Hey guys, quick heads up, we're going to hear about some of the crimes that Bakugou has committed so if you're sensitive to that stuff...
Well really, if you're sensitive you shouldn't be reading a book about an abused, depressed, possibly suicidal hot anime guy buuuuttt people do anyways so like /:
I felt obliged to put the warning there. This book isn't particularly angtsy though, so it shouldn't trigger too much.
Ye haveth beeneth warnedeth
Bakugou Katsuki's POV
Bright white pierced through the bland darkness behind Zero's closed eyelids, and he turned his head to the side in a vain attempt to get away from the unwelcome presence.
The light persisted though, following him to where he now faced the other way. Letting out a groan of annoyance, he brought a hand up to cover his tired eyes.
Or tried to.
Bright scarlet irises snapped open, locking on to where his arm was pulled out to his side. His pupils dilated as his lethargic brain finally registered the weight and icy touch of handcuffs.
Cold panic seeped in as his head turned to look down the rest of his body.
Where his chest, stomach, wrists, shoulders, knees and ankles met whatever hard vertical bed he was on, solid silver shackles were draped tightly across.
Heights Zero could handle. Small spaces Zero could deal with. But chains? No.
He hated the way they bit into his fair skin, hated the way they restricted his movement, hated the way the undiluted metal cut off his Quirk. He hated everything about them.
Out of instinct, his panicking body acted before he thought anything through. Legs kicking, arms thrashing, he screamed against the gag he found shoved in his mouth.
"Hey there, easy now kid. These are just precautionary, we're not going to hurt you."
Zero dragged his infuriated glare up to meet the gaze of a tall man wearing a formal beige overcoat. He had cropped black hair and dark eyes, but spoke earnestly.
Chest heaving and fingers twitching out of habit, Zero felt cold dread clutch around his heart like a vice. This man...Zero had seen him before. He had worked by All Might in the News a few times.
Despite how hard he thought about it, the name eluded him. Now that he focused on it, Zero noticed that his thoughts were less orderly than normal.
His astoundingly sharp mind seemed like the dulled edge of a blade, and his emotions were even more of a swirling mess than normal. That's it then...He'd been drugged.
The same level but authoritative voice cut through his musing, and Zero once more diverted his attention to the man standing in front of him.
"The name's Tsukauchi Naomasa. And you are?"
Zero stared at the man, not blinking or giving any indication he heard what was said. Even if he did, it wasn't like he could reply with the muzzle over his mouth. Naomasa chuckled, as if only then realising the extent that Zero had been chained down to.
"Ah never mind, you can tell us after we've given you our proposition."
Zero's brows furrowed.
The investigator took a step back from the wall Zero was stuck to, brandishing a clip board full of rustling papers. He flipped through them, reading out loud as he went.
"Ground Zero, a wanted and well known villainous prodigy. Lets see here...You've committed at lest twelve crimes in every section of the Criminal Offences, and numerous felonies.
Aggravated assault, vandalism, terrorism, arson, robbery, theft, and multiple accounts of manslaughter along with murder. Accidental and not."
He looked up at the boy suspended on the wall.
"In short, you've racked up quite a name and reputation for yourself during the ten years you've been publicly in the field."
Another voice joined in where Naomasa left off, and Zero turned his head as much as he could to try to see who the speaker was. Unfortunately, they were positioned behind the slab of metal he was tied up against, and well out of Zero's line of sight.
"You've never been un-masked before now, which is why we've kept this under wraps. If the News knew, the press would be all over us to find out about you."
The voice sounded mildly bored and monotonous, making Zero's brow crease once more. He recognised that flat tone, but where from?
"So you can imagine our surprise, when the feared killer 'Ground Zero' turned out to be nothing more than a teenager."
Zero bristled at this. His lips curled into a snarl behind the metal mask he wore and his venomous glare tracked the black clad figure as he stepped into the light.
Now Zero was presented with a somewhat affronting sight. A tall, raggedy man whose stubble lined face and deeply shadowed eyes resembled more similarities to a homeless person one might find on the streets, rather than a seasoned Pro.
Zero didn't so much as blink at Eraserhead's sudden appearance though. More people stepped out of the shadows around him, and as the fog in his head finally cleared, Zero took stock of his surroundings.
The walls around him were plain white, so crisp that they hurt to look at for too long. The floor was a dull but polished slate grey, only making the other barriers more stark.
There wasn't a window or door in sight, but there had to be some sort of entrance otherwise these Heroes wouldn't have been able to get in. Zero's eyes scanned from side to side as he studied the smooth surfaces, but they were completely flawless.
Not a darker path of shadow where a concealed door might be hiding, not even a single crack to show where an entryway could open from.
The only things of note were the numerous cameras positioned along the roof high above him. Surveillance was to be expected after capture though, so it didn't really come as a surprise.
That means they must have come in from behind him. It would make sense from their previous positions. But more to the point, who was 'they'?
Flicking up slitted eyes, Zero found the Heroes he had fought from...whenever he had last been awake.
There was the detective Naomasa and Pro Heroes Eraserhead, Present Mic, Vlad King, Cementoss, Midnight, Nezu, and of course, Snipe.
But still not All Might.
Not that Zero expected him to show up. His thoughts tinted bitterly as he realised that despite his well-known alias, he still wasn't viewed as a big enough threat to warrant the attention of the Number One Hero.
Well then, he'd just have to show them exactly how much of a threat he could be. Zero would prove them wrong. He always did.
The present Heroes all wore casual clothes though, different from their combat outfits. This raised a bit of a red flag in Zero's head, but with no window to check, he could tell neither where he was nor the current time of day.
There were only a few reasons why they'd bother changing like this. It was either to blend in with the community and avoid gaining unwanted attention, or because they thought him truly subdued.
The former was far more likely than the latter, so Zero chose to follow that line of thought.
Why would they want to avoid raising public suspicion? Apprehending him was a considerable achievement, and it would put many at ease knowing he were behind bars.
Although, for whatever reason, they'd already told him that the nation hadn't been alerted to his capture. So perhaps they didn't want to let their wary mistrust seep through?
It was possible. By giving out a carefree impression, others would assume they were merely visiting a wounded friend or comrade. Not someone like him.
But that would mean...Surely they wouldn't have been so presumptuously stupid...Did they really put him in a public hospital?
Him? A serial killer, who probably was the one responsible for some of the people being here in the first place? It was nearly ridiculous enough to make him laugh. Almost, but not quite.
Despite thinking things through a bit more, he could find no other logical reason.
"You have a criminal record that easily matches up to some of the sickest, most sadistic Villains the world knows. But it is unthinkably rare to find such deeply rooted traits in someone so young. You couldn't be more than what, eighteen?"
Says Midnight, gazing at the floor with a hand on her hip and a troubled look on her face.
Zero snorted and turned his gaze to the side of the room, looking disinterestedly away from the Heroes. He was just barley sixteen, and here these people were, assuming he was that old.
Midnight caught his eye momentarily and a flicker of sadness fell across her face. "Not even that, then."
The regret in her voice really rubbed Zero the wrong way, and his glare sharpened. Who were these people, judging him on his worth by age? He didn't need their damn pity, he could do whatever he wanted to as a juvenile or not!
"Well then, I suppose the plan we've got in place will work out better than expected." Spoke up Vlad King.
Zero's indignant resentment gave way to confusion.
A plan?