Chapter Text
Kirishima wasn’t entirely sure how it happened. The day had started out harmless enough; Aizawa had let the kids head into the city for the day, a reward for good behavior and strong training. Sato had made them pancakes for breakfast. The weather was gorgeous. And most importantly, Kirishima had managed to convince one spiky-haired teen to hang out with him in the city.
It was a little tense at first - not that Bakugo didn’t loosen up around him, but the teen generally didn’t like to “hang out,” so to speak, on a regular basis - but by the time noon had rolled around, the two of them were having a blast. After snagging some yakitori and soft drinks from a nearby collection of stalls, the two of them were soon running around the city like kids let into a toy store, grinning and shouting and leaping around like maniacs because they were teenage boys who were allowed to act like the kids they were for once.
It was wonderful.
They ran into the other students occasionally, playing an aggressive but good-natured game of tag with the rest of the Bakusquad (which resulted in a couple explosions, zaps, and some minor property damage that the group quickly scurried away from). They strolled through a mall with the Dekusquad, stopped by a music store with Tokoyami and Shoji, and then broke away to run through the streets once more.
It was around three PM, about two hours before they needed to head back, when Bakugo and Kirishima finally settled and just enjoyed the afternoon air. Kirishima was pretty sure he looked like a shark, his smile was so wide, but he didn’t care in the slightest. Bakugo looked to be in a pretty good mood as well, a lazy grin on his face, jaw relaxed and eyebrows neutral for once. He’d even let Kirishima link an arm with him as they walked, only letting out a growl of “Don’t get all sappy on me, Weird Hair” before walking on, not doing anything to stop the contact. It made Kirishima’s heart swell to impossible levels. He’d wanted to be friends with the spiky-haired teenager from the get-go, impressed by his skill, tenacity, and passion. It had taken some time and effort, but Bakugo had started to let Kirishima into his inner circle, and now he was learning more about the explosion boy than he would have thought possible.
Kirishima knew, for example, that with those he was close to, Bakugo was nearly all bark and no bite. He’d seen how the physical intimidation tactics dropped off the closer he got to someone, and how he became more and more accepting of physical touch, even if he played it off as irritating or annoying. Kirishima had noticed him letting Mina play with his hair sometimes, a scowl on his face as he did his homework and she fussed over the pale strands. He’d seen how Bakugo worked on agility with Sero in the gym, the two of them bantering and yelling good-naturedly at each other for hours as they flipped and swung and blasted around the room. He’d watched Bakugo take the time to make Kaminari some food and an energy drink when the blonde was recovering from a particularly nasty short-circuit during training, practically holding the cup to Kaminari’s lips when the teen’s hands were shaking too much to be useful.
He swore pretty much the entire time, but the Bakusquad knew that with Bakugo, it was the actions that counted more than the words.
And then there was the way he acted with Kirishima. He’d been the first one that Bakugo had started calling his real name, after all, even if he only did it sparingly in private and even more sparingly in public. Kirishima was the only one who could playfully roughhouse him without risking a scene, or restrain him from fighting without risking bodily injury. Bakugo only let Kirishima into his room while tutoring him.
Bakugo only let Kirishima call him by his first name.
Yeah, Kirishima was happy as they walked down the sidewalk, the sun just starting to dip into the sky and casting warm shadows across the ground. He was happy to be walking with his best bro after one of the best days he could remember, and he was overwhelmingly happy that he was here because the pair’s friendship had grown so much from where it had started.
He almost teared up. It was so manly.
That feeling of joy was the last bit of happiness that he would feel for a long time.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The explosion shook the ground, causing the two of them to stumble. Glasses on nearby outdoor restaurant tables trembled and fell to the ground, shattering into jagged pieces of glass. Civilians screamed in shock as the black smoke suddenly loomed on the horizon from behind a building, blocking out the sun. The acrid smell of it choked the air.
The two of them didn’t say a word as they both took off running towards the explosion. Kirishima’s pulse pounded in his ears as he sprinted after his friend; what had just happened? Was it a Villain, or an accident? Were there people hurt? Were heroes already on the scene?
Bakugo was a few feet in front of him, pale blonde hair flattened to his head as he sprinted. As usual, Kirishima was unendingly admiring of his friend’s speed and stamina. As someone who’s quick was much more strength based, he only wished he could move so fast. He was much more suited for smashing things than running around them.
Which led to things like today, where they were sprinting towards an emergency and Kirishima found himself falling behind.
It was fine, because the two of them would rejoin at the explosion. Kirishima was planning on how he would enter the explosion site in the event of a villain when suddenly, instead of seeing the back of Bakugo as he sprinted off, his vision was obscured by an electric blue wall. Unable to stop or even slow down, Kirishima instinctively hardened and let out a yelp as he plowed straight into it.
And then through it.
Something hard caught on his sneaker and Kirishima tripped, the world spinning as he tumbled to the ground, his hardened skin scraping concrete. There was a collection of gasps and shocked screams as he skittered across the sidewalk, unable to stop himself. There was a metallic bang as he slammed into something hard, and breathlessly he thanked his lucky stars that his quirk was still active because that absolutely would have broken something.
