An Explosive Arbiter
Chapter 10- Crystallized Power
Bakugo Katsuki stared intently at the viewscreen, counting down the seconds until they reached the end of their jump.
They had made a blind jump into space- an incredibly risky and borderline suicidal move. You could end up anywhere, and in deep space like this, that wasn't a good thing. There were dangers galore in different parts of space, and when you didn't know where you were jumping, you could run into any number of them. Bakugo had heard a story in his travels where a small fleet of ships jumped blindly and had their entire crew decimated by a space virus.
He wasn't the only one feeling the pressure. The bridge of the ship was filled with a charged, tense atmosphere. Kirishima's face was set in a small frown, and he kept fidgeting. Raccoon Eyes kept glancing between the viewscreen and Bakugo. Pikachu's legs were kicked up on their makeshift bed next to Raccoon Eyes, but that didn't mean that he wasn't anxious- rather, he seemed the most worried out of all of them, gnawing on his bottom lip. Egg-head had a long face, one that seemed filled with resignation.
Everyone wanted to break the silence, but none of them knew what to say. Bakugo had never been good with shit like this. He wasn't the type of person that could build up the confidence of other people. He had no idea how to help them.
The tense feeling lasted an agonizingly long time. There were mere minutes left until they arrived, but it felt like it was going to be years. The feeling felt like it was strangling Bakugo, coiling up in his gut and making a home there. He couldn't make eye contact with any of them.
If they died, it was going to be his fault. No one said it, but he knew it to be true.
The timer struck five minutes, and finally, Bakugo couldn't handle it anymore. "Fuck this, I'm going to go check on the systems." He said, shooting to his feet and walking towards the door.
"But, Bakugo, didn't you…" Raccoon Eyes trailed off as Bakugo slammed the door behind him. He'd checked the systems two hours ago, and an hour before that. All of them were fine. He didn't have the materials to do any upgrades, but they were all fine.
Bakugo closed the door to the shields behind him, letting out a deep sigh and leaning against it. His head thunked against the door, letting out a small sound that echoed in the small room.
Times like these made him understand why his mom would sometimes drink a bit after a long day. The shitty old hag wasn't anything close to an alcoholic, but from what she said, it took the edge off. He could really go for something to do just that right about now. The expectations of those in the bridge and his anxieties that held a chokehold over him...they were festering, and in such a small ship, he felt confined, only able to do so much.
A minute passed before Bakugo pushed off of the door. His thoughts were lazily swirling around, unable to be shaken and causing his hands to shake with empty rage. Almost robotically, he began to check on the shields.
"The first thing to do when making sure that shields are functioning is to check the power core. The energy from the reactor runs straight to this, and it's what powers the shields. It's also the most volatile, and if it explodes, your ship will be badly damaged and without shields. It's a death sentence. However, to counteract this, these are also the most protected part of any ship. Anyone can operate shields, but only someone trained can access and fix this part of a ship."
Thank god for Power Loader's class. That was the one class that he could easily say that he learned the most in.
They'd all been taught how to open it up and check on it safely. It wasn't too difficult- just a simple code input on the console. But Bakugo was barely paying attention to his own actions, mindlessly pressing the buttons. It was a therapeutic action, meant solely to take his mind off of the situation at hand.
Bakugo systematically ran through the procedure for checking on a system. Everything was running at max capacity, with some minor fluctuations from the last two times he checked. It was exactly as he expected and nothing else.
Sighing, Bakugo sat down on the floor and simply stared at the blue, whirring shields. This was one of the most isolated parts on any ship. The people who worked here had no idea what was going on in the rest of the ship save for what was said over the comms, and even those could be hectic at best and useless at worst.
He hated working in here. It wasn't meant for him. He was the type to be on the front lines at all times, seeing what was going on and reacting to it, giving orders. He liked being in control.
Behind him, the door creaked, and Pikachu stepped in, a pensive look on his face.
"Hey, we've dropped out of warp. You should...really come see this." Pikachu said, looking behind him,somewhat worried.
A pit dropped in Bakugo's stomach, but he nodded and stood.
Pikachu walked ahead of him, and for once, Bakugo didn't complain.
Opening the door to the bridge, Bakugo immediately saw why they had brought him in. All three of the idiots, aside from Pikachu, glanced at him, then immediately turned their attention back to the viewscreen.
They had warped to what appeared to be an empty section of space, save for some asteroids floating around. On the starmap, they weren't even in a listed location, just somewhere in the Rock Homeworlds.
Bakugo's breath caught in his throat. He knew exactly where they were.
In front of them, swirling among the asteroids, was a portal, of sorts. Even Bakugo didn't know how this one worked, but he had heard stories of it, possible explanations of how it functioned.
Even if he didn't know how it worked, he knew where it lead.
They had found the portal to the Crystal sector.
"Just to be clear, we're all seeing the same thing, right?" Pikachu asked, a tone of worry hidden in his subdued voice.
