw him again before she even realized she was pregnant.”
“T-Todoroki!” Momo gasped, scandalized, a blush high on her cheeks. “You can’t just speak so bluntly about other people’s personal lives!”
Todoroki gave a slight tilt to his head, eyes wide in mild confusion. “But that’s what she said.”
“So Midoriya and Bakugo just… passed out?” Aoyama queried as he fluttered over near his unconscious friend, looking like he wanted to check him over.
Kirishima nodded. “Yeah. Them and about three other people that were there at the wrong time.” He swept his hand through his spiky red hair then crossed his arms across his broad chest. He took a seat on the floor beside the couch, looking like Bakugo’s loyal guard dog.
“The store manager called the authorities to try to clear the whole thing up. The mother wouldn’t stop apologizing, and the kid was just beside himself in hysterics. Everyone was afraid to get close to him. We got him some choco to calm him down and that seemed to do the trick.” Sero grinned sheepishly, scratching his cheek.
The smile faded quickly and he sighed, clearly on edge. “Man… maybe we should have waited for the authorities to clear the situation up,” he ended up agreeing with Todoroki.
Mina shook her head, sitting down on the floor next to the Kirishima. “Nah, I think it’s good you guys brought them here.” She patted his shoulder when her longtime school mate gave her a searching look, clearly looking for validation in his decision. She offered the most cheerful smile she could manage. “This is U.A.! Quirk explosion central! The teachers and faculty will know what to do. We just need to figure out what it was that hit them. Maybe passing out is all it is.”
“We can hope,” Tsuyu said thoughtfully, tapping a long finger to her chin. The look on her face clearly stated she didn’t actually think they’d be that lucky, though.
“The best we can do is wait for them to wake up and move forward from there,” Jiro reasoned, sitting on the edge of the low seat that Momo already occupied.
“Poor Deku…” Ochako sighed from the edge of the couch. She brushed a few errant green curls off his forehead.
“Nnh…” the boy’s brows furrowed as he shifted. “Whu…?” Hazy green eyes fluttered open, blinking blearily.
“Deku!” Ochako shot to her feet, leaning over the boy and obstructing most of his vision. “Deku! Are you alright?”
Izuku tensed, his breath catching in his throat. The boy visibly paled, clutching at the cushions beneath him. With a sudden twist, he tried to curl in on himself, arms shielding his face as his hands curled over his head, gripping his hair tightly and whimpering a small noise.
“Deku…?” Ochako drew back, wilting with worry. She wanted to pull the boy to her and offer some sort of comfort, but Izuku seemed to be afraid of her. Which… didn’t make sense! She hesitated from touching until she better understood the situation. “Are you hurt? Did the quirk do something?”
“Tell us what’s wrong, Midoriya.” Todoroki frowned pensively as he leaned in to check on the smaller boy as well. “Does your head hurt? Do you know who you are?”
“Izuku-kun...” Tsuyu peered over the head of the couch worriedly.
Izuku’s only seemed to curl into himself more tightly with each new additional person hovering over him, his body beginning to shake. His little whimpers had become a worrying hiccuping sob, like the boy wasn't getting enough air to his lungs.
"Izuku-kun, you have to breathe! He’s panicking, ribbit!" Tsuyu fretted.
“Deku…” Ochako tried again, reaching to touch his cheek, maybe check his temperature. Tears welled up in his eyes, flinching hard and stopping Ochako in her tracks.
“Midoriya…?” Momo’s brows were furrowed in concern, taking a half step forward, then reconsidered. “It’s okay. You’re among friends.”
Izuku cried out, limbs flailing as he tried to get away from the growing group of people. He sprung free and fell off the side of the couch with a painful yelp as he landed on his shoulder. But he was undeterred in his mission to get away, quickly scrambling across the floor until there were several feet between him and the others, looking at them with wide, panicked eyes.
“Deku!” Ochako cried out, hesitating only for a moment before going after him, shooting the others a look that they should all stay back. “Deku, please talk to us! What’s wrong?!”
“Midoriya, please calm yourself. Can’t you recognize that we’re your friends?” Todoroki pressed, brows furrowed.
“Mido, man. It’s okay. It’s just us,” Kirishima added, though he didn’t try to approach, either. He was actually wondering if he should give Bakugo some space too, before the ash blond woke up. Clearly this had to do with the quirk accident.
Izuku shook his head wildly and clapped his hand over his ears. He refused to listen to any of them. Heartbreaking little whines caught in his throat, tears rushing down his cheeks in a steady stream.
He curled his arms around his face and body as best as he could, backing himself into a corner and trying to curl in on himself. “Uuu… n-no!” He finally managed to speak. “Strangers! Mommy said no to talking to strangers! Lemme alone!” The declaration and the childish tone of his voice stunned the room to stillness, the young heroes trading alarmed looks. The only sound left in the room was Izuku’s loud sobs. “W-where… where am I? Where’s mommy?! I… I want my mommy! Mommy!”
