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Aizawa saw something was not right with Bakugou when he called on him three times in class and he failed to even acknowledge him each time. Jirou had to poke him on the arm to finally get Bakugou to lift his head from where it was resting on his palm, completely oblivious to the question Aizawa had asked him. He gave Jirou an angry look when she poked him. Uncharacteristically, the anger subsided when he realized Aizawa had been calling on him. Aizawa simply repeated himself louder and Bakugou mumbled the answer, then leaned back in his chair with an angry look on his face. The angry mumbling wasn’t new, but it was more frustration than anger, at least from what Aizawa could see.
This wasn’t the first time Aizawa noticed Bakugou was having trouble hearing.
The first time he’d noticed something was wrong was before training one day. Aizawa was explaining the drill to the class, Bakugou standing in the way back next to Kirishima. It was a simple exercise, easy enough where a simple explanation would have sufficed. However, after everyone had dispersed, Bakugou walked up to Aizawa and asked if he could explain the drill again. His excuse was that Kirishima had been talking too loudly while he explained, but Aizawa saw through the lie by the way Bakugou wouldn’t look him in the eye. Aizawa didn’t pry though and simply explained it to him again.
A couple of weeks later he’d noticed Kaminari calling his name after training. Bakugou ignored him, but that wasn’t something that came off as weird. It was when Kaminari had grabbed his arm to get his attention. Bakugou seemed genuinely startled when Kamianri grabbed him, visibly jumping and suddenly going rigid. In a matter of seconds, Bakugou had immediately insulted him and walked off only moments later. Kaminari stood there perplexed as Aizawa watched the whole interaction from afar.
In addition to this, he’d noticed something different about some other students. Kirishima has always been touchy, always throwing an arm around his friends, or slapping someone on the back and even holding an angry student back from possibly maiming another. Lately however, he’s always been gently touching Bakugou’s shoulder or elbow to get his attention, never surprising him with a sling around the shoulder or a slap on the back. He also stopped yelling out Bakugou’s name when trying to get his attention, which was odd behavior for the loud redhead.
Over the past month a couple other incidents like that have occured. Either it took a few repeats to get Bakugo’s attention, or he wouldn’t notice someone was talking to him until they were in his direct line of sight. Aizawa had been keeping a close eye on him since the day he pushed Kaminari away during training. He wanted to be 100% certain there was something wrong before he confronted him about it. Bakugou was a tough kid, and asking him about any type of weakness would just earn Aizawa a disgruntled “I’m fine.” He shouldn't be surprised. If any of his students would have hearing loss, it made sense to be the kid with the quirk that made explosions.
It wasn’t until training a day ago that Aizawa realized he couldn't put it off any longer.
It was a regular training day. The kids were using their quirks extensively to help increase the strength and endurance, similar to what they’d been doing at the camp before the villains had attacked them. The giant stone’s in the training room were their target. Not dangerous at all, something the students have done a thousand times before. That was until Aoyama had used his naval laser full throttle and cut through a stone as large as a small house.
The kids were usually careful, always making sure never to hurt anyone, but warnings couldn't be heard when you were having trouble hearing.
Bakugou had been standing in front of the large stone Aoyama cut through, panting as he had extended his quirk use on another stone. He didn’t notice the giant stone sliding off the rock and into his direction.
“Shit,” Kirishima mumbled close to Aizawa, posture stiffening. “Bakugou, behind you!”
Bakugou didn’t respond even as a couple of other students called out his name, but his eyes were closed as his exhausted body heaved.
“Bakugou!” Aizawa called out. His feet moved before his mind, and he was soon rushing towards his student and removing his capture weapon in an attempt to pull him out of the way before he was crushed to death.
Before he could reach him, however, Bakugou was shoved harshly out of the way by Kirishima as the slab of stone came barreling down on the redhead. Bakugou landed on the floor a good ten feet away, rolling to a stop completely safe.
“Kirishima!” Aizawa yelled, a cold dread hitting his core. He rushed towards the giant stone which had fallen on top of his student. Other students gathered around, and Bakugou was still on the ground, staring at the stone with a crestfallen look.
“Sato!” Aizawa called. Immediately, Sato inhaled what looked like a brownie and situated himself in front of the edge of the stone. He grabbed the edge of the boulder and squatted.
“Asui. Pull Kirishima out when he lifts,” instructed Aizawa. Asui nodded and hopped forward. “Now, Sato.”
