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2020-04-13
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2020-04-13
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didn't even try

Summary:

“With all due respect, Aizawa, I don’t see how this is still an issue in the present. Bakugou, to the great perplexity of the UA staff, was seemingly able to escape his restraints with ease.”

Aizawa bristles at that. “And that is exactly the problem here. He shouldn’t have been chained up in the first place. What kind of insane treatment is that? To your sports festival winner, no less?”

Katsuki breaks free from the chains holding him down to his first place podium and rightfully declines his medal.

Aizawa would like to have a few words with the rest of the UA staff.

Todoroki just wants to eat soba.

Notes:

because katsuki's a badass and has survival skills
and also because he should be able to say no to an award

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1: the source of the chaos is the calmest one

Chapter Text

Katsuki should’ve seen it coming. Midnight’s quirk—somnambulist—isn’t something she uses unless the occasion deems it absolutely necessary, but Katsuki supposes that him jostling an unconscious Todoroki is ample reason for being sedated.

That part, he doesn’t mind. It was fair and logical, and Katsuki knows he deserved it.

His current predicament, however, is something else entirely.

They’re putting damn quirk restraints on his hands for acting out the moment he regained consciousness, which is an unnecessary and disproportionate punishment, not to mention a complete violation of his basic human rights. A laughable reward for placing first in the tournament.

He’s still ticked off about Todoroki refusing to use his fire. Had he activated his left half, Katsuki wouldn’t have gotten himself caught up in this mess, regardless of whether or not he won the match. There’s something about his opponent not giving him the challenge he expected that makes him angry to an indescribable degree—one that not even losing the fight would have entailed.

He can see the kid in question—the dual-colored hair is kind of hard to miss—standing a few feet away, waiting patiently to get onto his designated podium. They’re in some sort of special room underground, and the platform is supposed to rise, Katsuki presumes, although he probably doesn’t have to put too much thought into the procedure, considering he’s already been strapped onto a concrete slab. Damn that Cementoss guy.

Most of the UA staff who don’t need to be managing the other students on the field are down here, getting the top three scorers ready. Katsuki spots Recovery Girl as she walks over to Todoroki and attempts to straighten out his clothes. He’s not sure how much time has elapsed since the finale, but the boy has a bandage wrapped around his left arm, so he assumes that all injuries have been taken care of by now.

Slightly further away, Tokoyami is leaning against a wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Due to the bracket pairing, Katsuki knows for a fact that Iida is also supposed to be here for a bronze medal, but oddly enough, he’s nowhere to be seen.

Ectoplasm and Snipe are speaking to each other, while Cementoss and Power Loader are loitering by an equipment table. Principal Nezu is giving them instructions, but Katsuki can’t make out the words from where he’s located.

He doesn’t think much of it and continues to seethe in his forced immobility, pulling as hard as he’s able to against the leather straps. It doesn’t give in, which is extremely unfortunate, given that the chains are going to be infinitely more difficult to get out of.

A timer goes off, and Recovery Girl moves to turn it off. She doesn’t hesitate before ushering Todoroki and Tokoyami onto the platform, each respectively to the right and left of Katsuki.

And then, out of absolutely nowhere, Power Loader comes over with a muzzle, of all things, and the blond begins to panic.

“Get that crap away from me!” Katsuki yells, attempting to throw a kick. His foot slides a few centimeters forward, but that’s about as much as he can manage.

The man, of course, doesn’t seem to care about what Katsuki’s saying, and goes on without pausing, lifting the metal guard upward. When his hand gets close enough, Katsuki promptly jerks forward and bites him in the finger, clamping his jaw down hard.

The pro hero yells in a mixture of surprise and pain, flinching backward. The other adults exclaim as well; Katsuki receives a few glares in the process, but he feels nothing other than elation at having earned himself at least a few more seconds to spare.

“Dammit, the kid—” Power Loader cuts off, wincing, handing the muzzle over to Ectoplasm as he examines his hand. “He’s completely nuts. I’m not handling that—someone else can do it.”

“Just leave him be!” Recovery Girl argues, sending Katsuki a worried glance. “You’ve done enough. Isn’t keeping him on the podium what you wanted, Nezu?”

The principal considers this. “Well, yes, but this is a necessary precaution. As a highly reputable school, UA cannot have its first place winner shouting profanities at the audience, so, logically, we must take preemptive measures.”

“There’s no time for that!” Recovery Girl counters, turning to face Nezu. “The boys—”

“Alright, that’s enough,” Cementoss interrupts. He diverts his attention to Ectoplasm. “Let me take that. Surely, he can’t bite through a concrete hand.”