Ochako was the first to break out of her stupor, feeling her heart constrict at the genuine fear in her friend’s voice. “Deku… Ah… I mean, Izu-kun,” she quickly amended, softening her voice. Struggling through her growing alarm, she kept a soothing smile on her face, though the boy refused to even look at her. Taking a careful step forward, she squatted down to get closer to Izuku’s level. “Izu-kun, you don’t have to be scared of us, okay? I promise. We really are your friends. We just want to help you.”
The boy peeked up at the girl with round, pink cheeks, his chin trembling. “Y-you do…?”
Ochako nodded encouragingly, scooting another half step forward on the balls of her feet. “Un! Really! I’m Ochako-chan. And these are Shoto-kun and Tsu-chan.” She motioned to the other two who were cautiously approaching the green haired boy as well. “They’re my friends. They’re your friends, too. Do you remember any of us…?”
Large, watery green eyes looked to each person as they were introduced, sucking in a shuddering breath. For a moment it looked like the boy was starting to calm down. It also looked like there was a hint of recognition when he looked back at Ochako. But then he keened a loud sob and shook his head, pressing his face tightly against his raised knees once more. “No! I want mommy!” He wailed loudly, his shoulders shaking with renewed sobs.
The three shared a troubled look, one that matched the looks of the rest of their friends. They were at a loss of what they should do next, or what was going on, though there was at least a good idea on the answer to that question. Though it raised a new question specifically. How were they going to get through to Izuku to calm him down?
There was no time to deliberate on any sort of answer before the next problem arose.
Almost literally.
The commotion had drawn the other casualty back to consciousness, sleep darkened red eyes cracking open. Bakugo’s brows pinched together, his hand going to his forehead as he sat up and looked around. “Nnngh… what…?”
“Bakugo!” Kirishima was quick to whirl around up onto his knees. Those red eyes snapped to attention and to him, the blond grunting softly as he continued to rub at his temple. He seemed his normal self and Kirishima couldn’t help but be hopeful that his best friend was somehow unaffected from the problems currently plaguing Izuku.
“Bakugo! Bro!” He leaned forward, putting his hands on Bakugo’s shoulders. “Thank god you’re awake! How are ya feeling? Need anyth- AARGH!” The redhead barely had time to turn his skin to stone before a large blast went off right in his face. He stumbled back, falling flat on his ass, hacking coughs to clear his airway of smoke.
“Shit! Kirishima! Are you okay?!” Sero was at the other’s side, making sure to keep a safe enough distance from Bakugo himself. Though maybe he needn’t have worried.
Bakugo seemed stunned by his own action, staring at his hand like it had done something he had never seen before. But he was quick to get over it. There were more important things to worry about. He snarled, baring his teeth at the strange group gathered around him, his hands coming up, fingers curled, sparks crackling over his palms. He was ready to attack again. “Get back!” He was ready to attack and he didn’t seem to care who he had to get through, either.
“Shit,” Jiro cursed as she took a few preventative steps back. She had no delusions that Bakugo would hesitate to make good on his threat. “Guess we can assume that Bakugo is similarly affected as Midoriya, which means-”
“Shut up!” Bakugo screeched. “Stranger! Pervert! PERVERTS!” He bellowed louder as he hopped onto the couch to gain the high ground. “You better let me go! Or I’ll blow all of you up!” Bursts lit up his palms to show the others how serious he was.
“Do you think he also thinks that-” Sero started but was cut off by a new voice entering the scene
“Whoa! Hey! What’s going on?” Kaminari yelped as he exited the elevator. “Bakugo, what the hell? You know we’re not supposed to use our quirks in here!”
The name finally seemed to filter into Izuku’s panicked mind. The boy lifted his head, wide eyes looking around in a panic. “Kacchan! Where is Kacchan?!” He spotted a familiar blond mop of hair, as explosive as his best friend’s quirk, only… only it was on a much larger boy. He sniffled, wiping the tears from his eyes. “K-kacchan…? I-is that really Kacchan?” Even though he looked older, the man held a lot of similarities to his friend. Especially those fiery eyes. “An adult Kacchan…?” He murmured in quiet awe.
Bakugo’s head snapped towards the sound of his nickname. Only one person ever called him that. Only one person was allowed to. And though the stranger was too big, his coloring and features were similar enough. No one had eyes as big and bright as his friend, and he’d know those freckles even in his sleep. “Icchan…? No way! What the hell happened?!”
Once again, the room was stunned into silence. Though this time for an entirely different reason No one looked at each other in confirmation or in worry. No one could even tear their eyes off of Bakugo.
The same thought ran through all their heads.
‘What did he just say?’