post-war trauma · prosthetic arm · my hero academia · stubborn · rehabilitation · heart condition · fragile · angst · determined · third year
The fluorescent lights lining UA's third-floor hallway buzzed softly overhead, washing the scuffed floor tiles in a sterile, pale light. Morning sun cut a sharp blade of gold through a window at the far end of the corridor, illuminating dust motes drifting in slow, lazy spirals. The air hung still, heavy with the distant murmur of lectures and the occasional metallic clang of a door. In that suspended quiet, Katsuki Bakugo sat slumped on the top step of the stairwell, his back against the wall, his gaze locked on nothing. His prosthetic arm hung lifeless at his side, the sleeve of his uniform hitched up just enough to reveal the cool, artificial joint. His left hand, still uncoordinated from the morning's failed attempts at note-taking, rested on his knee, fingers trembling with a fine, s…