Recovery Girl steps between them. “No. Listen—”

Running very low on time, Katsuki doesn’t pay attention to what she’s saying. Instead, he tilts his head to glower at Todoroki.

“Oi! Icyhot!”

Said person looks over, seeming disinterested and out of it. He appears… sad, even. “Do you need something, Bakugou?”

As much as the blond hates admitting it, he does in fact need help. And if Todoroki didn’t seem too enthused in using his fire, then it’s a good thing that it’s his other half Katsuki requires.

“I need you to freeze the restraints on me,” Katsuki states, holding his arms out.

Heterochromatic eyes drift over to the contraption, and then back at him. “Why should I?”

Katsuki grits his teeth. Darn it. Okay. He needs to take this one step at a time.

What could he offer Todoroki that would make him agree to doing him a favor?

The boy doesn’t like him in the slightest, and they barely even know each other. In fact, Todoroki barely speaks to anyone at all. It’s weird… throughout the few weeks that they’ve been in school, most of the class has settled into their preferred friend groups by now. During lunch, Deku sits with Uraraka; Yaoyorozu with Jirou and Hagakure, and so on. Todoroki, however, has always been alone, at his own table.

But if Katsuki has looked around the cafeteria enough times to know that detail, then that would mean that he should also know what Todoroki puts on his tray.

Katsuki’s good at everything, so he’d be able to make a meal without a problem. If he recalls what the other kid likes to eat, that is.

Was it?— No. Not rice. Something else. Something that doesn’t need toppings. Something… cold?

“I’ll make you soba!” Katsuki yells, yanking on his chains. “Do it, and I’ll make you that cold soba you seem to be obsessed with!”

Which is true, because Katsuki hasn’t seen him order anything different yet. Freaky, but at least he can use that to his advantage.

Todoroki’s eyes widen a little. He doesn’t say anything in response, but he reaches forward and places his right palm on the metal, and Katsuki knows he’s won him over.

The blond feels the sharp sting of cold metal grate against his arms and body, where the straps are fastened, and he’s never been more grateful.

All objects tend to become brittle when frozen, and especially since Todoroki is able to make things cold from within, not just apply a layer of frost to the exterior, Katsuki will now be able to shatter the restraints without much effort.

They may have suppressed his quirk with the device, but he didn’t build up muscle for nothing.

Recovery Girl must’ve bought enough time with her debating, because the teachers are all moving away from where he, Todoroki, and Tokoyami are, and the platforms begin to rise.

Smoke, party streamers, and confetti cloud their vision, but Katsuki doesn’t need to be able to see to thrash against the leather ties, breaking them apart. He then smashes the gear on his arms against the ground, shattering it into fragments.

He’s free.

He’s free.

He can’t believe he actually pulled that off.

Damn.

Midnight gestures to the winners, and Katsuki doesn’t even care about the fact that the entire audience is watching him.

The students of Class 1-A are staring straight at him. Mixed expressions of horror, amusement, and confusion are plastered on all of their faces, and Katsuki revels in it.

He decides to be calm for once, as a parting gift. Make them all wonder why he even needed to be held in place to begin with.

He turns to his left, stepping onto Tokoyami’s lower podium and utilizing it as a staircase.

Hopping off onto the field, he waves directly at where the main camera is positioned, broadcasting the live footage onto the multiple screens around the arena.

They can gape all they want.

But for now, he has a medal to decline and a bowl of soba to make.

Chapter 2: chaos, mayhem, and soba

Summary:

aizawa confronts several of his co-workers; katsuki and shouto enjoy a meal in peace

Notes:

new chapter! aftermath!
everyone who provided feedback, whether it be through the comments or through sif's discord, thank you
i kinda compiled those ideas to create this messy masterpiece, so if you see your suggestions being written into words, thank you for the inspiration

Chapter Text

Things after that were chaotic, to say the least.

It was quite an ironic sight: the crowd and teachers tossing themselves into a frenzy while Katsuki steps off, cool and collected.

Things just got even more out of control when Todoroki, the son of Endeavor, a notable public figure, decided to follow suit and hop off his podium to follow after Katsuki. For his promised soba, no less.

No one knew about the bargain they had made, except for Tokoyami, but the kid wasn’t about to say anything. All in honesty, he believed that Katsuki had a right to turn down his position as first place. He was not the one in the wrong here; the staff were.

The award ceremony didn’t get to take place in the midst of all the panic, but Tokoyami was glad when Aizawa came dashing down into the arena to collect him, because he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand there. Due to him being the last one standing, all of the attention had been suddenly diverted strictly on him, and he had considered for a few good moments whether he should just leave.

