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Japan's heat is nothing more than unforgivable.
During the summer months, the temperature would skyrocket to unbearable levels, and with the humidity, one would be left begging for an escape from the blazing inferno.
Yet, even with the summer heat, the students of class 2-A continued their schooling and hero studies as if nothing had changed. They continued to train, hone their skills, and learn to become the best heroes that they could be.
When Bakugo enters the changing room to get dressed in his outfit, he opens his UA suitcase and analyzes the various clothing materials and support items that make up his hero outfit. He takes a deep breath and silently exhales, taking stock of the pieces that complete his hero persona.
There’s a black, thick long-sleeve bodysuit with a turtleneck that runs up to his mouth and baggy pants with insulating materials. The pieces that made up his gauntlets and other support items rested neatly alongside his clothing.
Recently he switched to wearing his winter outfit instead of keeping it reserved for the colder months. He noticed that his quirk works best when his body’s temperature is slightly overheated. It allows him to better produce his sweat and enact his attacks at the level he wishes.
But such a change causes quite a strain on his already injured body.
In the summer months, he can’t last long before the tell-tale signs of overheating come to fruition. Rapid breathing, excessive sweating, headaches, dizziness, and his weakened heart beating faster than usual. When these symptoms appear, he has no choice but to sit out and watch as his classmates continue with the exercise, feeling useless for not being able to perform at his top.
Today, Japan was experiencing an intense heatwave, with temperatures rising to extraordinary levels. Even then, their class is being pulled to complete fieldwork despite the extreme weather.
As he pulls out his black suit, he listens to the chattering happening around him.
“Make sure you drink lots of water while you are out working!” Iida informs.
“Ugh! Why do we have to do restoration when the temperature is at a record high!” Kamirani complains.
“I guess heroes need to be prepared to act no matter how hot it is,” Kirishima replies.
Bakugo couldn’t help but agree with Kaminari, being out in this heat is dangerous. But, unfortunately, criminals don’t wait when the air is cooler or when the ambient is ideal…actually, they tend to be the most active when the weather is vexatious. So, as much as he wanted to complain, he just couldn’t. They’ll be fine anyway, they’ll be given lots of moments to rest and plus, he wasn’t even going to do much—doctors told him to limit his quirk use until he has fully recovered.
So, they’ll be fine—he’ll be fine.
He finishes putting on his outfit, all he needs to do is put on his gauntlets and make his way out. But before he can, a certain someone stops him.
“Kacchan…”
Bakugo pauses, his irritation beginning to spew.
Breathe.
In and out.
“What do you want?” Bakugo simply says.
“You should—you should probably sit this one out.” Midoriya quietly informs.
At those words, Bakugo turns to face the teenager, now fully dressed in his newly issued hero outfit (the one from the war having been ripped beyond recognition), “Dammit, Izuku. If you are worried about my dam heart, don’t be. I’m not even going to be doing much; I’m just going to be there to support—”
“It’s not that, Kacchan. This heat…it’s not good for you and you know it.”
Bakugo’s gaze moves to his gauntlets and he quickly puts them on. He can sense and see that the rest of his classmates are watching them, listening to their conversation, “I know, but a hero has to act no matter how the weather is. You should know that better than me, Izuku. I am not going to let some heat stop me so just shut up and get your ass out there.”
The explosion user storms without glancing back at his childhood friend, Midoriya watches with concern etched along his features. He can feel a pit forming inside his stomach like something bad is going to happen. He may no longer have Danger Sense, but it almost feels like the quirk is giving him phantom signals, warning him of something that is yet to come. He hopes that isn’t true, maybe what he is feeling is simply the lingering paranoia from the war, nothing else. Nonetheless, he’s in his team so he’ll be able to ensure his safety…because what happened in the war won’t happen again.
It won’t.
.
.
.
They are split into groups of four. In Bakugo’s team are Midoriya, Shinso, and Kirishima. For their fieldwork, they are tasked with clearing debris left by the war in a heavily damaged neighborhood. However, there have been reports of some criminal activity going on in that area, so on top of their work, they are advised to remain vigilant of anything suspicious and act appropriately if faced with danger.