"It's been, like… 500 years, right? Ever since the last Crystal died? And the portal's been open...all that time?" Kirishima asked quietly, a sense of awe on his face. With his Rock heritage, it probably felt a bit like coming home.
"It's like finding remnants of a lost civilization or something…" Egg-head said in awe.
"That's exactly what it is, you dunce." Raccoon Eyes said with an unimpressed voice. Egg-head looked thoroughly crushed. It was almost enough to lift Bakugo's spirits.
The room was silent as they all stared at the inviting, yet ominous portal.
"Should we...should we go in? I mean, it feels like we're walking on sacred grounds, but we're also probably the first people to find this since the Kestrel. I mean, if we brought back an artifact, we could become rich." Pikachu spoke up, saying what most of them were probably thinking.
"We don't have a choice. We have to go through." Bakugo spoke, and all the eyes in the ship were on him.
"If we don't, we won't make it to Terra Ultima in time. We've lost too much damn time with this detour. Besides, this thing only appears every now and then, and it seems to be random. If we don't go through, it may well be another five hundred years before it's found again." Bakugo rationalized, staring into the swirling vortex.
Even despite this, his hands felt cold and clammy, and not in the good, normal way. He was...nervous.
Pikachu's face softened. "Well, in that case, guide us in. We just need to go through it, right? No warp needed?" Pikachu asked in confirmation, eyeing the portal warily.
"Yeah. I mean, I think." Bakugo said quietly, walking forwards and sliding into the captain's chair.
"You think, or you know? This could do anything to our ship. I've never gone through a portal before, but it can't be fun. The people on the Kestrel had better everything than us." Egg-head pointed out, raising a finger in the air.
"I know, dumbass. We'll be fine. It works like a wormhole, except you don't get torn to pieces if you try to leave early because of how quick it is." Bakugo snapped, feeling his anger rise quickly.
"How would you know that, though?" Raccoon Eyes asked, eyes narrowed, and Bakugo felt like hissing.
"It fucking- it was in the log of the Kestrel. It was required reading in school." Bakugo spat back.
"But I finished school, and I've never even read that log. I thought it wasn't even public. Something about it having classified information." Egg-head pointed out, a suspicious look entering his eyes.
"We read a censored version of it. It didn't have the fucking important shit, like the Federation fleet info." Bakugo shot back.
"Why would the captain keep the fleet info in his personal log? Isn't that kind of thing reserved for the ship's confidential stores? The captain's log can be read by anyone who gets to it." Kirishima pointed out, a glint of suspicion entering even his eyes.
"You- GAH! Fucking- fine. You really want to know that badly? I've been in this thing before. Fucking happy?" Bakugo spat, shoulders hunched over and gripping the controls tighter than he needed to.
Kirishima inhaled sharply, and Raccoon Eyes made a surprised noise that sounded like she was dying.
"I did a bit of bounty hunting before I moved to thievery, maybe five, six years ago, and I chased a high priority target through this portal. I killed him when I got to him, which was against my contract, so it was a massive waste of time." Bakugo told them with a deep sigh.
"So...you've found it twice now? How cool is that? You're literally the only person ever to do that! That's so manly!" Kirishima roared, pumping a fist, and Bakugo gave him an incredulous look.
"Yeah! You're like, the only person, aside from us in a minute here, who will have even seen this! What was it like, so we have an idea?" Pikachu asked excitedly, getting up close to Bakugo.
"Back off, Pikachu," Bakugo started, pushing his face away with a single hand, "and it wasn't much special. I didn't really take time to sightsee. It was like most sectors. Had some badass planets in it, but I passed by most of them." Bakugo said, trying to remember back to that time. It had happened pretty quick, with a good amount of it spent in a firefight. He had landed on a planet, fought the bastard, and then got the hell out of dodge afterwards, when the aftermath of what he'd done hit him.
"So we're still pretty much going in blind?" Pikachu asked.
"Not exactly. There are still planets, but they're contained. Most of them are either barren of most kinds of life or primordial. We'll just be in and out. We'll make a stop at a planet if and only if we have to." Bakugo warned.
"Aw, Bakugo, this is like the find of the century! Where's the harm in stopping? We're gonna be in the sector for a while, anyways. We might as well make a few pit stops. Besides, it's not like anyone's really been on these planets in years. We could find some really valuable historic stuff and sell it!" Kirishima encouraged, pumping one arm.
"Is money the only thing you idiots think about?" Bakugo asked wearily.
"Have you seen our ship?" Pikachu countered.
"I had to work as a waitress on a space station. I've never been rolling in cash." Raccoon Eyes pointed out.
"My ship got stolen when I tried to do a good thing for someone else. I'm still bitter about that. I want to get paid for my trouble." Egg-head said, an annoyed look crossing his eyes.
"Imagine how many dumbbells I could buy!" Kirishima said, eyes almost shining.
"I feel like that one's not as important, but the thought is there, Kiri." Raccoon Eyes joked, a slightly strained smile on her face.
"Hey, it's important! Becoming stronger to protect my friends is the essence of being a man! If I can't even help all of you, then I've got no right to call myself a man!" Kirishima declared passionately, his face set in determination.