But it’s alright, now, because his sensei is here, handling things like he’s always done for the class.

“Tokoyami,” he addresses, hands on the boy's shoulders. “Gather your classmates. Head back to the school’s main building.”

Tokoyami nods, more than happy to comply. He starts to walk forward, but sends back one last glance. “What about you, Aizawa-sensei?”

The man’s eyes darken, his expression tensing. “I’m going to have a word with the authorities.”

Tokoyami nods. Aizawa can be frightening when he wants, and Tokoyami isn’t too sure he would like to find out what that talk entails. The teachers can deal with his wrath themselves.

Midoriya, Kaminari, and Yaoyorozu are the first to approach him when he reunites with the group.

“Tokoyami!” The green-haired boy squeaks, notebook in hand. “What was that?! Why did Kacchan and Todoroki just leave like that?!”

He seems to be more shocked than anything, but there’s a hint of unbridled excitement under that.

Yaoyorozu jumps in to speak next. She looks extremely concerned. “As the class’ vice representative, I would like to ask if you know what is going on. Why was Bakugou in restraints? How did he get out? Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, but…” Tokoyami shakes his head, mind tuning out all of the various voices shouting and demanding answers from him. “Guys. We have no time for this. Our sensei requested that I bring you all back to our classroom for the time being.”

Yaoyorozu nods, taking this information in and relaying it to the rest of the students. “Listen up, everyone! We’re all going to walk back to the school in a calm and orderly fashion.”

The yelling, of course, just grows louder.

Sighing, Tokoyami thinks about how he’s going to have a headache after the bombardment of questions he’ll be receiving.

The emergency staff meeting was arranged in a matter of minutes. All of the teachers and school board involved in the fiasco were commanded by Nezu (who was forced by Aizawa) to gather together in their largest meeting room, reserved for only the most important matters.

Aizawa doesn’t hesitate before confronting the main culprits. He got the gist of it from Nezu, who revealed that the chains were ultimately his own idea, but that he got Cementoss and Power Loader to agree to assist him with setting it into action.

Ectoplasm and Snipe were within proximity, but didn’t do anything about the situation, which, to Aizawa, is just as bad as holding Katsuki down.

Recovery Girl was the only one who opposed, which Aizawa is grateful for, so he advised her to stay outside the room beforehand. The berating he’s about to do isn’t something she needs to hear.

And that leaves him with five people (although there are more in the room, who joined out of curiosity or indirect involvement, Aizawa doesn’t know) whom he would like nothing more than to see get fired for actions that are extremely immoral, not to mention borderline illegal. Sure, Katsuki had yelled and possibly threatened them with explosions, but they had absolutely no right to tie him up like that—like he’s some sort of villain they need to capture.

The reason for their actions are the worst part of it all.

They had no problem with Midnight allowing two people to drop out of the competition after the cavalry battle, and yet they suddenly see it as an immense issue that their winner doesn’t want to accept a medal.

Which is just downright absurd.

Aizawa slams his hands down on the table, standing by the base of it and leaning forward to face Nezu and Cementoss, the closest ones to him.

He takes a deep breath in to try and calm the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He can’t hold a proper conversation if he’s openly angry.

“So, why exactly did you think it was a good idea to do that to Bakugou?” Aizawa asks, not addressing anyone in particular, but directing the question to the room as a whole.

He receives a few apprehensive glances, but no one speaks up for a whole ten seconds.

Nezu ends up being the first one to reply.

“With all due respect, Aizawa, I don’t see how this is still an issue in the present. Bakugou, to the great perplexity of the UA staff, was seemingly able to escape his restraints with ease.”

Aizawa bristles at that. “And that is exactly the problem here. He shouldn’t have been chained up in the first place. What kind of insane treatment is that? To your sports festival winner, no less?”

“You have to understand,” Nezu counters. “He was being violent and difficult to maintain. He was a threat to both himself and those around him.”

“That part, I can comprehend,” Aizawa states, hands clenching into fists. “What I do not get, however, is why you didn’t choose to just let him go instead of forcing him onto a damn podium, of all things.”

“The annual sports festival is televised all throughout the nation. We have thousands, if not millions of people watching us. Do you think it would look good on our part if we went through the process of hosting the event just to end up with not one, but two contestants missing from the podiums?”

“Iida had a family matter to attend to.” Aizawa states, jaw tense. “And we already broadcasted all of the competitions’ stages. The fact that you’re more concerned about the results says a lot about where your priorities are.”

His assertion is met with silence.

They get the point. But Aizawa can’t bring himself to stop until he’s gotten everything he wants to say across.

