Work Text:
It had only been a week into quarantine when it finally happened. The students and staff had all been sent home for their safety, but before saying goodbye Aizawa gave them all his cell phone number and permission to contact him in case of an emergency. "If you run into an emergency during this time, you're allowed to call or text me. It doesn't matter the time, I'll answer. If you can't talk, just say ‘Training Day’. I'll know what it means." He never specified what he meant by "emergency", but the look on his face had been so serious that 1-A knew not to abuse this new power.
Two days passed before it was decided the rest of the semester would be taught long distance. Aizawa had sent everyone an email explaining the plan for continuing classes. They would be using Zoom for class meetings at different points in the day. To make it easier, he would host one long session in the afternoon; first their homeroom class with himself, then Present Mic would take over to do English. It was easier to do a combined class than to try and teach two separate classes at the same time in their small house. The only rule he had was to be on time and to have the camera on so he knew they were paying attention. They were assigned an essay to write on the last story they had read in Mic's class, and a task to find somewhere safe they could practice their quirks.
On day Four they had their first call. Even though it had only been a few days, they all already missed each other. Aizawa allowed them a few minutes to get the talking out of their systems, instead taking the time to ask Mic how to change the settings on the stream. It was odd, seeing everyone out of uniform. It made everything feel much more personal when you could see Izuku in his All Might onesie next to Momo sitting in her grand bedroom. Even Aizawa had forgone formalities, wearing his pajamas as he let Eri climb into his lap to greet the class. He checked the list as she said hi to everyone, taking attendance when he noticed they were missing a few people.
"Iida, Kouda, and Bakugou are missing," he addressed the class, attention shifting to the multiple small faces on the screen. "Where are they?"
Deku raised his hand, a thoughtful gesture but meaningless over call anyways. "Oh, sorry sensei! Iida wanted me to tell you he couldn't make it today! He's checking on his brother in the hospital." Aizawa nodded, understanding what a situation it must be for the boy. His brother was high risk, still being hospitalized and all. He would excuse it.
Shōji spoke up next, one of his limbs morphing into a mouth. "Kouda is having trouble connecting to the stream. He should be on in a few minutes, and apologizes for being late." Again, understandable. Aizawa had some trouble making sure it would run smoothly himself, relying on his husband's technical knowledge to avoid looking like a fool in front of his students. Again, he'd let it slide.
That still left Bakugou, however. "Kirishima, Sero, Kaminari? Bakugou speaks the most to you, where is he?" The boys shrugged, Sero picking up his phone to check it. "No clue sensei, I spoke to him last night but nothing since then."
"I can text him!" Kirishima offered, quickly adding "Uh, if that's okay with you! I know it's technically class and all-"
"That's fine." Aizawa's voice was clipped, not able to say much else before Kouda joined the stream and having to field his apologies. Eri glanced up at her dad, feeling how tense he had gotten over the course of the conversation. It worried her, but she figured he was just stressed and hopped off his lap to get him his eye drops just in case. He most definitely wasn't tapping his foot waiting to see if Kirishima ever got a reply, the thought never leaving his mind as they continued on with class.
By the time Mic's class ended, they still hadn't heard anything from Bakugou.
On day Five, class 1-A was surprised to see Present Mic and Shinsō starting the stream. "Hey little listeners!! Who's ready for some English?!" he shouted, hair pulled back in a messy bun as he tried to look at least a little professional with a button up thrown on over his band tee. Shinsō was leaning against him, reading an English novel.
"Present Mic, sir? Where's Aizawa-sensei?" Iida asked, feeling a little strange being the only person who bothered to put their uniform on.
Shinsō was the one to answer, glancing up from his book to take inventory of 1-A. "Not here, class rep. Took Eri to the doctor."
"Our darling Eri is fine, by the way! Just a routine checkup" Mic explained, throwing an arm over the back of the couch as he grabbed his lesson plan. Everyone seemed relieved to hear that, settling down as he checked attendance. Everyone was ready and on time, except for Bakugou. "Our loudest listener isn't here again?"