"Yeah, that's all fine and good, but I still want a ship, so get in line." Egg-head quipped back at him, an easy-going smile on his face.
"Alright, alright, fucking fine. We stop at one planet. No more. We'll grab something important, maybe take a few pictures, and we leave. The longer we stick around here, the more time All For One has to get to Terra Ultima." Bakugo warned, his eyes narrowing. Egg-head shuddered slightly, and the rest just looked slightly uncomfortable, having enough time to get used to the fact that they would have to deal with All For One.
"...Right, point taken. If we find this place again later, though, we have to explore more." Egg-head said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.
"Sure. Whatever. I wouldn't count on it if I were you, though. But, if your dumb ass somehow manages to find it again, then by all means, go run around in the flower fields all damn day." Bakugo grumbled, turning his attention back to the controls.
"Man, Bakugo, what's got you in a bad mood? Bad memories?" Kirishima asked, a sympathetic lilt to his voice.
Bakugo grunted and shot him a glare, but didn't respond.
"Come on, it'll be like a fun field trip! We get to go to dangerous planets, steal some ancient artifacts, walk on the bones of a long-dead race...What's not to love?" Pikachu said jokingly, a snarky smile resting easily on his face.
"Fuck you too, Pikachu." Bakugo shot back, putting some speed on the engines. The ship slowly moved forwards, drifting towards the ever-present, swirling portal.
A small, pervasive silence slowly settled over the group as their ship chugged along . towards the portal. Bakugo's jaw clenched painfully.
He closed his eyes, and their ship passed through the portal.
Within moments, after a small rocking of the ship, they were on the other side.
Bakugo opened his eyes, and he was greeted with a familiar sight.
The Crystal sector was one that very few people had ever laid their eyes on, and yet for those who had, they could easily claim that it was one of the most beautiful. The stars that pervaded the vast expanse of space in the background were constant, glittering spots in his line of sight, creating a beautiful mosaic of color that was amazing and yet not out of the ordinary; it was something that could be seen from anywhere. But this wasn't what made it stand out, although it didn't hurt.
No, what made the Crystal sector beautiful was the planets.
Bakugo wasn't joking when he said that the planets were either primordial or barren, but most of them were primordial. The planets in this specific cluster, however, weren't what the Federation would call 'planets'.
No, these were moons. Bright, blue orbs, hanging around in space, making lazy orbits around small suns. It was a miracle that they hadn't been pulled into the gravitational pulls of the others, given how close they were. At each moon, another could be seen, a titanic mass of blue or a dusty sphere of brown or any type of planet imaginable off in the distance.
It wasn't a sight that could be seen anywhere else in the galaxy. Most worlds were self-contained; you were at one planet and the most you would see of another would be a slightly brighter spark in the sky. Not this sector, though. It was picture-perfect, something you would see on a fucking postcard.
It made Bakugo uncomfortable, for some unshakeable reason. He could recognize that it held a certain appeal, but if something went wrong with the gravity of all of these planets, then there would be no escape. They would collapse, explode, and probably bring the entire sector with it.
That was why Bakugo had been hesitant, among other reasons. The sector had survived for millennia, but there was no telling what would happen at even the smallest of changes. It was fragile, and Bakugo liked things that were sturdy.
While Bakugo might have had misgivings about the area, the same could not be said about the others.
"Whooooaaaa…" Pikachu let out a long breath of bewilderment, leaning forwards with a small shine of amazement in his eyes.
"Pretty!" Raccoon Eyes exclaimed loudly.
Egg-head gave off a whistle, and a large grin was etched onto Kirishima's face with his weird-ass teeth.
"Gotta admit, if someone told me a week ago that this was what I was gonna see, I never would've believed 'em." Egg-head said appreciatively.
"I've never seen anything like this… Bakugo, why didn't you tell us about this?" Kirishima asked, turning towards him.
"I didn't even fucking know if this was still going to be here. There's a reason you don't normally see this kind of shit." Bakugo snarked back, keeping a firm grip on the controls.
The sector was pretty, but it was also a sector. A sector with a very large amount of planets. Getting up to FTL was difficult, and the beacons had been set ages ago by whoever came before the Kestrel. There was no telling just how off they would be now.
"Still, though, this is a nice view. Glad you left it as a surprise." Egg-head remarked off-handedly, and Bakugo grunted back at him.
"Where's our first stop gonna be?" Kirishima asked excitedly, and a frustrated crease formed on Bakugo's forehead.
"If I knew that, then I wouldn't still be fucking deciding. Give me a minute, Kirishima." Bakugo snapped back, and Kirishima blinked, a look of confusion on his face.
"Hey, what happened to Shitty Hair? When did you start calling me by my actual name?" He asked, a delighted look on his face. Bakugo glared back at him.
"I can change my mind at any goddamn moment, Kirishima, so don't push your luck. And I've been calling you by name for the past goddamn day, you dumbass." Bakugo snorted, pulling up the starmap.
