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Bakugou was pissed, yeah, he was fuming. How dare that Half n' Half bastard undermine him like that by refusing to use his fire? He'd used it with Deku, so why not him? Was he not worthy?
Hot rage bubbled inside him, threatening to explode. He'd already been screaming. He yelled at the Half and Half idiot to get up and fight him, but of course, he didn't respond.
Of course Midnight's somnambulist, a gas that would put him to sleep, was probably justified because he was yelling at Todoroki's unconscious figure...
But this?
Now he was up on a podium in front of thousands of people. Both those here in the stadium and people watching at home. He was chained up like a rabid animal but all he had his mind on was escaping. He hated feeling restrained, he hated feeling like he couldn't breathe, like he couldn't protect himself.
He screamed at the teachers to get him out of these restraints. He hated it, he hated everyone here.
And just when he thought things couldn't get worse, Cementoss approached him holding a big piece of metal. The hell was that?
"Back off!" He screamed, kicking a bit. "What the hell is that?"
"A necessary precaution. We can't have you yelling profanities in front of a huge audience."
That only intensified Bakugou's panic. What, a muzzle?
"Don't fucking put that on me! Piece of shit!" He started kicking harder, head jerking around as Cementoss put the guard on him and strapped it around his head. He'd tried to bite the man, but biting down on concrete hands obviously did nothing.
And god, if he couldn't breathe before, he was suffocating now.
He thrashed in the chains, trying to scream past what could basically be considered a muzzle. He felt too many emotions coursing through his body. Anger that IcyHot wouldn't use his flames, because he didn't want to win like that. Panic at being restrained like this. Shame that everyone, including his classmates, were staring at him judgingly.
His chest felt tight. He wanted to scream. The panic just made him more explosive. He couldn't protect himself.
Fuck, fuck.
He tried to pull apart the big metal block around his hands, or activate his quirk to blast it up, but nothing worked.
He was shaking. Surely everyone else thought it was because he was angry, but Bakugou knew better. He felt tears prick in his eyes and every single negative emotion fill up his stomach like a poison that made him sick.
He kept on yelling, yelling at IcyHot, yelling at the teachers, at the crowd. His words were muffled so no one knew what he was saying either.
Oh god, oh god.
"He's acting like a feral animal."
Shut up.
"Some hero he is."
Shut the hell up.
"Wouldn't he be better suited as a villian?"
Stop fucking talking.
"He's so scary!"
Shut up!
He heard people talking like that. He wanted to cry, or scream, or do something, but this fucking muzzle and his stupid pride stopped it.
He was a hero, he was going to be the number one hero no matter how many people told him he was better as a villian. Couldn't they understand that he was freaking out being tied up like this?
But maybe they were right. Why would they chain him up like this if they didn't see him as dangerous? If even the teachers saw that he needed to be tied up and muzzled like a dog, then maybe those people's opinions weren't so far off. Why would a hero need to be chained up so they wouldn't hurt anyone?
Despite his stinging throat and aching muscles, especially after the exhaustion from the Sports Festival, he kept thrashing and yelling.
He barely even noticed as All Might came flying in from above and gave awards IcyHot and Bird Head. When All Might stood in front of him with the first place award, it only fueled every negative emotion building up inside him.
Bakugou was breathing quickly and harshly, trying to suck in as much air as he could. He felt like it was never enough for his pounding heart and swirling brain.
"Good job doing what you said you would during the pledge." All Might started. Bakugou didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear any of it.
His number one idol was seeing him like this. He hated it.
He almost gasped when All Might pulled the muzzle of of him. He still felt restrained but at least he could breathe now. Still, he was pissed that the UA faculty had even thought of putting that muzzle on him.
"All Might." Bakugou growled.
"First place like this is worthless!" He yelled, starting All Might straight in the eyes. "Even if the world sees it, I don't, so it's useless!" He continued to scream. He wanted All Might, no, everyone, to just leave him alone.
All Might went on some stupid spiel that Bakugou didn't bother listening to. He still wanted to cry.
He got his reward but it wasn't worth it. He didn't win like he should have and he was humiliated in front of the world to boot. Why would he be grateful for something like that?
It was no surprise that he spent his night at home destroying small objects with his explosions, even if his mom yelled at him to stop.
Whatever.