Kirishima shook his head, scratching his head as he spoke. "No sir, I never heard back from him. He's not big on texting though, he might not have seen we're having classes."
Present Mic's usual smile faltered, replaced with a look of concern before quickly putting his smile back on. "You're probably right! I'll send him an email later with a reminder. Thanks little listener!" Shinsō frowned, looking up at the blond for a moment. His parents had been having hushed conversations recently, both looking concerned. It was unusual, and to see that smile falter in public was even weirder. Something was going on, he could feel it, but it didn't feel right to just use his quirk to find out. Turning his attention back to his book, he made a mental note to ask some of 1-A how they were doing later.
Day Six came, and Aizawa was back, joined by his tired husband dozing off on his shoulder. Eri stood behind the couch on a box, braiding sections of Mic's hair as they waited for everyone to log on. Mina and Uraraka gushed over how cute Eri was, bringing a small smile to Aizawa's face which he covered up by resting his head on his hands. He waited a few minutes for Kouda to log on, having talked to the student and learnt it was a wi-fi issue he was more than willing to wait a little extra time for the student to join. Still, he searched the user list, looking for one name in particular-
"Bakugou, finally decided to join us? You've missed two classes already." He chided, easily signing along with his words as he looked through the students' screens to find the explosive boy. The voice that answered him, however, was nothing they were used to.
"Couldn't make it." Was all the uncharacteristically quiet voice replied from a dark screen. His camera was off, just the kanji for his name shown against a black screen.
"Turn your camera on, Bakugou. This is still a lesson."
There was dead silence over the chat, no one wanting to interrupt Aizawa when he was in teacher mode. There was just a quiet "I'm sorry, Mr. Aizawa…" before the camera turned on, the blond's face obscured as he kept his attention on the notebook on his desk.
"Did Bakugou just apologize?" Denki couldn't help himself from saying, gaining a few nervous snickers from their classmates.
"Kaachan, where's your door?"
Bakugou glanced behind himself at the spot his bedroom door should have been, just an empty space. He didn't have time to make an excuse though, Mina and Iida were already spouting off sympathetic nonsense at him because he had forgotten himself. He looked towards the screen nervously, heart dropping when he saw the camera picked up his appearance. There was no hiding the growing bruise over his eye, or the cut on his cheek. There was no explaining away the dried blood that stained his lip.
"Kaachan, what happened?!"
"Oh my god dude, your face..."
"Bakubro, what's going on??"
"Why didn't you say anything, Kugō?"
The amount of concern thrown at him was overwhelming, hands shaking as he tried to think of something to sign, something to say, anything to get them to stop asking questions. He should have never gotten on the call, he should have known this would happen. They were being too loud, he needed to get them to be quiet. If they were too loud, if they woke her up-
"Katsuki, look at me." The instruction came clear from Aizawa, whose expression had turned stoney. Mic was awake now, moving closer to the computer to get a better understanding of what was going on. His jaw dropped when he saw the state the student was in, covering his mouth to keep from causing any trouble with his quirk.
Bakugou looked at the screen slowly, eyes misty as he focused on the face of his homeroom teacher. He could feel his hands shaking, trying to stay in control when the big question came.
"Are you okay?"
He glanced around the room, peering out the door frame into the hall hesitantly before turning back to the screen. The break was imminent, he could feel his voice cracking as a single tear rolled down his cheek. ".... Training Day …" he whispered, forcing his hands to move into the sign for [ help ].
Mic sat up, quickly instructing Shinsō to take Eri to her room and play. Aizawa's face hardened into a snarl, typing a quick message into the chat box, the only one of all their sessions before he disappeared, his place taken by Mic as they could see Aizawa moving in the background: I'm on my way.
No sooner than the message was sent did it begin again, Bakugou feeling more than hearing a door down the hallway slam open. He flinched, hands dropping to his sides automatically as his eyes widened.
"KASUMI!!!"