Raccoon Eyes fucking squealed. "Oh, that's so adorable! You do care about us!"
"Shut the fuck up, Raccoon Eyes! I don't need this shit from you right now!" He snapped, annoyance rising.
"Man, we must be something special, huh? Most of the reports on you say that you're more animal than human, but you're more soft than they say." Egg-head added offhandedly, a disarming smile on his face.
A vein pulsed in Bakugo's forehead, and his eye twitched. "I'll fucking kill all of you!" He raged, firing off several small explosions in his hands.
Pikachu began fucking laughing, and if Bakugo wasn't feeling downright murderous before, he was now.
"Something funny, Dunce Face?" Bakugo roared, resisting the urge to strangle Pikachu. Somehow, this only made the electric idiot laugh harder.
At this point, Pikachu was practically on the ground laughing for no reason that Bakugo could figure out, and Kirishima had joined him. Raccoon Eyes had a huge, smug smile plastered on her face, and Egg-head had a shit-eating grin on his.
"Well, I mean, you've threatened to kill us before, and we're still here. What's the truth? When will the media stop lying to us?" Egg-head pondered overdramatically, clenching a hand to his heart with a pained expression that was ruined by the ever-growing grin.
"Keep this up and I'll fucking make it happen, Egg-head!" Bakugo snarled.
Pikachu was turning a bit blue.
"Aww, Bakugo, you wouldn't hurt an injured woman, would you? Especially not one as dazzling as me." Raccoon Eyes preened, a faux look of hurt in her eyes.
In the background, Pikachu seemed to be slowly recovering, along with Kirishima, who was helping him back to his feet.
"The explosions of justice are unisex." Bakugo replied flatly, a completely serious look on his face. Distantly, he registered both Pikachu and Kirishima exploding into laughter again.
"Shut up! I'll kill you both if you don't stop laughing! Die!" Bakugo roared, his patience finally running thin.
After a few long coughs, Pikachu slowly made eye contact with him, his face red. "Sorry, it's just- heh- just like you, you know? It's been a while since you've threatened to kill us. And the explosions of justice are unisex- pfft. You sound like an old-timey superhero." Pikachu admitted, not exactly mockingly.
"If it's been that long, then I need to step up my game." Bakugo muttered to himself.
"Aw, what's wrong, Bakugo? Need to make sure we all know how scary you are? Don't worry, I think you're scary." Raccoon Eyes said, this time very mockingly, whispering the last part as though it were some big secret.
"Go fuck yourself, Raccoon Eyes." Bakugo shot back wearily.
"But I have bruised ribs, Bakugo. Even you know this." Raccoon Eyes joked. Bakugo shot her a look of mild disgust.
"Didn't need that mental image, but glad to know your sense of humor is intact, Mina." Kirishima joked from where he rested against the wall.
"Anytime, Kiri. I would give you a high-five, but I'm not really supposed to be moving." She responded, giving a small thumbs-up.
Bakugo shook his head as the mild banter continued between their small group. He turned his attention back to the starmap, eyes roaming over it.
Bakugo frowned. Something wasn't right here.
The starmap didn't seem very...changed, to say the least. Beacons typically had to be updated frequently, every fifty years or so, because of the rotation of the planets. And yet, the beacons here seemed to be accurate, worryingly so. The planets in front of him lined up with everything that the beacons in front of him were saying.
Regardless of what the truth was, this wasn't good.
The planets should move too frequently for these beacons to still be accurate. He knew it wasn't some sort of strange time dilation effect because of the last time he had come through and everything had been normal. Which really only left a few options.
Either someone had been through here recently for the sole purpose of updating the beacons, or someone in this sector was still alive and had the technology to do so.
...Was that really so impossible? It went against everything he thought that he knew of this sector, but really, was it so improbable that someone out here had gotten the technology to do that?
But, if it wasn't true, then that meant that someone was able to reliably enter and exit the sector without the knowledge of anyone, including him. Information travelled far in the underworld, and even though Bakugo didn't have many friends in the shadier parts of the galaxy, he had enough to know that no artifact of the Crystals had been discovered since after the Kestrel. And if this person had the sort of power to enter and exit at will, then what would they even be doing with it? People didn't find something like this just to update the beacons.
Bakugo shook his head. It wasn't worth it to be wondering about all of this. God knows the last thing he needed was a headache and a half. If he found out, he found out. If not, then why would he even need to give a damn?
Either way, it was good for them. The beacons were good. No reason to worry about it. Now, they just needed to get the hell out and take one stop. He was a man of his word.
Bakugo's eyes flitted across the starmap, taking in the sights. The fastest and safest route...That was his goal. If they got caught in an exploding sun, or if they found a roaming drone, they would be in danger. Their ship was still damaged from the last fight they were in.
Bakugo's eyes zoned in on a path. He wanted to get out of this sector as soon as possible, and the answer to doing that was skirting along the edges of it while avoiding the nebula until he reached the exit beacon, which would deposit them neatly into the home sector of Terra Ultima.