“Are you alright, kid?” Kirishima blinked, looking up to see a man with a shock of orange hair reaching out a hand. Still blinking in confusion, Kirishima took it and deactivated his quirk, letting the man hoist him up.
“Yeah, I’m fine! My quirk protected me from…” He hesitated, looking around in shock. Kirishima wasn’t downtown anymore, but in a sleepier part of the city by the park. He’d slammed into a street lamp, which was now severely dented.
Whipping his head around, Kirishima looked for the blue wall that had brought him there. Must have been some kind of teleporting quirk, he thought angrily. He caught sight of dark smoke in the horizon and realized he was much further away. Are you kidding me?!
“Stay here!” Kirishima turned to warn the crowd of pedestrians that had gathered around him, confused and concerned looks on their faces. “There was an explosion in the city and it’s not safe! Somebody call the police!”
“Wait, kid, you can’t go there!” A woman yelled as Kirishima started to leave. “What makes you think you can go?”
“I’m training to be a hero with U.A.!” Kirishima turned around and gave the woman a quick bow, slamming his hardened fists together with a grin he hoped projected confidence. “I’ve also got my provisional license. Don’t worry, everything will be okay!” Flashing one more smile over his shoulder, Kirishima started sprinting towards the smoke once again, his grin faltering as he started to hear the sounds of sirens. He hoped everyone was okay. He hadn’t heard any explosions since… whatever that was, but there must have been a villain for there to have been a quirk like that. And Bakugo was likely at the scene with them.
It took Kirishima several more minutes to arrive at the building, and he was relieved to see the scene. Police were parked all around the building, which was only marginally damaged and smoldering rather than in flames, thanks to the help of a water hero who was directing a stream onto the building from a nearby fire hydrant. There were no villains being arrested and there was no fighting, so Kirishima guessed the villain had already been arrested or there wasn’t one to begin with.
But then who teleported him?
“Excuse me, officer?” Kirishima stopped a passing police officer, who raised a thorny eyebrow. “Is there another teen around here? Spiky blonde hair, red eyes, probably cursing a bunch?”
“Uh, no.” The cop shook his head, “But there were other kids on the scene, maybe you’ll know them?” He pointed and Kirishima followed his finger, his heart lifting as he caught sight of some familiar faces. “I know them, thanks!”
It was the rest of Class 1-A, who no doubt had heard the explosion and came running like the wonderful heroes-in-training they were. Kirishima couldn’t contain his grin as he hurried over to them. Mina spotted him first, her gold-on-black eyes lighting up. “Kirishima!”
“There you guys are!” Kirishima gave Mina a hug, scanning the group to make sure no-one was injured. To his delight, everyone looked fine, if a bit puzzled and confused by the explosion. Midoriya was staring at the explosion with an intense expression on his face, muttering under his breath. Iida was on his phone with his stern, I’m-Mr-Class-Representative face, no doubt talking to Aizawa. The rest of the class was chattering amongst themselves, no doubt trying to figure out what had happened.
And there was somebody missing.
Kirishima felt his heart jump into the base of his throat, and while he knew he was perceptive, he forced himself to carefully examine the class in front of him to make sure he was wrong.
He wasn’t.
“Guys.” Kirishima said quietly. They didn’t hear him, so he raised his voice. “GUYS.”
Uraraka, who was closest to him, jumped, while everyone else fell silent. “What is it?”
“Where’s Bakugo?”
“What do you -” Kaminari looked at Kirishima with wide eyes. “What do you mean ‘where is he?’ We thought he was with you!”
“He was! But then we heard the explosion and we came running over, and….” Kirishima felt weak in the knees. He should have asked about the villain first before anything else.
“Kirishima, take a deep breath.” Sero was suddenly in front of him, looking worried. “What’s going on? Tell us. What happened?”
Kirishima let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and shakily inhaled another one. “We ran towards the explosion, but something got in my way - a kind of blue wall. I fell into it and was teleported to another part of the city.” Looking at his classmates’ startled and confused faces, he added slowly, “I just got back. I thought Bakugo was with you, but if you haven’t seen him…”
“Do you think…” Midoriya hesitated, his green eyes huge and worried. “Do you think the villain got him?”
Kirishima’s instinct was to laugh. Bakugo had faced off against the purple smoke guy from the USJ attack no problem, and he’d had teleporting powers as well. But then he remembered how the teleporting wall had appeared in front of his face like magic and he’d had no time to avoid it. Had it happened to Bakugo as well, sending the teen off to who knows where?
Was Bakugo captured again?
From the worried looks on his friends’ faces, Kirishima knew they had come to the same terrifying conclusion he had. Feeling like his insides were hardening just like his quirk, weighing him down to the ground in a jumble of heavy, numb limbs, Kirishima walked over to Iida and put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
“Just a moment, Aizawa-Sensei.” Iida looked up from the phone and caught his gaze. He immediately went still, expression becoming hard and tense. “What is it?”
“Tell Mr. Aizawa that Bakugo is missing.”