Work Text:
As Katsuki closed the door to his room, he let out a sigh of relief he didn't even know he was holding. The tension practically evaporated from his shoulders now that he was finally away from watchful eyes that always seemed to be on him. Of course, he loved the attention, but the pressure to be amazing always grated on him in the background. But now there were no standards to uphold, no need for the walls he fortified with anger every day. This space was entirely his.
Katsuki changed out of his school uniform (and definitely did not trip out of his pants again), putting on plain pajamas before flopping face down onto his bed. The song that had been stuck in his head all day continued to repeat in his subconscious, and he tapped two of his fingers along to the beat while enjoying the much needed peace.
This time of day was definitely one of his favorites. It was rivaled only by his training sessions. Improving his fighting ability or perfecting a new move was calming. But as the curtains kept the sunset at bay, bringing it’s bright golden rays down to a soft yellow glow that draped over the atmosphere like a thick blanket, Katsuki felt a different kind of catharsis. He was free to simply exist.
Katsuki turned his head from the wall so he wouldn't hurt his neck later, and glanced at the landscape-themed calendar that had been expertly pinned to the wall, each passing day marked in bright red marker. Bakugou made a silent observation that Kirishima’s birthday was in 12 days. His eyes traveled down to his desk, trying to recall the notes he had written to plan for the party. Instead, he spotted his history notebook laying open on his desk, and the feeling of excitement was quickly replaced with disdain. Ugh, he had homework.
Katsuki pouted, but abandoned the comfort of his bed anyway, because the number one hero didn’t procrastinate. Plopping into the desk chair, Katsuki plucked a pen out of a cup filled with various writing utensils, and twirled it between his fingers while reading the question on the open page.
Evaluate the extent to which the creation of the Hero Public Safety Commission changed Japan during the late 2070-2120 period.
In an instant, Katsuki had pieces of evidence forming in his mind. He jotted down the word 'spice' in the corner of the paper, then continued to twirl the pencil. There were definitely social and cultural changes, but what else? Political? Katsuki circled the s, p, and c for now.
The contextualization was easy, there was only one event that could have caused this whole society.
In the late 21st century, the appearance of quirks led to people taking part in acts of heroism against newly superpowered criminals…
About twenty minutes later, Katsuki finished the third paragraph. He leaned back in his chair to stretch and almost fell asleep in the process, jolting awake by remembering that this was due tomorrow. He shouldn't put the homework off, but he was getting pretty tired. Maybe he could take a quick break? No, that wouldn't work. If he closed his eyes for even a minute, he'd be out for way longer than he wanted to, and it would throw off his sleep schedule.
Eventually, Katsuki’s wandering eyes caught sight of the poster on his wall. He lightly gasped as he remembered he had a new figure to set up. Fatigue nearly forgotten, Katsuki rushed over to the closet and ruffled through the shopping bag. An excited smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he pulled out the box that contained the plastic sculpture of Mirko.
Katsuki set the box on his desk and stared at it for a moment. He had to admit, this was an impulse buy, and in the heat of the moment he didn't take the time to examine it. But as he drank in the details, all uncertainties were washed away. The figure had captured one of Mirko's signature kicks, complete with a maniacal grin and burning red eyes—a facial expression Katsuki was very familiar with. The figure also came with three different stands, and each one had a quote from the rabbit hero engraved on it. Opening the box with reverence, Katsuki selected the one that said “Yeah, I kick ass. And stomachs, and legs, and heads..."
He carefully attached the figure to the stand and placed it near the corner of his desk, among various other figures and trinkets.
Now that he had moved around a bit, he had more energy than before. And he couldn't let Mirko down, now that she was staring right at him.
Katsuki continued the assignment with a rekindled fire in his veins. The fact that a piece of plastic could contain that much incentive was laughable, and Katsuki would have actually laughed if it wasn’t working so well.
The sun had finally lost its battle against time, so Katsuki turned on the desk lamp to put finishing touches on his essay. Once he was satisfied with it, he packed the notebook away so he wouldn’t forget it the next morning.
Getting in bed for the last time today, Katsuki pulled the covers up to his face, cherishing the comfort of the mattress. He bid goodnight to his figures and thanked the Mirko one, before turning on his side to face the wall, and drifted to sleep with birthday plans and dreams of starting a hero agency.