Their journey would be over soon.
Shaking that thought from his head, Bakugo activated the FTL, and their ship began to zoom along to the next beacon.
"Oi. Idiots." Bakugo called, and the bridge quieted after a second.
"We're getting out of here as soon as we can. If we find a planet that we can stop on, we stay for less than a day. Got it? We don't have time to be screwing around. All For One is probably getting closer and closer to Terra Ultima, and the longer we take to get there, the more likely it is that he'll make his move. He's a crafty bastard, so expect the unexpected. Right now...he's probably gathering Quirks." Bakugo muttered intensely, staring at hyperspace around them.
The bridge was filled with a sort of tense silence until Pikachu gathered the courage to raise a hand and ask, "Gathering Quirks for what?"
Bakugo sighed. "Who knows? Healing his fucked-up face, making himself stronger, getting counters for specific heroes. With the amount of people that want Quirks and the amount that don't, he's going to have his hands full." He commentated, kicking his feet up on the console.
"But who wouldn't want their Quirk? My Quirk is a blessing. Both of my parents didn't have one, and they were proud when I got mine, even though I cut my eye when it happened." Kirishima said, a light smile on his face, unknowing of the somber mood that had settled over the bridge.
Parents seem to be a touchy subject no matter where I go.
"Kirishima, have you ever hurt another person with your Quirk accidentally?" Raccoon Eyes asked softly.
The question seemed to take him aback. "I don't think I have. Is that something normal?" Kirishima asked, a worried look in his eyes.
Raccoon Eyes sighed. "When I was a kid, I didn't have much control over my Quirk. I would fling acid all over our furniture whenever I got mad, and that happened...more than I would like to admit. I would be bullied because of my Quirk by all of the other kids, either because my skin was pink or because I was such a hazard. All throughout my time in school, I never had a boyfriend, mostly because of all of that. Eventually, I just...learned to stand up to my bullies and worry about myself. About my future." Raccoon Eyes told him, a somber look in her eyes.
"But, at that point in time, if someone offered to take away my Quirk, I would have agreed without a second thought."
Absolute silence reigned over the ship as Ashido's words sunk in. Bakugo turned his head away.
"Mina...you know that you're really manly, right?" Kirishima suddenly spoke up.
"Thanks, Kiri, but that's not-"
"No, I mean it. You're a really good person, and you've got more heart than most people I've met combined. When we were in middle school, you were my inspiration. I didn't have the heart to do what I believed was right, and when I saw you, I felt...outclassed. Like I was falling behind. But time and time again, you did the right thing, and I wanted to live up to the standard you were setting. Even if we both failed to become heroes in the end, you were...You were mine. My hero." Kirishima choked out, and- oh god, the dude is crying. Fuck.
"So...so listen to me when I tell you that you're a good, manly person. Even in the time that we've been together on this ship, I can tell that you haven't changed. You're still the type of person who can go above and beyond and be a hero. You're the hero that I know that you can be. So you've got no right to be talking bad about yourself! As a man, I have to defend the honor of my friends, even if the person insulting them is themselves!" Kirishima roared, slamming a fist into his heart.
Ashido's lip wobbled, and she seemed to be doing her best not to cry.
She failed at that the second Kirishima crossed the small distance of the ship and enveloped her in a hug, awkward though it may have been in her position.
Bakugo turned his head away from the spectacle. It felt like he was intruding on a personal moment, and in a way, he was. But he wasn't going to throw a snarky comment into the mix, or say anything that would invalidate what was going on here.
This was their moment, something special to be shared between friends. It was something that Raccoon Eyes may not have wanted, but it was probably something that she needed. Bakugo wasn't going to be the one to interrupt that. He knew what it was like to have something important, something that you needed to happen, ripped away and stopped at a crucial moment.
It was why he had left U.A, after all. He wasn't going to do the same to someone else. Not when they were his friends.
...Heh. They really were slowly becoming his friends, weren't they? Bakugo hadn't had a proper friend in...He didn't even know how long. The lackeys who followed him in school didn't count, nor did his contacts.
He didn't know how to feel about it. Happy, angry, worried. For now, though, he was content to leave things as they were.
And if they got hurt…
He wouldn't let it come to that. That was all he needed to know.
For now, he just left his feet up on the console and didn't say a word as his friends cried their hearts out. He gave them all the time they needed.
Their journey was, after all, almost over.
It took three FTL jumps before they got to a planet that their malevolent leader Bakugo claimed was good to explore. Sero Hanta, in that time, had gotten a bit more familiar with his new friends..
This ship had a crew of people that he hadn't really seen before. They were a buncha wackjobs, but in the good way. Blasty was terrifying, but he was good at what he did and he was fun to make fun of. Sero could respect that. He found good friends in Kirishima and Kaminari (as in, the three of them were equally positive), and he found a rival in Go Fish in the form of Ashido.
Seriously, that pink woman could cheat like none other. If he hadn't been warned about it before, he never would have known.
