Listen up, a**hole - Chapter 9

With his baggy pants and boots on, and a hoodie covering his tight shirt, Bakugou leaned over to let Midoriya kiss him goodbye. He had a duffle bag with the rest of his gear, to put on for photos and such, a few gadgets stowed away in case he needed them – though he suspected the school was the last place he'd need them – and a little metal device in each ear with freshly replaced batteries.

“I love you,” Midoriya told him, eyes shining with his admiration. “You're so amazing.”

“Whatever,” he scoffed. “I love you too.”

He kissed the nerd's hair and stepped out the door, shouldering his bag and stuffing his hands deep in his pockets to warm up as he started his trek to the train station. The school was about an hour away by train, more if he got stuck in the morning rush, and while he didn't mind early mornings in general, the hint of nerves in the pit of his stomach made it hard to not just go back home to bed. He was a hero, after all – he could totally just tell them he got called into work.

He was a hero, though. He couldn't let down a whole school of kids.

So he found a seat on the train and settled in, leaning his head on his hand and staring out the window, half-dozing off as the train began to move.

When he finally made it to the school, he fastened his belt and pulled his gloves on, leaving his mask stuffed in his pocket for later. With a deep breath, he stepped into the office, watching a little light on the desk flash in response.

“Oh!” the receptionist said brightly. “Mister Ground Zero! I'm so glad you could make it!”

“Yeah, I'm here,” he said needlessly, kicking himself for the stupid words. “So, um, do you guys have something planned out for me, or?”

“That's up to you! We have six classes in the primary school, and three in the middle school, but they're all very small classes. Perhaps you'd like to visit each class for a little while and meet some of the students? I'm sure they would love if they could get photos with you, and maybe some autographs if it's not too much trouble?”

“Yeah, of course,” he nodded faintly. “Um, I don't... I don't know sign language and stuff, if that matters. This is all kind of new to me.”

“Not at all! I'll call one of our interpreters and they can show you around for the day!”

“Y-Yeah, thanks.”

“Have a seat, it shouldn't take long!”

He nodded again, dropping his bag to the ground and falling a little too heavily into the couch, sparing a glance for the receptionist to see if she'd noticed how ungraceful it was. Not that he particularly needed grace as a hero, but he felt weirdly self-conscious in the unfamiliar building.

“You must be Mister Ground Zero!”

Sure enough, a young woman was with them within minutes, smiling warmly as he nodded and climbed back to his feet, throwing his bag over his shoulder again.

“Bakugou is fine,” he assured her. “It's not like my name is a big secret.”

“Of course, Mister Bakugou! My name is Kotoe, I'd be happy to show you around our school today!”

“Thanks. I, um, I've never been to a school like this before. In fact I'm not sure I've ever met someone who was Deaf before.”

“Well then today should be a lot of fun!” she smiled. “Some of our students do hear a little bit – in fact, some of them hear quite a lot! They have Deaf parents and siblings, so their families choose to bring them here to learn the language and culture. Please don't ever be afraid to speak, it's good for them to experience it, and I'm more than happy to translate as you go.”

“Okay. Um, thank you.”

“My pleasure!”

She led him across a little courtyard surrounded by classrooms, and he caught a glimpse of prying eyes through the windows, pointing and staring excitedly as they waved their hands at classmates for attention. He waved back at the ones who waved to him first, watching little faces light up with disbelief.

“I thought we'd visit the older students first, if that's okay with you? Our third-years in middle school are preparing for their high school entrance exams, so their days are very full right now.”

“Yeah, been there,” he nodded. “Feels like only a few years ago that I was trying to get into U.A.”

“Well, Sir, if you'll excuse my saying so, you are still very young.”

“So I'm told,” he snorted. “You'd be surprised how often it comes up. When a twenty-one year old hero is climbing rapidly through the charts, for some reason my age suddenly matters to people.”

“It's very impressive, don't get me wrong!” she laughed. “We're just jealous of your youth.”

He snorted again, but when they stopped outside a classroom, he very quickly lost his train of thought.

The lady knocked, waving at the teacher and signing a few words he didn't understand, and soon enough she was stepping aside, inviting him in.

The class went insane.

He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but people slamming their fists down on their desks, staring at him in awe, crying? None of it was on the list.

“Hi,” he said stupidly, waving. “Um, I'm Bakugou – Ground Zero. It's nice to meet you all.”

“Sensei, you didn't tell us,” Kotoe translated, when the small group began signing enthusiastically, hands slapping with the speed and energy they possessed. “I would have- Oh, let's not translate that one.”

“No, tell me,” he insisted. “They would have what? Should I leave?”

“They would have worn make up and worried about their hair,” she laughed. “Um, you are a favourite among the girls, Mister Bakugou.”