His voice raised automatically, head whipping towards the door. "I-I'm on a call for class, mom!" He prayed that would work, glancing back at the computer to see Mic signing at him furiously. [ Don't turn the camera off. Stay in front of it. Keep your mic on. Aizawa is on his way. ] It was the same few phrases, interrupted every now and then by a reassurance that things would be okay. He wanted to believe so badly, another tear escaping down his face as he turned to watch the door. Mic started talking, as if he had been teaching a lesson all along.
"COME HERE, KASUMI."
He looked between the door and the computer, lip quivering as he tried to keep his voice even. "Present M-Mic won't be happy if I-"
"DON'T MAKE ME FUCKING ASK AGAIN!"
Bakugou froze, memories of the last time flashing through his head in quick succession. He couldn't take that, not again. "Sorry sensei…" he started, visibly shaking as he stumbled through his signs. "I have to-"
"IF YOU'RE DOING THAT STUPID FUCKING THING WITH YOUR HANDS AGAIN I SWEAR TO GOD!"
He whimpered, curling in on himself as she got closer to the room. He hated how weak he felt, hated the tears that rolled down his cheeks, hated the way his body shook and muscles tensed in expectation. Mic's voice called out to him through his earbuds, but he could hardly hear it. Processing sound was placed on the back burner as his mind latched onto a single thought. Was this the day…?
"YOU HAVE UNTIL THREE TO GET YOUR PATHETIC ASS OVER HERE! ONE!" The footsteps grew closer, he could hear his classmates freaking out over the call. "TWO!!" Mic was trying to get everyone to calm down, begging Bakugou to stay on the call. Mitsuki came through the door, cracking her knuckles as she approached the boy. Bakugou tried to block the computer, hyperventilating as she stalked over to him.
"N-No, no, mom, please! I'm sorry!" he begged, voice cracking as the tears fell freely. His pleas went unheard, a sob torn from his throat as he was dragged away from the computer by his hair. Sounds he couldn't even hear himself make fell freely from his lips as he twisted in her grasp, chest heaving as he clawed at the door frame. For reasons he couldn't explain, he knew if he left that room he'd never see his class again. "No!! NO!!! I'M SORRY!!!" he screamed, sobbing as he felt a clump of hair being ripped from his scalp. Dropping to the floor, he quickly crawled to the other side of the room, pressing himself into the corner with a sob. He hid his face in the wall, not wanting to see the look on his mother's face as she reached for him-
A quick grouping of loud knocks came from the front door, echoing through the house. "Bakugou Mitsuki, this is officer Tsukauchi!"
Both blondes froze, one in fear and the other in anger. "You called the police, huh?! Didn't you learn your lesson last time stupid bitch? They can't help you! They'll never believe you!" Mitsuki taunted him. Bakugou couldn't say anything, it felt like his voice had been shut off. The knocking came again, the message repeated before Mitsuki actually left him to answer it. He couldn't hear them, not that he'd want to anyways. He'd tried going to the police before, deciding never again after he was laughed out of the station. Faintly, he could hear Mic from the computer, trying to get his attention. Everyone else's mics must have been turned off, he could see their mouths moving but couldn't make out the slightest sound of their voices.
Trembling, he tried to say something, anything, but it felt like his throat had closed off. He shook his head, hiding his face in his hands as he tried to get some sort of control over himself. It was useless though, there was nothing he could do. He felt just as weak and useless as he had always been told he was, helpless to do anything but cry.
He could feel vibrations through the floor, knew from the footfall his mother was coming back. A whimper left his lips as he curled into himself more, hoping for a moment that if he made himself small enough maybe he could just disappear. But a second pair of footsteps joined hers, quickly moving past. She wasn't alone, and she wasn't the one walking in. He didn't dare look up, afraid of who he'd see. His dad, standing by uselessly as she did whatever she wanted? The police man who laughed at him all those years ago, come back to mock him again? Tsukauchi, ignoring his form on the floor so he wouldn't have to make a report?