Where was he? Oh yeah, the planet. It was a big ol' block of crystals. According to Blasty, the planet should have an atmosphere. Some science stuff about there being big air pockets. Honestly, most of what the dude said went over Sero's head. It wasn't that he was dumb, just that he really did not care about it. The only words that really mattered to him were habitable, crystals, and money.
He wasn't greedy, but he wanted his ship back, man. He had spent a lot of time on that thing. It had surround sound. That might not sound impressive, but when it was in every single room, it became a lot more badass, especially when he could play All Might's theme song during a space battle.
The Ground Zero, on the other hand, did not have surround sound, and made a worrying sound as it pulled into the atmosphere of the brilliantly glistening planet.
Shaken from his thoughts by Blasty roughly pushing past him, Sero was brought back to reality.
"Alright, fuckers, we're here. There's a shit-ton of caves here, which means a shit-ton of space monsters. Keep on your guard, and if something goes wrong, get the hell out. Don't risk your goddamn life over a fucking crystal." Blasty snapped.
"Anyone tell you that you have a wonderful way with words?" Sero teased, fully prepared to receive an explosion to the face.
"Shut the hell up, Egg-head."
Not for the first time, Sero wondered if his head actually looked like an egg or if Bakugo was just saying that to mess with him. Was it his hair? It was kinda pointy.
"Hey, what should I do?" Ashido asked nervously from where she sat on their makeshift bed. Sero saw why she asked- her entire body was still covered in his tape. To move would be to hurt her even more, and she might even hurt herself internally.
"Stay here. We need someone to guard the ship, and we need someone to teleport us back if things go wrong. You've all got your teleporter cuffs, right?" Blasty confirmed, narrowing his eyes. Sero did, in fact, have his looped around his wrist.
"You got it, B-man." Kaminari responded.
"I'll snap your neck in your sleep, Pikachu." Blasty easily responded, turning away from them to face the door.
"At least you'll have to decency to do it while I'm asleep instead of right now." Kaminari shot back playfully, earning himself another glare.
"You guys have everything, right? I don't want you guys to get too hurt out there, you know?" Ashido asked quietly.
"Flashlights, some food, some water, a backpack, and some basic exploring gear. We'll be fine. With all four of us, we'll be able to find something in no time. We'll be back before you know it, Mina!" Kirishima reassured with a bright, happy smile, and Sero was left feeling distinctly out of place. He didn't quite know these people as well as they knew each other.
"Plus, even if things go wrong, we'll have you here. I have faith in you." Kirishima added after a moment.
"Try not to let us get stranded out there." Kaminari threw his voice in.
"Yeah, yeah, you got it. I'm not useless, you know!" Ashido cut in, sounding slightly annoyed.
Blasty snorted. "Better not be. I don't need dead weight on my ship."
Ashido scoffed, sounding slightly offended. "Bakugo, who would provide the feminine touch if I were gone? You boys would blow up the ship within the hour if I left." She said smugly.
Her logic was, sadly, flawless.
"And in the hour that we're going to be gone, make sure it doesn't happen without us. Got it?" Bakugo fired back confrontationally, not missing a beat.
"Aye aye, cap'n!" Ashido said with a lazy salute.
Bakugo turned his attention back to them. "Alright, let's get going. We get in and out. I don't want to spend forever wasting time in a fucking cave, got it?" He snarled, making sure they knew that he was serious.
"You got it!" Kirishima happily replied. Sero could only give him a strange look.
Kirishima was something of an enigma to Sero. The dude was just so...happy all the time. He'd even managed to become actual friends with Bakugo. Something about manliness just seemed to cry out to the red-haired half-Rock.
"Egg-head, stop spacing out. Stay focused on the goal, you bastard!" Bakugo snapped, and Sero shook his head.
"Sorry, Blasty. Got a little caught up in my head."
Bakugo frowned, but didn't say anything else; just turned and left through the door.
"We'll be back soon, Mina!" Kirishima said happily, following Bakugo's path with Kaminari hot on his heels.
Sero was about to follow them as well, but Ashido's soft voice stopped him.
"Be careful. Don't let them get hurt." She pleaded, and Sero paused.
He didn't meet her eyes, but he nodded. "You guys are my way outta here, right? Kaminari and Kirishima are cool by me, and Blasty isn't that bad, either. I'll make sure we get outta here. My Tape isn't as useless as a lot of people think."
Sero pushed open the door, and with a small click, he was ready to go.
If Sero thought that the Crystal sector was cool by itself, then the caves were what sold it to him.
At first, it looked like a normal cave system- dark, a little chilly, hauntingly empty, the whole works. But as they descended, that began to change.
"Whoa…" Sero breathed out, taking a short glance around.
The further down they went, there were more and more crystals lining the walls. They were beautiful, almost perfectly transparent formations. Small rainbows of light could be seen when Sero peered through it, and if that weren't enough, it seemed to produce its own light as well. He was almost hesitant to call it a crystal. It was indescribable.