They work diligently for a few hours, cleaning and restoring a section of a devastated cul de sac. Once finished, they move to the next section. As they walk, Midoriya casually speaks with both Shinso and Kirishima, enjoying each other’s company despite the events that transpired only a few months ago. Bakugo, however, remains quiet.
As they walk, Bakugo feels the sun beating down on him. The relentless rays pound against his outfit which transfers onto his skin, feeling the pressing heat. With every step he takes, beads of sweat trickle down his brow and drip down onto the collar of his suit. His breathing picks up, his body urging for some reprieve from the blazing ball of fire.
“All right!” Kirishima begins, wiping off the sweat from his forehead, oblivious to Bakugo’s silent distress, “The next section is right over there! Doesn’t look too bad, just a few houses that need some rumble cleaned up. Make sure you drink some water and let’s get to it.”
Midoriya and Shinso nod and walk alongside their classmate as they take out their water bottles and gulp a few sips. Bakugo follows not too far behind, but his movements feel sluggish as if he were traversing through molasses. On top of that—his heart, it feels like it’s beating out of his chest in rapid succession. He tries to take deep breaths…maybe his adrenaline is picking up (a commonality considering that his usual fiery nature is a means to stop the nitroglycerin effects from dangerously lowering his blood pressure).
He attempts to ignore it; neglect his rapidly depleting stamina and the dizzy spells that kept pummeling him. He isn’t one to show weakness, especially not now when he isn’t even doing anything. Yet, the longer he remains in this blazing heat, the faster these symptoms grow, becoming bothersome.
He knows he should say something, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he walks…and walks…and walks.
The sun shines oppressively above him, hanging in the air like a thick, invisible blanket. He gazes ahead, his classmates getting further and further away and him beginning to fall behind. But it’s odd, something about them just wasn’t sitting right with him. They seem to ripple and shimmer with the heat waves that emanate from the hot asphalt, dancing along his vision. Not only that but they kept blurry, merging into a confusing mass of mismatched colors, the two cast in a casing of harsh, golden glare.
Bakugo blinks, slowly and lethargically, trying to stop this strange distortion. But every time he closes his eyes, the sensation only gets worse.
And the headache—this pounding headache…why did it hurt so much?
“Mhm…” He grunts, stumbling onto a nearby streetlamp. He places a hand on the steel encasing and looks down at his feet, trying but failing to take deep breaths, urging his body to stop this bubbling agony.
“Kacchan?”
He hears Midoriya. Then footsteps approach him.
Wait—approach him—approach him where? Where is he? What is he doing? Why is Deku here?
And everything…
It is so hot…everything is so so hot. He feels—everything feels like it’s melting like his reality is merging into one disorienting blob. Then, he’s falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Falling.
Until his body gives in and lets gravity take hold.
“KACCHAN!!”
“Crap! Bakugo!”
An array of footsteps come as his body hits the hot asphalt. Everything felt slow and heavy, like moving through marshes of boiling molasses.
“Kacchan! Oh god! Dammit! I told you, you idiot!” Midoriya shouts, kneeling beside the teenager, his gaze pricked with panic.
“Shit! I’ll-I’ll call Mr. Aizawa!” Shinso quickly informs, grabbing his phone and stepping away to call their homeroom teacher.
“And an ambulance!” Midoriya yells.
Midoriya notices that Bakugo’s eyes are closed. He’s sweating profusely with his skin looking unnaturally clammy. And his breathing…it’s slow—too slow. Frantically, he removes his air force gloves.
“Kirishima! Help me remove his gauntlets!” Midoriya orders.
“Got it!” Kirishima follows and together they detach the devices from his hands, Bakugo too weak to fight the forced removal.
“Okay…okay…” He looks at his ungloved, scarred hands then at Bakugo’s neck. He hesitates, scared to measure the little thumps on his radial artery—terrified he might feel—nothing.
“Midoriya!?”
He snaps out of his brief trance, “R-Right!” He places two fingers on his artery and focuses, searching for that familiar pulse.
Thump…
Thump…
Thump…
His heart—it's—he takes a breath of relief; his heart is beating.
“It’s there…thank god. Alright, w-we need to get him out of the sun! And these clothes, we need to take some layers off and splash water on him to cool him off and give him some water to drink once he wakes up!” Midoriya rapidly states.