A hint of pink rose in his cheeks, and even without sound, he recognised the look of girls squealing in response. He'd spent too much of his life listening to his asshole friends and even worse boyfriend fawn over how cute he apparently was when he got embarrassed. Sickening.

“I'm not a piece of meat,” he objected, watching Kotoe laugh before she began signing the words. “I'm also happily taken, so please, no confessions.”

A few of the girls pouted, but he knew from the giggles that they were just teasing him at this point, and somehow the scene was familiar from his high school days.

“I guess you can ask if they have any questions for me?” Bakugou offered.

The kids were waving their hands in the air before she'd even finished asking, and he cracked a smile as she repeated a familiar sign – calm down, he suspected.

“Is it true that you can't hear?” one of the girls asked.

“I can hear,” he corrected her. “Sorry. Just not the best, I use tech to help me out.”

“How did it happen?”

“My quirk is super loud. All the loud noises killed off some cells in my ears that are used for hearing, and they can't be fixed.”

“Will you still keep being a hero?”

“Haaaah?!” he demanded, scowling at the asker even though he knew she couldn't hear his indignation. “Are you kidding me? You think a tiny setback with my hearing is gonna stop me being the best damn hero in the world?!”

They blinked at him, and he folded his arms stubbornly, glaring across the entire group.

“I'm gonna go deaf one day, if I keep using my quirk, and I will still be the fuckin' best hero ever when I do. You think hearing is what makes someone a good hero?”

He was surprised to see them all smile in response to his anger, and it took him a little too long to figure out why.

“You little sh- You lot are applying to high schools, right? If I find out a single damn one of you decided not to go to a hero school because of your ears I am personally going to hunt you down and punch you for it. If you want to be a hero, be a hero.”

Despite his language, and the brief lapse in his lack of cursing, the teacher and the interpreter both smiled at him, along with all the kids.

If all he needed to do was yell at a bunch of teenagers about doing whatever the fuck they wanted with their lives, it was going to be a really easy day.

─────

“You can hear some?” The boy spoke and signed at the same time as if it were no big deal. “Me too!”

“Oh yeah? I guess we match.”

The boy's face lit up like he'd been presented with a dozen birthday gifts, bouncing in his sudden delight.

“I match Ground Zero!” he repeated excitedly. “I'm just like him!”

Bakugou couldn't help but smile faintly, nodding as they all celebrated for him.

“Do you wear these too?” he asked, pulling one of his hearing aids out and holding it up for them to see. “My head hurts when I don't use mine.”

“I do!” the boy turned, showing off his much bigger counterpart. “Look, they're orange!”

“Oh yeah, that's cool,” Bakugou nodded. “I like orange. Orange and red are the coolest colours.”

“I like green!” one of the girls told him, the teacher translating it for him with a smile. “Green looks good with red!”

“Yeah,” Bakugou found himself smiling softly, unable to resist. “I like green a lot too.”

“Deku is green!” one of the kids piped up, another who spoke and signed at the same time. “Deku and Ground Zero fight together a lot!”

“Yeah, we do, and we make a pretty good team too,” he smirked. “Just like our colours.”

He reached into his bag, just like he'd done in the first three classes, and produced a sturdy cardboard tube. Every eye was locked on him as he handed it over to the teacher with a little smirk, gesturing toward the walls.

“I thought you guys might need something cool for your classroom,” he explained. “If you have room, or whatever, obviously."

With a grin, the teacher pulled three new posters from the tube, designs that weren't even available in stores yet, and held them up for the kids to see. The room erupted into chaos, kids squawking and hands slapping, and she could only laugh and shake her head.

“They're excited,” she explained, holding her hands up sheepishly. “Just lots of excitement.”

“Yeah, I got that,” he snickered. “It's fine.”

“Ah, they want to put them up now,” she continued, when the kids calmed down a little. “And one is asking if they can get photos with you.”

“Yeah, of course they can.”

“They want the posters as a background,” she laughed. “They're debating where to put them and how quickly they can do it.”

“Tell them there's no rush, I'll wait. If anyone wants me to sign anything, we can do that in the meantime.”

The room erupted again, everyone scrambling to their bags across the room to find things for autographing. The teacher just smiled fondly, but Bakugou couldn't hold back a laugh at their enthusiasm. Reminded him of someone he'd known as a kid.

“You were the teacher who called, right?” he asked quietly, watching a smile creep across her face as she nodded. “I'm glad I could help make them happy.”

“They're good kids,” she said fondly, nodding toward the boy with the hearing aids. “He only came to the school this year, after he had trouble with bullying at a hearing school. It's taken him a little while to open up and all, with his signing being behind the others. The kids here are all lovely, though, and he's settled in well.”