Mitsuki was yelling again, about what he couldn't tell. He covered his ears, wondering not for the first time what would happen if he set off an explosion like that. More people were entering the room, the shouting growing louder as they argued. Trembling fingers pressed against ruined ears, trying to make the sound go away entirely. His mother's voice rose above everyone else's, claiming there was nothing wrong and they needed to leave.
When someone touched him, he screamed reflexively.
Crimson eyes snapped open, almost popping out of his head as realization flooded through him. Aizawa knelt in front of him, one hand gently grabbing his arm while the other signed a short message, his usual stern look softened into something meant to be comforting. [ You're safe now .] Tears flowed freely down his face as Bakugou lunged at his teacher, latching onto him with a sob. Enveloped in a hug, the first real one he had gotten in years, he could feel himself falling apart. The fear he felt was slipping away as he hid his face in his teacher's chest, trembling with each shaky breath. He was going to be okay, Aizawa wouldn't leave him there, wouldn't let him stay there after everything. He should have used the code word much sooner, before the lockdown even happened, but he couldn't bring himself to, always told himself that it could be worse.
"-I've done nothing wrong! Is disciplining your child illegal now?!" Mitsuki argued, inches away from Tsukauchi.
Aizawa helped the battered blond stand, eyes snapping to the woman he wished was a villain so he could take her down himself. "No, but beating your child until he's bloody and bruised is" he growled out.
"What, did she tell you that? Kasumi is always making lies and excuses!"
" Katsuki has shown up to my class numerous times battered and trying not to cry before the dorms were built. It took him months to finally tell me what was happening!" Aizawa snapped, locking eyes with the sorry excuse for a mother. "There are 23 witnesses today alone, not including myself. It will be a very quick trial, I can promise you." He concluded, hugging Bakugou tightly to his chest as she took a step towards them. Nothing could tear the student from his arms now, not while he was still breathing.
Tsukauchi stepped between them, trying to keep some semblance of peace. "Thank you for contacting us, Eraserhead. We'll take it from here, if you want to take him outside."
"Take what from here?! Kasumi, if you go out that door I swear-"
Aizawa covered the student's ears, guiding him out of the house. He moved them quickly, not stopping until they were across the street. Finally out in the light, he took a good look at the student. All that looked back at him were wide eyes peering from a tear-streaked face, faded bruises peeking out from the collar of his shirt. Aizawa pulled him into a hug silently, knowing there was nothing he could really say. He should have stepped in when he first suspected something, he should have prevented this from ever happening. But before he didn't have solid proof, if he called Tsukauchi before it could have just escalated and they wouldn't even know it.
With a shaky breath, Bakugou tried to look back at the house, stopped by a gentle nudge from his teacher. "Don't. It'll just make you feel worse." he explained, leading him instead towards his car.
"What now, sensei? What do I do? Where am I supposed to go?!" He was trying to keep his emotions in check, trying not to explode from relief and anger, from never experienced peace and overwhelming anxiety. Aizawa held the door open for him, thinking on his words as he walked around to his own side.
"Does it matter? You're safe now. Leave the worrying to me." Bakugou nodded, sinking into the seat thankfully as the car started up. There wasn't a good reason to worry anymore, not with Aizawa protecting him. He would never let her take him away again, he didn't need to worry over such things. Still….
Bakugou held his hand out expectantly, unable to make eye contact as he asked "....Let me borrow your phone to call Sero. She broke mine." Aizawa glanced over at him, saying nothing as he fished his phone out of his pocket and placed it in the boy's hand. Neither one said anything as they drove, the only sound breaking the silence Bakugou cursing as he tried to get a good enough signal and the familiar dial tone of Facetime, broken by the pick-up sound and Sero Hanta appearing on screen.
"Sir, what's going- MI AMOR!! ARE YOU OKAY?! I'VE BEEN TRYING TO CALL YOU WHAT'S GOING ON? ARE YOU SAFE CARIÑO?!"
Bakugou's face flushed, hurriedly disconnecting from the Bluetooth. "Shut the
fuck up
Soy Sauce! I'm with Aizawa…" Aizawa held back his amusement, just glad to see that the kid still had his usual bite. The events leading up to now would never leave him, but he had a clear path to the future ahead.