"Think I'll just take one of these for the road…" Sero muttered to himself, driving his flashlight into the side of a small one hanging off of a wall. It fell off after a few strikes, and Sero pocketed the glistening gem.
Blasty snorted at him and shook his head, but didn't say anything.
"Hey, these things are real cool! I didn't think that we'd be seeing any light down here at all, but it seems like we lucked out!" Kaminari cheered joyfully.
"I don't know how these things work, and I don't give a damn. Let's keep moving." Bakugo ordered from the front of the group. Sero shrugged at Kaminari with a small grin after his face went crestfallen.
Proceeding deeper in the caves, Sero found himself needing his flashlight less and less. The crystals began to illuminate the area, although he did keep the flashlight close by his side at all times. The crystals may have made light, but that didn't mean that they were everywhere. There were long, haunting shadows stretching across the ground and ceiling that creeped him out beyond belief. Half the time, he thought he saw something moving in them, but when he shined his light on it, it just turned out to be the wall.
...Seriously, this entire cave looked like it would be out of a horror story.
Still, though, the cave itself was a bit suspicious on its own. It just wasn't very...cave-y. It wasn't what he imagined a cave to be. There were a lot of open spaces, alcoves filled to the brim with those odd crystals, and mostly gentle slopes that led them to another winding path. It almost looked like it was man-made.
Still, though… Sero thought, cracking his neck, there's nothing down here now, at least. Haven't even seen a rat, let alone one of the Crystals. Not that there are any more of them.
"Hey, Bakugo, you got any idea what we should be looking for down here? It doesn't really look like there's much else here aside from these crystals. Hell, they'll probably sell for a good price, too, so what are we after down here?" Kaminari spoke up, grabbing a loose crystal of his own.
Bakugo didn't even turn to look at them when he answered.
"You'll know it when you see it. I've got a bit of a hunch about this place. We'll find something." Bakugo assured, confidence leaking from his tone.
"...So we're basing this expedition off of a hunch?" Sero asked, somewhat confused. Blasty didn't seem to be the type to rely on a hunch. He seemed impulsive, yeah, but he was thorough. This guy wasn't rumored to have stolen the Crown Jewel of-
Sero stopped in his tracks.
The Crown Jewel of the Crystals.
Sero's mind began to race. The Crown Jewel was only whispered about in some small circles, but it was something that a lot of people had at least heard of, just like the Crystals themselves. Sero had always dismissed it as an old wives tale, but suddenly, things were starting to click.
"Np, I think I get what he's saying. I'm getting that same feeling. Let's trust that he knows what he's doing, yeah?" Kirishima said faintly, but it all registered as background noise for Sero.
The only person to get into the Crystal sector that we know of is Bakugo, who apparently did it while chasing a high-priority bounty that needed to be taken alive. It's possible that he nabbed the Jewel while he was in the sector. It's the type of thing that people keep, so it's not like he would sell it…
But then, how did that target get into the Crystal sector in the first place? We only found it by random chance, but it sounds like this guy found it while trying to run away from Bakugo. But what does that mean? What does the Jewel even do? Is it just some royal heirloom, or is it something else?
"...Sero? You alright, man?"
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking." Sero responded, slightly dazed.
Bakugo snorted, but seemed to buy it. "Don't try too hard. Don't want you to hurt yourself."
"Whatever you say, Bakugo." Sero responded numbly, looking down at one of his hands.
"...Dude, do you need to like, talk about it? You're acting like you discovered the secret to life itself or something." Kaminari noted, sounding genuinely concerned.
"Nah, I'm fine. It's not really a big deal, honest." Sero said, waving him off. Kaminari narrowed his eyes a bit, but he let it slide.
Still, though… Sero though as he walked behind Bakugo, what kind of secrets does this man have?
So wrapped up in his own thoughts, Sero almost didn't notice the cracking in the floor.
"Stop." Bakugo ordered, throwing his arm out. Their group came to a screeching halt.
"The floor is weak here...and from the looks of things, the ceiling, too." Bakugo's eyes flitted upwards as Sero's did the same. True to his word, the roof of the area seemed liable to collapse, with long web-like cracks running through it.
And then, with one mighty crack, the floor left their feet and rocks came tumbling down from the ceiling.
Sero acted on instinct. Tape flew from one arm and gripped the wall of the cave ahead of him, and from his other arm, tape latched onto Kaminari, dragging him forwards alongside him.
Sero rolled once, twice, and a third time before coming to a rough stop against a wall of the cave, Kaminari roughly slamming into him. Sero let out a long groan.
"Fuck…" Sero breathed, staring at the collapsed floor. Bakugo and Kirishima weren't anywhere to be seen.
Quickly, he scrambled to the edge, peering down. The drop seemed endless.
"Are you two alright!?" Sero called down frantically, his voice echoing.
The comm in his ears crackled to life, and Sero breathed a sigh of relief.
"Keep your voice down, bastard. Last thing we want is another fucking collapse. I managed to move quick enough to get into an alcove, and Kirishima's too sturdy to get taken down by some rocks. We're fine." Bakugo's voice came over the comms. Sero had never been happier to hear the angry man's voice before.
