I don't own any of the characters within this work of fiction, they all belong to Kōhei Horikoshi. :)
Enjoy!
"Look man," Kirishima started, "I don't know a Ground Zero. Besides, Baku-bro's hero name is Dynamight."
Yugo gave him a look that clearly said "you're a fucking idiot" before turning on his heel and gesturing for him to follow.
Hesitantly, Kirishima trudged after the dude in the suit. He still wasn't sure that he had made the right decision in coming here, and the Yugo guy he was following down dimly lit hospital halls was kind of a dick. With his hands shoved into his pockets, Kirishima fiddled with the small disk he had extracted from his duffle, turning it over and over again.
It was supposed to be a "just in case" item, a means to an out if he found himself surrounded and in trouble. He wasn't entirely sure why he swiped a few of Denki's stun disks before he rushed to the airport, but Kirishima hoped to high heaven that he wouldn't have to use one. He learned the hard way why Denki had demanded he be careful when handling one. The disks tended to leave anyone caught in the blast electrified for a few days, even the user.
Kirishima's three days of electrification were chaotic to say the least. Because of his quirk, the aftereffects of the stun disk didn't really bother him physically. However, tripping fuses, bursting lights, and literally shocking the shit out of Denki when they passed each other in the kitchen were not experiences Kirishima wanted to relive.
Thinking of the electric hero brought about a wave of guilt and caused Kirishima's stomach to twist and turn. He hadn't said much of anything to his roommates before tearing out the front door of their apartment. He could still see the utter surprise and concern etched into Sero and Denki's faces when he all but shouted that he'd be gone for a few days.
The two had been piled on the couch together, limbs entangled, waiting on Kirishima to get off the phone so that they could commence "roommate date night". Basically, when they graduated, all three boys were stupid busy with their sidekick work and, even though they lived together, only ever saw each other in passing. So, with Denki being who he is, the suggestion of a roommate date night was proposed, and the three of them had been setting time aside once a week for about two years now. They took that time to catch up with each other, on their "movies to be watched" list, and their long-standing contest of Mario Kart.
For two whole years none of them had missed roommate date night, regardless of the circumstances. On top of apologizing profusely, Kirishima was going to have to bring home a present, or five, for Sero and Denki.
The man in the suit that he had been absently following had stopped walking and was speaking English into an earpiece. Even though he really should have been paying attention to the man's conversation, Kirishima was too dumbfounded to do so. Yugo had marched the pair into an absolutely desolate area of the hospital, and, if that wasn't enough, had them standing in a completely barren hallway that ended at a dead end.
"Uh, bro? I think we're in the…wrong…place?"
If he was confused before, Kirishima was utterly thunderstruck now.
Where the end of the hallway used to be blank, two large doors separated and receded into the wall. That in itself was enough to render Kirishima speechless, but the surprises didn't stop there. The other side of the now completely open wall was hectic. People in American government uniforms and black suits scurried around the new walkway like ants, while people in scrubs ran from one room to another.
"What in the –"
Yugo didn't let him finish his question before urging Kirishima forward again.
"Let's go."
Kirishima followed the impatient man down the crowded hallway, dodging hospital and government personnel alike. Some of the rooms the pair passed were open, revealing patients in varying states. One room held an extensively large man whose arms and legs were in casts and held in slings hanging from the ceiling. Another had a patient hooked up to beeping monitors and an extensive amount of fluid bags.
In another room, a group of kids wrapped in blankets were huddled together in the far corner behind the terrifyingly battle-ready stance of a ferocious-looking girl. The kid didn't appear to be any older than 13, but she looked like she had been through hell and back. The clothes she wore were tattered and dirty, and splashes of what Kirishima thought suspiciously looked like dried blood covered her arms, face, and chest. Her short black hair was wild and unkept, her eyes wide and pupils blown, the scowl on her lips showing off notably fanged canines, and, the closer Yugo and Kirishima got to the room, the menacing growl the kid was emitting grew in sound and warning.
Kirishima smiled sweetly at the girl, hoping to put the child at ease. It didn't work. In fact, it had the opposite effect. The wild child let out a guttural roar that was reminiscent of the "big cats" he had learned about in middle school. She bared her teeth and Kirishima couldn't help but notice that the size of her fangs had grown and that she now wielded rather large claws on her little hands. He put his hands up in an appeasing gesture and slowly backed away from the open door.
The hostile howl didn't seem to disturb the busy bees in the hallway, they all just continued about their business as if they heard nothing. Well, everyone except for Yugo that is. The man had stopped mid-stride, eyebrow raised, and head cocked to the side as he shuffled into the doorway of the room. To Kirishima's surprise, the untamed child didn't retaliate at the other man's intrusion. When her wild, golden eyes scanned over the man in the doorway, she didn't exactly relax but her fangs and claws had returned to a less threatening size.