“Sounds good!” Kirishima kneels and grabs the teenager, his body hanging loosely, “I’ll take him inside that house over there. I have some water I can put on him.” Kirishima, without any time to waste, rushes into the nearest collapsed house which stands half-destroyed only a few feet away from them.
“Midoriya!” Shinso approaches the frightened green-haired teenager, “They are on their way. Aizawa told me to stay with him, monitor him, and try to keep him cool and hydrated until the ambulance gets here.”
“Okay good, thanks!” And with that, the two rush into the building Kirishima ran into.
.
.
.
Bakugo’s consciousness keeps wavering, but the heat is not as intense as it was before...but he feels cold. Where was he?
“Kacchan! Thank god, you’re awake!” Midoriya says from somewhere beside him.
He opens his lead-heavy eyes, fighting the forceful pull, tugging him to sleep. He lets his gaze adjust (as best as he can with all the blurring) before scanning his immediate surroundings.
Deku’s there…sitting to the side of him and there are others too…but who?
And his forehead—there is something on his forehead. He tries to reach for it, but someone gently grabs his wrist, stopping him.
“Don’t do that. You’re heating up.” Shinso orders.
“What—D-Deku—why—where.” Bakugo attempts to say but his mouth feels dry like all the moisture has been sucked out of his mouth.
“I told you—” Midoriya begins, Bakugo turns to look at him, “I told you to sit this one out. I know you, Kacchan. Your nitroglycerin already lowers your blood pressure and since you’ve been ordered to remain calm, so your heart heals, you haven’t been able to mitigate the effects through you’re…explosive nature. Then, you add heat and your winter suit—Kacchan you shouldn’t have done that.”
Midoriya feels a lump developing in his throat and tears pooling along the bottom of his eyes, “I don’t—I don’t want to see you dead again…”
Bakugo listens, but with the way his head is spinning, it’s hard to keep his focus locked on him.
“Just…stop thinking that you're invisible for once!” Midoriya belts, “Because you’re not! You are not some kind of god, dammit!”
Kirishima and Shinso go silent, letting the two talk, shocked by Midoriya’s outburst.
Midoriya lets out a few soft whimpers. He wipes away his dripping tears and looks away, ashamed, “S-Sorry…I didn’t mean to—I just—I was—”
“I know—Izuku…” Bakugo interrupts, his voice raspy, “And I’m—sorry. I just—didn’t—want to—look—weak.”
“And you’re not. But strength is also knowing when to take a step back. You are still recovering…I just want you to listen to your body.”
Bakugo’s hazy eyes stare at Midoriya’s tear-filled gaze. He weakly smiles and closes his eyes, “Yeah—if you promise to—do the same—nerd.”
His eyes remain closed.
“Hey,” Midoriya gently slaps him on the cheek, “Stay awake.”
“Oh—yeah…”
It didn’t take long for the paramedics and Aizawa to arrive at their location. Once there, Bakugo is promptly wheeled away and taken to the nearest hospital, leaving the three stunned teenagers with their teacher.
“Based on what the paramedics told me, he was in the early stages of a heat stroke, but your quick thinking might’ve saved his life. Good job you three,” He tells them as the three make their way to the black vans which are currently working as their transportation unit. Aizawa lets out a sigh and after a short pause he speaks, “I’m sorry, I should have told him to stay at UA knowing how hot it is, so the blame falls on me.”
“No…I should have been more insistent; sometimes he just doesn’t listen.” Midoriya replies.
“Typical Bakugo…you thought he would learn after the war,” Kirishima adds. Aizawa opens the door to the van and his students walk in.
Aizawa nods—if only he learned. In all honestly, just like them, he was concerned for his student’s health. He knows he’ll make a full recovery—but it is very likely he won’t be able to use his quirk at the strength it was before his injury. He knows it’ll be hard on him, but like any hero and like his other injured classmates (Jiro specifically) he’ll need to learn to live and grow with these difficulties and continue moving forward.
He knows Bakugo will adapt and become the greatest hero there is.
Well, he hopes.
He jumps onto the driver’s side and looks at Midoriya, Kirishima, and Shinso from the rearview mirror, conversing.
That’s when he smiles.
No…he will.
Cause they're there.
They’ll always be there…
To help when he needs it.