Sato grunted as he lifted the stone, the rock shifting as it was raised from the ground. Relief washed over Aizawa when he saw a lack of blood seep out from under the rock. When Kirishima had shoved Bakugou he had seemed to have hardened himself, but he moved slower when completely hardened, and when he had rushed toward Bakugou it was at lightning speed. Aizawa had never seen him move so fast.
Asui quickly reached out her tongue and began pulling out his student. Soon Kirishima was out from under the rock and Aizawa felt a heavy weight lift off his chest when he heard a disgruntled groan. The students began crowding around Kirishima as he slowly sat up.
Kirishima seemed fine. His head was bleeding and he was holding his arm to his chest in a way that worried Aizawa. He noticed it was the arm that had shoved Bakugo. He must not have hardened it in time. Either that or he didn’t harden on purpose so he wouldn't cut up Bakugou when he shoved him.
“Kirishima?” Aizawa kneeled beside his student helping him sit up. Kirishima groaned as he held his hand to his head with his good arm. “Are you all right?”
Kirishima nodded his head, eyes remaining closed. “Bakugou?” Kirishima mumbled, opening his eyes and looking to where he had pushed his friend.
Aizawa’s eyes glanced to find Bakugou. He was still sitting on the ground, eyes wide and body rigid. It was a look Aizawa had never seen on his student before; fear.
“Why didn’t you move, Bakugou?” asked Sero, an accusatory tone lingering in his voice. He had rushed towards Kirishima earlier, equally fearful for his friend.
Bakugou looked from Kirhsima to Sero, and then finally to Aizawa, fearful eyes meeting a concerned look. He looked panicked, obviously not registering what Sero had just asked him. The poor kid was panicked in a way Aizawa has never seen.
Very quickly he quickly pushed himself up, pausing in step as if he was about to walk towards Kirishima.
“I...” his voice halted.
“Okay, class is over,” Aizawa stated. It wasn’t just an excuse for Bakugo’s sake. He nodded his chin towards Bakugou, gesturing to the door. Bakugou hesitated again, looking from him to Kirishima. A second later he rushed away, leaving his confused and mumbling classmates behind.
“Bakugou-” began Kirishima.
“Go to Recovery Girl. Class rep, go with him.”
Iida nodded and rushed over to help Kirishima up, but the redhead was as stubborn as ever.
“Wait, Bakugou is-ah!” he yelled out when he tried to use his arm to ward off Iida. He hissed as his friends gathered around.
“Class is over! Go change and go to your next class. Tell Mic that Bakugou and Kirishima won’t be there. Now!”
The class slowly dispersed after Aizawa’s yelling, some lingering a little longer passing along concerned looks. Eventually, they were all gone.
“I’m fine, I swear, but Bakugou-”
“I know.”
“What? but-”
“I know, Kirishima. We’ll talk about this later.”
Kirishima finally paused, looked his teacher in the eye, and nodded, an unspoken understanding forming between the two. Kirishima looked down and grimaced, the frustration showing itself in his expression.
“Take him to Recovery Girl,” Aizawa instructed Iida. Without hesitation Iida immediately helped Kirishima up, not once asking or prying about what that had all been about.
As Iida helped his friend to Recovery Girl, Aizawa stayed for a moment, taking in all the destruction of today’s training. The slab of stone was large, and if anyone other than Kirishima or maybe Sato had been under it, Aizawa wasn’t sure they’d have made it out all right.
Bakugou had stood there for what felt like the twenty seconds it took for the stone to fall, unaware of the class screaming at him to move.
-
The next day class had passed by normally. Thankfully Kirishima was able to attend and ease the concerns of his worried classmates. His arm did break, but Recovery Girl was able to heal it pretty well. He still wore some bandages to help with the soreness, but other than that he was the picture of health. Aizawa couldn't say the same for Bakugou.
Bakugou didn’t look up or away from his desk once during class, something Aizawa didn’t bother scolding him on at the moment. When Kirishima and a couple of other students tried to talk to him, he ignored them completely and plopped down on his desk, either looking at nothing or fidgeting with his pencils.
Aizawa had expected Bakugou to be more angry, irritated, or at least annoyed, but he didn’t seem to be feeling any of those things. In fact, from where Aizawa stood during the duration of the class, he couldn't spot a single emotion on Bakugou’s face.
When the bell rang and the students were dismissed, Bakugou didn’t move from his seat. Kirishima and Midorya had lingered around at the door, sharing nervous glances when Bakugou didn’t move. Aizawa shooed them away.
