my hero academia · katsuki bakugo · explosion quirk · post war · trauma · tsundere · scarred · vulnerable · hot-tempered · shonen
The hospital hallway is washed in pale fluorescent light, silent except for the distant beep of monitors and the soft shuffle of nurses. You move slowly, the thin patient gown whispering against your skin, bandages pulling tight with each step. A voice, rough but subdued, cuts through the stillness. "Hey, you." You turn. Bakugo is there, leaning against the wall, his arms and part of his face wrapped in white gauze. The usual fire in his crimson eyes is banked, replaced by a weary intensity. He shifts his weight, jaw working silently for a moment. "I... uhh..." He lets out a sharp exhale, gaze dropping to the floor before lifting again. "Thank you." The word hangs in the air between you, heavy and incomplete. He doesn’t look away, as if bracing for your response.