Bakugou swallowed a hard lump in his throat, thinking back to a certain green-haired kid and his own bitter words.

“I was a terrible kid,” he admitted. “There was a kid I used to pick on, too. He, um, didn't have a quirk. And I was a stuck-up brat, with mine. I wonder how different things would have been, would be now, even, if he'd had... I don't know, a school for quirkless kids to go to.”

“We all make poor decisions as children. You're a hero now. To these kids and many others, you're the best hero. I'd say you've more than made up for a bit of bullying.”

“Kid was a saint, always just took it,” Bakugou sighed, a smile creeping across his lips. “He forgives me. Dumb idiot, I don't deserve it. He said the same as you, I've made up for it with how I've changed since.”

He nodded when a kid approached him with her Ground Zero binder, grinning sheepishly, and produced a shiny silver marker from his pocket, kneeling down to meet her. She signed a word, and he glanced at the teacher for clarification.

“Please,” she told him.

“Can you show me again?” he asked, watching the little girl's face light up as she nodded. “Please? Like this?”

Another nod, grinning, and he gave her his best smile as he accepted the folder. Other kids were gathering around them to watch and wait their turns, and he took a moment to look the merch over.

“Where?” he asked.

She gestured straight across the middle, right over his gauntlets, and he smirked as he obeyed, writing his hero name in shiny silver letters. She hugged the folder, then him, and he found himself blushing as she stepped aside to let someone else take a turn.

His hand was starting to cramp by the time he finished signing things, but he was a little proud of himself, too – he'd learned his first two signs in the process, after all.

By the time he finished, the three posters were secured side-by-side, hanging on the wall opposite the door, where everyone would see them as they walked in. He nodded when they all began to beg with their hands, pointing at the camera on the teacher's desk. They all seemed to be waiting for something still, watching him, and after a moment of thought he finally caught on.

He curled his fingers toward the ground, watching eyes light up as he switched to one finger, wiggling it from side to side.

“Where?” he asked with a smirk.

Eight hands raised in unison, pointing at the posters with wide grins stretched across their faces.

“Over here!”

─────

As the day drew to a close, Bakugou found himself in the last of the classrooms, with the youngest of the children. He was surprised to find that even the six year olds all knew who he was, as they reenacted his recent fights and fawned over the tiny sparks he produced for them. He even found himself playing heroes with them, donning his mask and chasing the “villains” around the room while their teacher watched on fondly. Only two little girls shied away, hiding in a corner with a book while the rest played, and he shook his head when the teacher began to apologise.

“It's okay,” he assured him, the interpreter quick to help. “I'm not offended.”

As much as he wasn't generally a fan of young children, he'd learned to interact with his fans pretty early in his career – they were a lot easier than the adults, to be honest, with their awkward excuses and the insistence that the autographs were for their kids when they clearly were not. Kids were easy. He just had to show them a few little explosions and kneel beside them for a photo, and the job was done.

And apparently, in some cases, show them his hearing aids.

“Mister Zero?” one of the boys asked, tugging at his leg as they wound up their game. “Were you sad when they said you can't hear so good?”

“Sad?” he asked, humming faintly. “No, not sad. I was confused and worried, but I don't think I was sad. How come?”

“My Mommy cried when they said my ears are bad.”

Out the corner of his eye, he saw the interpreter's face fall, but Bakugou was nothing if not a good actor.

“You know why she was sad?” he asked, ruffling the kid's hair. “Because she was afraid it would make your life hard. I was afraid of that, too. But we have these cool things, right?”

He pointed to the kid's hearing aids, getting a big smile and a nod.

“I didn't know these things existed,” he continued, catching a few more kids turning to watch both him and the signing going on behind him. “So I was worried it would be hard, until I tried them out. I bet your Mommy didn't know about them either.”

“Yeah! But now my ears are good 'cause I have them! And when I don't wanna wear them, I can sign with my friends!”

“Damn right you can. You guys are super lucky, and super cool. You've got an awesome school here, I wish I could come too.”

“You can! You can share my desk!”

“Thanks, kid,” he laughed. “I've gotta go be a hero while you're at school, though!”

“Oh! Yeah!” he puzzled over it for a moment, then beamed again. “Come visit, though! When you're not busy hero-ing!”

“I will, I promise.”

He looked up when a tiny hand wrapped around his finger, surprised to see one of the shy little girls at his side, directing his hand carefully. He followed her lead, letting her lift his hand up high, and carefully twist it back down again. He repeated it when she let go, and she nodded firmly, smiling up at him.

“What's this one?” he asked, repeating it once more. “Like this?”

“Die!”

Bakugou snorted, his eyes a little watery all of a sudden, and he pulled the girl into his side for a little hug.

“You're the best,” he laughed. “Thank you.”

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