Before class Aizawa had asked Bakugou to stay after as not to draw any attention to him. He also wanted to make sure the loud ruckus of a class leaving didn’t affect if Bakugou could even hear him say he wanted him to stay after class.
Once the class was gone, silence took over the room for a second. Bakugou had refused to meet Aizawa’s eye, hunching his head over his desk. Aizawa walked over and knocked on his desk with his knuckles. Aizawa wasn’t sure he noticed when he didn’t flinch, but he slowly raised his head, slight irritation returning to his face.
“How long?” Aizawa asked, ignoring Bakugou’s clear annoyance. His voice was raised a little, not out of anger but just to make sure he could hear him.
It took him a few moments to answer. “About a month.” So he did hear him?
“So your hearing isn’t completely gone?”
Bakugou nodded his head no. After a few moments of silence between them, Bakugou spoke up again.
“It’s...gotten worse,” he admitted. Aizawa was surprised his student was willing to continue the conversation at all. He thought he’d need to push more to get the most stubborn kid he’s ever met in his life to admit there's something wrong with him.
“Okay.”
“One day my ears started ringing and I couldn't hear for just a couple of minutes, but it went away, so I ignored it. I think it did some damage cause’ It wasn’t the same after that.” Bakugou paused again, lazily leaning back in his chair and rubbing the back of his neck with his palm. Aizawa was already surprised Bakugou had even stayed this long without running away, so he didn’t push.
“I wasn’t bad. Yeah, big explosions made my ears ring, they’ve done that since I was a kid, but it was never….”
“Permanent?” Aizawa suggested.
Bakugou looked at Aizawa and nodded. He looked angry again. No, not angry. Frustrated. Frustrated with his quirk and the effects of it. Aizawa knew what that was like.
“Then of course shitty hair noticed, cause he notices everything,” Bakugou grumbled. Aizawa hid his small smirk form under his capture weapon. “And he thought I should tell someone but I made him promise he wouldn’t.”
The regret lingering in Bakugou’s voice in that last sentence was palpable. Bakugou had moved from leaning back to fidgeting with his hands on his lap, now and then wiping his palms on his pants from the sweat.
“Bakugou-”
“I should have told someone sooner,” Bakugou interrupted quietly. “I’m sorry.”
Aizawa paused.
Aizawa knocked on Bakugou's desk again to get his attention. “You’re right. You should have told someone sooner and not have waited until someone got hurt.”
Bakugou winced, but it was the truth. Both student and teacher knew that, and Aizawa was sure Bakugou knew that what happened was a result of his actions, or lack thereof. Bakugou's pride was the only reason Kirishima got hurt. Bakugou's pride seemed to be the key to a lot of Bakugou's issues. So keeping it in check and letting him know he can ask for help was the goal.
“I know,” Bakugou mumbled again, refusing to meet his teacher in the eye.
Aizawa sighed. “I know you do.” He moved and squatted next to Bakugou's chair, forcing him to turn his head again so his teacher wasn’t in his face.
“Bakugou, you need to know this won’t make you weak. This won’t make you any less of a hero, or even the number one hero.”
Bakugou visibly inhaled at the mention of the number one hero. His dream wasn’t crushed. Not yet.
“But it’s not something you can ignore forever. You need to learn from this. Adapt to it, overcome it, and still become a great hero despite it. Okay?”
Bakugou had been rigid all day. Not meeting anyone’s eyes and sweating from the palms more than Aizawa had ever seen. At the moment when Aizawa did finally catch Bakugou’s eye, he was glad to see that glint of that insane drive that made Bakugou almost undefeatable.
“Okay,” he replied, tone confident but wary.
Aizawa grinned and stood up, walking up to him to the front of his class again and pulling something out of his desk.
“And Bakugou,” he started, a bit too loudly for a room of two, but wanted to make sure his student heard him. “If anyone tries to tell you that you can’t, do it anyway, even if it’s just to spite them.”
Bakugou from his seat grinned.
“Yeah,” he said, his usual vigor returning to his voice.
“Hm,” Aizawa hummed, still going through his desk before he found it. The book Mic had given him years ago that he had no use for anymore.
“Here,” he said, walking over to his student’s desk, dropping the book on top of the wood with a small thump. Bakugou peered at the book, sighing and slowly running his finger across the title.
“JSL,” he said. The words sounded like a confession coming off Bakugou’s tongue, which Aizawa could consider a good thing.