“Do you understand what you, as the school’s principal, have gotten yourself into? Everyone who was watching now knows that UA attempted to strap one of their students down just so he could be on camera for the award ceremony. His parents will have something to say about this. Every part of what you’ve done is against the law, and you will face the consequences.”

Saying that bit aloud makes Aizawa feel like he’s able to breathe again.

There’ll be legal consequences. It’ll eventually be taken care of.

He doesn’t need to go any further.

And, more importantly, he’s got a certain blond to check up on.

So he promptly walks over and leaves, slamming the door so hard behind him that he can hear pieces of wood splintering in the frame.

Katsuki learns that Todoroki has lockpicking skills.

From where? He doesn’t know, but it comes in handy when they’re met with a shut kitchen door.

Out of all the things that someone can come into UA to steal, food supply isn’t one that the staff would suspect, so the two of them are lucky that there aren’t any additional security measures in the cafeteria other than the classic lock.

It is bypassed easily, and Katsuki rushes over to the storage room to find what he needs for the meal he promised to make.

Todoroki stands by the door, watching with mild interest. “I never knew you could cook.”

Katsuki scowls, ripping a package of noodles open. “I can do anything.”

Todoroki shrugs. Katsuki did win the tournament, after all, so it’s not like he has any evidence in mind for an effective counterargument.

“What do you think they’re doing out there?” Todoroki asks, vaguely gesturing to where they came from.

Fortunately enough, nobody came chasing after either of them when they took their exit. The audience and teachers alike were too busy gawking at the stunt Katsuki had pulled.

The UA uniforms only have sleeves that reach down to the elbow, so Todoroki is able to discern red marks from where the metal had dug into Katsuki’s skin. There wasn’t any sort of cushioning on the interior of the quirk restraints, so he can make out all the points of contact in which the contraption was tightened around his forearms.

“I don’t give a damn about what they’re doing,” Katsuki declares, picking up a small pot. He places it under the sink and turns on the tap. “They can go ahead and hand Birdbrain all three medals, for all I care.”

He glances over at Todoroki and frowns when he sees that the boy’s attention isn’t on him. Instead, he’s looking over at the sink, at his—

Katsuki pulls his sleeves down as far as they’re able to go, but the fabric just springs right back up.

“Quit staring, Half n’ Half!” Katsuki huffs, cupping his hands under the tap and scooping up a handful of water. He splashes it in Todoroki’s face.

Todoroki, unfazed, evaporates it. He walks over to Katsuki.

“Are your arms alright?”

“They’re fine. Stop fretting.”

“I should’ve done something.”

“Hah? What is that supposed to mean?”

“I just,” Todoroki begins, frowning. “I watched them bring out the restraints, while you were still out of it due to Midnight’s quirk. I should’ve said something then.”

Katsuki sighs in exasperation. “Listen, idiot, because I’m only going to say this once. Those assholes are responsible for this, and no one else. It’s fine. I got what I wanted, in the end, and I don’t care about it anymore.”

“That doesn’t make it fair. They’re not right.”

“You’re going to lecture me on what’s fair and what isn’t? You didn’t even give me a fair fight during our match, so you better shut it,” Katsuki snaps, turning up the heat on a nearby stove. He slams the pot down on top of it. “Life isn’t fair. I’m used to it.”

And Todoroki knows he’s right. Life really isn’t.

The two of them are sitting opposite to each other in their claimed table amongst a sea of empty chairs when the cafeteria doors open.

Todoroki looks over Katsuki’s shoulder. “Good afternoon, Aizawa-sensei.”

If the man thinks it weird that they’re having lunch in the midst of mass hysteria, then he certainly doesn’t show it.

He strides over to where they’re situated.

Katsuki, picking at his noodles with his chopsticks, looks up. “How the hell did you find us?”

“Cameras,” Aizawa says, voicing the obvious. He looks down at the boys’ soba. “So this is how you convinced Todoroki?”

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out how Katsuki managed to snap leather and iron. One look at the frosted-over shards lying on concrete and grass, and Aizawa knew the catalyst was none other than Todoroki.

“Yeah. It’s a new form of currency.”

Todoroki nods, slurping his noodles.

Aizawa sighs.

Two more problem children to add to his list. They’re an unlikely duo, but Aizawa’s glad they stuck with each other after what happened. It looks like he won’t need to do much, after all—they’re already dealing with the aftermath just fine.

Notes:

i know i was supposed to write eri's fic for my series?????? if you were waiting for that, i'm sorry, i'll get it up soon i promise

but i had to do this

y'all @ sif's discord, thank you. this was such a delight to write.