"Jagā, that's enough."
Yugo spoke to the child in English, voice gentle with an inkling of a reprimand. The child didn't answer, instead, she stared past the man in the doorway to where Kirishima was still standing in the hall. The child's eyes noticed his every movement, and Kirishima had the uneasy feeling of being watched like he was prey.
A small, shy voice spoke from behind the protective feral barrier of the child in front.
"She won't back down until she's certain you won't hurt us."
"Jagā, we've been through this – "
The feral child curled her lips back, growling low in her chest. The timid voice was back.
"Ground Zero…"
At the mention of Bakugo's supposed American hero name, Kirishima joined Yugo in the doorway.
"She wants Ground Zero. She won't believe anything you, uh y-you…"
The quiet voice faltered and then picked back up again.
"Th-this is a direct quote, p-please don't be mad."
Yugo nodded for the hidden child to continue.
"She won't believe "a fucking thing" you "god damn mother fuckers in your shitty suits" have to say. Not until Ground Zero tells her himself."
Kirishima couldn't help it, he burst out laughing when he heard the little voice spew those very Bakugo-like words.
What exactly was Katsuki Bakugo doing around such impressionable kids when every word out of his mouth is some version of the word "fuck".
Kirishima wiped at the tears forming in his eyes and tried to quell his amusement. Yugo and the kids were all staring at him, mixtures of different emotions across their faces. Most of the kids looked surprised or startled, while the feral child was back to snarling at him. Yugo looked like he wanted to punch Kirishima in the face. The thought brought even more giggles from the hero.
"Hah, I'm sorry, it's just… that's definitely something Bakugo would say."
The man squinted his yellow eyes, muscles working in his jaw.
"You speak English."
It wasn't a question. But Kirishima answered anyway.
"Yea, man! I didn't spend three years at UA just gettin' jacked."
Yugo didn't reply, just blankly stared at Kirishima, who was now beginning to feel a bit like he overstepped a boundary somehow. He rubbed at the back of his neck with one hand, uncomfortable with the scrutiny of the other man, and settled his eyes on movement from the corner of the room.
The wild child, Jagā, had stepped forward. She no longer had an air of malice about her, rather she now looked to be trying to piece together a complicated puzzle. Her blown-out pupils receded back into slits, much like cat eyes, as she studied Kirishima.
"You went to UA?"
The airiness of the voice shocked him, not quite sure that it had come out of the same child that was, just moments ago, ready to rip someone's throat out. Unsettled, Kirishima coughed, clearing his throat.
"Uh, mhmm, yeap." He gave the child a small smile, consciously refraining from showing off his pointed teeth.
"Do you know Ground Zero?"
The child's voice was still light and airy, but a strange edge had also slipped into her tone.
"Bakugo? Yea, I know him! We were at UA at the same time, same class even! We were really good friends."
The girl narrowed her eyes, "What's your name?"
"Uh, I'm Red Riot?"
"Not your hero name dumbass, your actual name."
Kirishima was getting some major feelings of déjà vu talking to this kid.
"Kirishima. My name is Eijiro Kirishima."
At the mention of his name, the children in the corner had begun to whisper excitedly among themselves.
"You're Shitty Hair?!" A tiny voice with mismatched eyes eagerly called out.
He groaned at the terrible nickname Bakugo had given him in high school but still answered the child with a smile and a nod. Within seconds, Kirishima found himself being pounced on by little bodies. Young, like very, very young, kids clung to his legs. He patted their heads, bewildered by the change in the children.
Jagā spoke again, her tone matter of fact.
"Ground Zero said you'd come."
"Uh…what?"
"He also said that anywhere you were "would be fuckin' safe no matter what", and that we could trust you."
Kirishima stared open-mouthed at the girl in front of him, sputtering.
"I… I – he, he, he – what?"
The girl shrugged her shoulders half-heartedly, instructing the little gremlins that were still attached to his legs that they needed to get ready for bed. Tiny hands released their hold on his jeans and his fingers. All five of the little munchkins were clamoring goodbyes as Jagā shuffled them into the bathroom for bath time.
Still flabbergasted, Kirishima turned to question Yugo only to find the man making his way back down the hall again. Kirishima was going to have to jog to catch up.
Five goddamn minutes. That was all it took for the entire fucking mission, two whole damn years' worth of work, to go up in flames. Literally.