“Hm,” Aizawa hummed again. “I can teach you as well, and I’ll use it during class-”
Bakugou stared at his teacher, panic beginning to form in his eye.
“-only if you want,” Aizawa continued. He didn’t blame Bakugou for his reaction. “But you’ll need to be able to communicate with us and your classmates so we can avoid an incident like yesterday. You’ll also need to go to Recovery Girl so she can check out your ears, but deafness isn’t something she can cure. She’ll set up an appointment with you and they can test how much hearing you’ve lost, maybe get you an implant.”
Bokugou had gone back to fidgeting, but this time with the pages of the JSL that was already bent and a little ripped in some areas. It was a lot to take in, but the sooner Bakugou dealt with this, the sooner he could adjust to the new normal that would be deafness.
“Listen, Bakugou,” began Aizawa, gaining his students' attention once again. “I’m not gonna rush you into anything, but knowing you, you’ll want to do this yourself.”
“Tsk,” Bakugou scoffed but didn’t say anything to suggest otherwise. At least he knew that about himself.
“But you won’t have to. I’ll help you, Recovery Girl and the other teachers will make accommodations. And I know Kirishima would be willing to learn JSL with you.”
Bakugou snorted, hesitating before he began talking again. “He’s already learning. He thinks I don’t know but he’s been teaching it to himself. Red idiot.”
The last part Bakugou muttered to himself, but Aizawa caught the smirk forming on his lips.
“This will be hard at first, but I promise it will get easier, but only if you accept the help from others.”
“How would you know?” His tone was accusatory, but genuine curiosity lingered. That was enough to tell Aizawa he did need his help, and Aizawa would give it to him whether he liked it or not.
“Mic started losing his hearing the summer before our second year.”
Bakugou perked up. Mic didn’t keep the fact that he was deaf a secrete at all, but those stupid headphones he always wore tended to cover his cochlear implants to protect his ears and implants from damage, plus were part of his hero costume. The only one who ever saw them was Aizawa.
“The french fry is deaf?” asked Bakugou. He caught himself a little too late after saying the nickname, but Aizawa just snorted.
“Yeah. He’s always been so happy-go-lucky, so it didn’t seem like a huge deal on the outside, but It was tough for him. Mic managed though, and now he’s fluent in four languages and three different sign languages. Goes to show this won’t ruin your chances at your goals, Bakugou.”
Bakugou seemed to contemplate what Aizawa was putting down, methodically rubbing his thumb on the corner of the JSL book Aizawa felt weird parting with. He’d gotten it for Mic, but Mic had given it back to him after becoming fluent. It was his way of saying “I did it.”
Maybe one-day Bakugou would give the book back to Aizawa.
“Okay,” he replied. Bakugou began gathering his things, placing the JSL book in his bag with more care than Aizawa had expected. “I’ll go to Recovery Girl and uh...set up an appointment.”
Bakugou began making his way towards the door but paused and placed his palm on the doorframe before exiting the room.
“Mr. Aizawa?”
“Hm?”
“JSL can’t be that hard if a dumbass like Kirishima can learn it?”
Aizawa grinned. “No. Not hard at all.”
Bakugou's signature grin returned to his face. It was a face he made when he accepted a challenge, the face he made before training to fight one of his classmates.
Bakugou hummed in agreement then left the classroom.
Yeah. He’d be okay.
---
Bakugou's hearing did get worse, losing most in his right ear and about 60% in his left. The cochlear implants were a must, considering Bakugoe’s future as a hero. It was a lot for the kid at first, but slowly and surely he adjusted to them as well as JSL.
Aizawa also couldn't help but notice the amount of assistance he was putting in. Bakugou was practically dragged by Kirishima into his classroom one day, asking for help with JSL when they got to the point where they were confused.
For a few weeks, he spent an hour or two twice a week teaching the pair, eventually, more of their friends joined, to Bakugou's disliking. At least that’s what he projected, but Aizawa was certain a part of him appreciated it, even if he wouldn't ever admit it.
Unconsciously, Aizawa had started signing almost everything in his class when he didn’t need his hands, and even more surprisingly, Bakugou didn’t mind.
What’s better was Bakugou adjusted to his implants pretty quickly, especially during battle. An incident like the one that day never happened again. Bakugou seemed to make sure of it, meeting this whole thing head-on with the determination only someone like Bakugou possessed.
The kid really was a hero. Aizawa pitied the person who would try and tell him otherwise.