Class calls had been run by Present Mic for a couple of days, and while everyone was curious about what was going on they knew better than to ask. After seeing Mic's face drop from happy to serious just seconds after Deku asked was enough to put them on edge. They just assumed Aizawa was busy with paperwork after the events with Bakugou's mom and left it at that. Speaking of, they hadn't seen Bakugou in a couple days either.
The Bakusquad was under constant questioning, everyone trying to get answers from the people who knew him best, but that was a lost cause as well. Mina would toss the question onto Denki, who would just joke or give a bad impersonation. If they kept pushing, the question was handed off to Kirishima and Sero. They did their best to field the questions without giving out too much information, after all it wasn't their place to give out their friend's private information. Sero promised he was okay now, a smile on their faces as they tried to calm everyone down. It worked for a bit.
Until one night, Shinsō called the group chat unexpectedly.
He grinned into the camera as people started joining the call, holding a finger to his lips to let them know to be quiet. Once most people were on he glanced around, speaking quietly. "Keep your mics off. Been a weird couple of days, huh?"
Deku: Shinsō, what's this about?
"The truth. You guys keep talking about Dynamite Hands, so I thought I'd let you guys know what's going down. Some behind the screens secret info."
More people were typing, theories and accusations being thrown out. He snickered, looking around as he walked through the dimly lit hall. "Bakugou is….. well, he's gone. For good. You'll never see that guy again."
The chat exploded, messages coming in faster than he could read them. Kirishima tried to turn his mic on and Shinsō immediately muted him. "Stay quiet, trust me on this. Look, Bakugou is gone. End of story. But, I've got something to show you guys…."
He crept down the hall, grinning at the screen before flipping his camera around. Light filtered into the hall from a door which childish giggles and quiet, upbeat music could be heard from. He pushed the door open silently, letting the group glimpse into their home life. Eri's face was scrunched in concentration, her tongue poking out as she tried to put braids in the short blond hair she had to work with. The boy handed her a hair tie, her happy claims of "Perfect!" and "Beautiful!" a stark contrast to the mess of tiny ponytails and hair clips littering his hair. He didn't seem to care though, his usual resting scowl replaced with a soft smile as his attention was occupied with a video call on Eri's laptop.
He signed slowly at the screen, Sero on the other end copying his movements to the best of his ability. He laughed, shaking his head as he scratched his chin in thought. "Jeez, it's harder than I thought…." he mused, getting distracted by Eri momentarily. "Eri, changuito preciosa, how many more are you doing?"
"As many as she fuckin' wants." The blond answered, followed by Eri's soft voice mimicking him.
"Yeah, as many as I fucking want!"
Sero's jaw dropped, almost dropping his phone from laughing. "Did you teach her that?? Dios mío, Aizawa's gonna get you for that."
"Daddy's not home so it's okay! That's why I'm making Kat pretty!"
Sero shook his head, resting his chin on his hand as he grinned at them. "I can see, you're making him adorable mija."
"Fuckin- if you say that again I'm gonna gag you with your own tape I swear to god."
Shinsō, bored with watching the chat's reactions already, cleared his throat loudly to catch the room's attention. Eri smiled and waved at the camera, chirping "Hi Hitoshi!! Welcome to Eri's hair salon!! Isn't Kat so pretty?" The blond on the floor in front of her froze, eyes narrowing as he looked up at Shinsō.
"Are you fucking recording?"
The mind reader grinned, zooming in on the blond's face. "Class 1-A, say hello to the new and improved Yamada Katsuki."
Katsuki's eye twitched, the only warning before he shot up to chase the purple haired boy down the hall. "GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE! AIZAWA'S GONE WE CAN BRAWL ALL NIGHT YOU FUCKING EXTRA!" Shinsō was laughing too hard to respond, pointing the camera behind him to let the class see. Though he sounded pissed, Katsuki was smiling. A true, honest smile that for the first time reached his eyes.