Bakugo and the rest of squad four had been descending the last flight of stairs into the basement when the building shook with the force of an explosion. Small bits of dirt and stone ceiling rained down around the three-man squad. Bakugo swatted a precariously poised chunk from his hair.
"Looks like they know we're here."
Behind him, the two pro-heroes grumbled. Their current situation was less than ideal to say the least. The other three squads weren't supposed to engage with the enemy until squad four had located the captives. Either someone jumped the gun, or a squad was attacked. Neither situation boded well for them.
"Well, ain't no point in bein' quiet 'bout it now." Grunted Sledgehammer. "Better move quick 'fore they start sendin' people down here."
Bakugo growled.
"God fucking damnit. Okay, so, once we reach the bottom of these stairs, it opens up into a giant ass room. Off the room are three separate hallways with tall archways."
"And?"
"And," answered Bakugo, his palms emitting small pops of explosions, "And each damn hallway leads to a separate holding area for hostages. The bastards split them up into groups. One for civilians with useful quirks, one for experiments, and one for kids."
At the mention of kids being held captive, Phaser, the other hero in their three-man group, finally spoke.
"Sick bastards."
Bakugo didn't disagree with the hero's sentiment, his agitation apparent from the popping in his palms. Phaser spoke again, barely concealing the rage in her voice.
"Sledge, we've got to split up."
Their squad leader was a big man, towering over both Bakugo and Phaser. The man reminded Bakugo of the fire hero Endeavor – without the abusive tendencies and asshole personality, and a dash of a heavy southern accent.
"A'ight, here's what we're gonna do. Phaser, you take the tunnel that leads ta the kids. Once ya get there, get 'em out, don't wait fer us."
Phaser nodded, her pale purple eyes flashing with energy.
"Ground Zero, I'm sendin' ya to the civilians. Same thing as Phaser, gettin' 'em outta here is first priority. I'll take' the tunnel leadin' to the experiments."
Bakugo gave an affirmative grunt and then launched into a description of which tunnel led where. He explained that the far-right tunnel would take Phaser to the kids, the middle tunnel would get Bakugo to the civilians, and the far-left tunnel would take Sledgehammer to the experiments.
Their squad leader gave them a solemn nod before a large grin spread across his face.
"Don't fuck up."
"Don't get caught."
"And don't fuckin' die!"
Bakugo cackled as he finished their captain's motto with enthusiasm. He squatted low, all of his weight balanced on the balls of his feet, and jumped, propelling himself with a small explosion to bound over the last chunk of stairs. After an acrobatic flip in the air, Bakugo landed effortlessly amongst a dimly lit and expansive cavern – the exact one he had described to his squad. He took off at a sprint into the middle tunnel, his combat boots smacking against the stone, splashing water up his calves as he moved through the puddles. Another massive rumble shook the ceiling, dirt and debris raining down on Bakugo again. He continued at a sprint, his red eyes sweeping back and forth along the tunnel, meticulously searching for any signs of a trap.
Panting slightly, he ran through the list of hero quirks in the other squads and the quirks of the villains he knew about. He mumbled to himself, running through the possible villains or heroes who could be causing the massive eruptions of force up top. About two minutes into his analyzing Bakugo growled, cutting his mumblings short.
"Fuckin' Deku and his mumbling bullshit rubbin' off on me. Damn bastard."
Next time I see that green little shit I'm gonna explode his stupid face.
Bakugo rounded a corner, picking up speed as the familiarity of the tunnel told him that he'd be reaching the civilian holding cell soon. He took another corner at full speed, countering his wild momentum with an explosion to keep himself from splatting into the stone wall. A few more pumps of his legs had him skittering around a u-shaped bend, the holding cell now well within his sight. He couldn't make out the exact number of civilians from his current position, the room was too dark, and they all seemed to be piled into the darkest corner in the back. Bakugo grunted, pushing his legs to take the last few feet in bounding strides.
He wrapped his fingers around the bars of the holding cell with one hand and blew the door off its hinges with the other. The metal door flew backward into the stone wall of the cell, clattering to the ground with a loud thud. Bakugo stepped into the holding cell, narrowing his eyes at the formless mass huddled in the corner.
"Come on! Get yer asses in gear, we gotta go!"
Golden eyes flashed in the darkness and a deep growl bounced around the stone walls. Bakugo rolled his eyes, now completely fed up with this useless lot. He crossed his arms over his chest, trying his utmost best not to blast the fuckers into smithereens.
"Are ya fuckin' deaf? The whole building's gonna blow and if you idiots don't move, you're gonna get buried. Now, get your fuckin' asses out of the damn corner!"
No one emerged from the darkness.
"For fuck's sake…" Bakugo growled, stomping toward the corner.
