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“And that’s a wrap for the first-year student’s sports festival!” Present Mic’s voice boomed from the phone. The camera zoomed in to the center of the stadium, Cementoss and Midnight standing off to the side. “Now, for the closing ceremony!” Nodding at his cue, Cementoss leaned down and touched the ground. Pebbles bounced as the ground vibrated, the ground being ripped apart to reveal the top students of this year’s festival on a podium.
Enigma blinked, “What.” She dimly paid mind to the roar of the crowd echoing through the halls as she processed the situation in front of her.
“Heh? Eraser, any idea why Bakugou’s chained up there?” Mic muttered, his microphone barely picking up on his new voice level. An unintelligible mumble responded.
Enigma’s eyes narrowed as she examined the scene laid out. The last battle was harsh, however, given Bakugou’s brash nature and Todoroki’s stubbornness it was predictable. Todoroki refusing to use part of his quirk for the majority of the tournament, especially in the battle against his opponent, no doubt angered Bakugou to an unprecedented measure. However, she knew that both were smart kids, in one way or another. Bakugou may be brash but he’s starting to learn to be smart about it. To not let it blind him, but to channel it to become something more.
Her concern threatened to bubble to the surface as she got a closer look at Bakugou. The creases in his face, the thrashing of chains. Anger. Desperation. Panic. Fear. She felt herself walk before she realized what she was doing. (She’s in the bathroom, why is she here? She was in a corridor. She can’t move her arms, why are they being restrained. No. No. “Look at little Enigma, thinking she could run,” a voice mocked. She heard the creak of the door before she heard another voice. “I got the bleach!”)
Shuffling caught her attention as her pace quickened. She glanced at Tokoyami, observing his slight tense posture, and his glances at Bakugou. No. At his predicament. Nervous and unsure, she deduced.
“Anyway! Third place, Tokoyami Fumikage! Second place, Todoroki Shoto! And first place, Bakugou Katsuki!”
She took off sprinting to one of the entrances at the bottom of the stadium, wincing at the jolt of pain down her back.
“Now, All Might will start presenting the medals, starting with third place!” Midnight spoke before All Might’s signature laughter filled the stadium.
His laughter bounced off the walls of the corridor, matching with the tapping of her soles hitting the ground. Glancing at her phone, she pressed the power button and watched as the screen turned black. Shoving the phone into her pocket, she turned the corner to see the entrance.
She forced herself to slow down and take a deep breath, numbly aware of the spike of pain it caused. Recenter yourself. Feinting casualness, she jogged to the podium. Midnight spotted her and turned off her microphone.
“Enigma, what are you-”
“Do you see anything wrong with this?” Enigma interrupted her, tone clipped. She watched as Midnight looked conflicted before reaching the third-place podium. She opened her body language as Tokoyami looked at her. A smiling emoticon made its home onto her face for a brief moment before disappearing. “Everything will be alright,” she whispered to him, hoping her voice was reassuring. Judging by his relaxing posture and a small nod, she achieved it.
Enigma glanced at one of the large screens broadcasting the event. The camera was zoomed out, the only audio being the cheers of the crowd and the commentary of Present Mic. Good.
“Pardon me, All Might.” She interrupted as he attempted to force the gold medal around Bakugou’s neck. Caught off guard by her presence, he backed up, medal in hand. She sighed as she went in front of Bakugou, working to undo the mask. “I am sorry that this happened to you,” she said as dull eyes slowly gained their spark back and the traces of fear withered away, “I won’t let it happen again because quite frankly it shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” she kept her voice soft and reassuring.
All Might regained his bearings, “Excuse me?”
Exhaling through her nose, she responded, “I already asked Midnight this, but I may as well ask you too,” she got the mask off, moving on to the next of the restraints. “Do you see anything wrong with this?” Please tell me you do. Please tell me I am not the only sane adult here.
All Might’s posture turned uneasy, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
Her hand twitched at the man’s doubt. “Judging by Bakugou’s… situation. He did not want to go on stage and you willingly ignored that glaring fact. And yet, you still did it and used extreme methods,” she held up the object, “a muzzle.” She scoffed. “You must be joking. Using an object that is meant to be used on animals in extreme cases such as disease, on a child?”
Muffled conversation in the stadium only met her ears.
“Now, I do not know who suggested this, nor do I know how this was an option that was considered, but I do know that this was not approved by Nedzu.”
Midnight shifted on her feet as she responded, “It was a precaution. We weren’t sure if he was going to attack Todoroki again.”
“Did you tell him your concerns?” Silence met her inquiry. She sighed through her nose, “His actions were extreme due to the circumstances, it was an 'in the moment' response if you will. Does that excuse his actions in pursuing even after the battle was called? No, absolutely not. But you must understand that after time, emotions such as anger start to dwindle.
“Trust, Midnight, All Might. Trust your students as they trust you. If there is no trust, then nothing will get done. Only harm.” The last of the restraints fell to the ground. The atmosphere was tense as Bakugou blinked and muttered a small fuck off before walking towards the corridor, his tense posture sagging as he turned the corner. Enigma grimaced at the sight. “Expect me to be more active in the students' lives after this behavior.”
“Why?” All Might asked with the gold medal limp in his hand.
Her grimace deepened. “Because this behavior worries me,” she sighed and walked towards where she came.
If she passed by Bakugou in the halls at the end of the day and heard him gruffly mutter thanks to her, well, no one had to know but her.