The glowing eyes tracked his progress into the darkness, the warning growl increasing in intensity as he closed the distance.
"Yea, yea, yea. Keep growling bitch. When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna…gonna…"
Bakugo's threats died on the end of his tongue as his brain registered the scene in front of him. He smacked himself on the forehead, running his hand down his face.
Of course. Of-fucking-course. They switched the damn cells! I don't have the fucking civilians, I've got –
"The damn kids."
He huffed out the words, pissed beyond belief. He could feel the pops of mini explosions in his palms and watched as the flare of light threw strange shadows across the mass of tiny bodies cowering in the corner. Bakugo kept his left hand extended, setting off mini-explosions so he could see better. He counted five little ones, all bunched up on each other, hiding behind a slightly older-looking kid. Realizing where the growling was coming from, he raised an eyebrow at the child with glowing eyes.
"Look kid," he started, "I'm here to rescue you and I wasn't joking about the building coming down on us. We really need to get the hell out of here."
A timid voice piped up from the pile of children.
"He's telling the truth…"
"Hah?! Of course, I'm telling the truth you little shit! Now come on!"
Five little bodies ambled out of the darkness and into the artificial light that Bakugo had created. Five pairs of eyes looked at him expectantly, overflowing with hope. He felt like he'd been stabbed in the chest with a red-hot poker, the burning sensation growing bigger and bigger until his whole being was on fire.
Shit.
As fast as he could, Bakugo snagged all five of the little gremlins standing in front of him and chunked them out of the holding cell. Once he saw that the kids had landed safely, he grabbed the older kid who'd been protecting the little ones and threw that one out of the cell too. His eyes raked through the darkness, searching for anyone he missed, and when he was positive that all the kids were out, he launched himself toward the exit just as the stone ceiling of the cell collapsed.
Bakugo landed ungracefully, a grunt of discomfort escaping his lips before he could cut it off. He rolled from his back to his feet swiftly, scanning the settling dust and rubble for the six lives he was responsible for. Not finding the kids, he grumbled and grit his teeth. Bakugo decided that getting to his feet would allow him to see over the dust still lingering in the air – and he was right.
His charges had moved a good amount away from the collapsing ceiling. Five kids, four of the littles and the older one, were hunched underneath the large, sturdy frame of… Kirishima?
"Shitty Hair?"
The words had left his lips and his feet were carrying him to the form before he knew exactly what was going on. The stony frame stooped over the others slowly decreased in size, returning to the small frame of a little boy with mismatched eyes.
"Mister Hero, sir? Who's Shitty Hair?"
Bakugo stared down at the kid for a few moments, eyebrows pulled into a deep scowl.
"I'll tell you all about Shitty Hair while we get the fuck out of this basement. How's that sound, kid?"
The little boy grinned wide, showing off sharp, pointed teeth. Bakugo's face fell into an even deeper scowl as he reexamined his little crew of kids. They all looked somewhere between the ages of five and ten, the exception being the girl with glowing eyes.
"How many of you have quirks?"
All six of the children raised their hands. He grunted, crossing his arms.
"Gimme a run down, brats. And do it fuckin' quick."
The boy with the mismatched eyes and pointed teeth had a quirk similar to Kirishima's, except the boy's body expanded as well as hardened. One of the little girls, the one with freckles across her nose, had a lie-detector quirk. There was a twin set of boys; the one with snow white hair had a quirk called puppet master and the one with bright blue hair had a quirk called voodoo doll. The implications of those quirks creeped Bakugo out, though he didn't say it out loud. The smallest of the group, a little girl with deep red eyes, had a quirk that she called radar sense. The older kid didn't vocally answer, but she didn't have to. Bakugo could clearly see that the girl had a type of transformation quirk – one that could partially turn her into a jaguar.
"Alright, I've got a plan and you little shits better listen like your lives depend on it, because it does."
A few small whimpers met Bakugo's ears, but he ignored them and pressed on.
"We're gonna travel single file down the tunnel. Radar – you're out front with miss kitty cat here, I want you two looking out for any signs of danger. Polygraph and thing one and two – you'll bring up the middle, your job is to relay any information from the front to the rear. Mini Kirishima – you'll be right after them, your job is to protect the ones in front of you from falling debris. I'll bring up the rear, and blast anything threatening. Got it?"
The small group mumbled their agreement and nodded their heads.
"Good, now let's get the fuck out of this shit hole."
The six children sprinted down the tunnel single file with Bakugo following. He prodded the kid in front of him with a gloved finger.
"Still wanna hear about Shitty Hair, brat?"
The kid nodded exuberantly, earning him a chuckle from the explosion hero.
"Alright, now where should I start?..."