"You and Pikachu alright? I don't see him splattered on the walls, so I'm gonna assume that you got him out of the way." Bakugo asked.
"Yeah, we're alright up here. Kaminari, you doing alright?" He asked, and Kaminari groaned loudly.
"Yeah, he's fine." Sero continued.
"What is going on in there?! I leave you four alone for five minutes and you all almost die!" Ashido's outraged voice crackled in his ears, and Sero winced.
"Hah...Sorry, Mina. This one wasn't our fault, though!" Kirishima reassured her, sounding out of breath.
"Should I at least teleport you all back? You're not hurt, are you?" Ashido asked, sounding concerned.
"Nah, I'm fine. Bakugo, how's it going up there?" Kirishima asked, and for a long moment, there was no answer.
"...I think I found what we're looking for. Kirishima, get your ass up here. Sero, Kaminari, go back to the ship. We'll bring something back. I get the feeling this is the only thing worth finding here." Bakugo said ominously, and Sero blinked from where he knelt by the side of the hole.
"Are you sure, Bakugo? He asked, slightly nervous. Whatever it was had to be important.
"Yes, damn it! We'll be fine, just get your asses back on the ship." Bakugo snapped, and Sero was left feeling a bit better about leaving them, if only because Bakugo was back to normal.
"You heard the man. No more caves for me." Kaminari groaned.
A blue light enveloped Sero, and an odd feeling twisted in his gut. Teleportation as normal, then.
As the cave vanished from his sight, he could only hope that Bakugo and Kirishima knew what they were doing.
Kirishima grunted as he climbed up the small wall, wiping dust off of his shoulders. He hoisted himself up into the small alcove that Bakugo had taken cover in, only about ten feet off of the ground from where he had landed.
The ricks that had came down were small in number and pretty tame for a cave-in. It made him wonder if it was an actual cave-in or just a trap. Regardless, he had been okay, and Sero had made a really nice call in helping Kaminari. Out of all of them, he was the only one who would be unable to help himself.
With one final pull, Kirishima was up and into the small alcove that Bakugo was in- and he instantly saw what made him say that he had found what they were after.
In front of him was a highly intricate door with strange crystals embedded in the walls that lead to the wall; entirely smooth and transparent, they were similar to the ones in the cave above. Bakugo turned to look at him, a frown set deep in his face.
"Don't usually find this kind of shit in an uninhabited rock, do you?" Bakugo snorted.
"But then...that makes this...:" Kirishima breathed.
Bakugo sighed. "The fucking home of the Crystals. What fucking luck, huh? And take a look behind you." Bakugo suddenly said, gesturing to a spot behind Kirishima.
Turning his head, Kirishima was met with the sight of another entrance of the other side of the wall- one that was blocked off with fallen rocks, but had clearly defined steps and worn cloth on the floor.
"...It kinda feels like we're walking on forbidden territory. I feel like I shouldn't be here right now." Kirishima admitted, scratching the back of his neck bashfully and turning back to Bakugo.
"...Yeah. I know exactly what you mean. But we've come too far now to stop. I'm not the type to waste my goddamn time, so we're going into this place and coming out with something worth our effort." Bakugo swore, turning to face that intricate door once more.
Kirishima shook his head. Bakugo was right. They had what they wanted right in front of them. He could look past the gnawing fear in his stomach.
Kirishima stepped forward, glancing down at the door. There didn't really seem to be a handle in sight…
Experimentally, Kirishima placed his hand on the door and pushed. No result.
"Is it stuck?" Bakugo asked, sounding impatient.
"I...I think so." Kirishima groaned, putting far more effort into it. Still no result.
Finally, Kirishima hardened his arms and reared back, throwing all his weight into his hands and slamming into the door. Dust flew up all around them, and the door shook ever so slightly.
"Let me try, you dumbass. You really think the Crystals would make a door for anyone to open?" Bakugo snapped pulling Kirishima back. Kirishima pouted, feeling slightly un-manly.
For a long moment, Bakugo simply stood in front of the door, looking it up and down. His eyes darted between the door itself and the crystals on the wall.
"...It's a puzzle lock. This door is a heavy-duty blast door. Nothing will get through it that isn't meant to. I don't even know if my AP shot would do it." Bakugo said, staring down at his hand. Kirishima blinked in surprise.
"There's a lock on it? But what can you even do to unlock it? There's no keys or mechanisms that I can see…" Kirishima said, gazing intently at the door.
"Look at the crystals in the wall. See how they all connect to the door from the outside walls? That has to mean something." Bakugo insisted, eyes still scanning the door.
Now that he mentioned it, Kirishima saw what he meant. He thought that the crystals themselves were like a design choice, make the room look cooler, but when he looked a little closer, it seemed to be in a pattern.
There were eight in total, and they all connected to different edges and corners of the large door in seemingly random, yet deliberate spots.
Bakugo let out a frustrated growl. "Sure, it's a goddamn puzzle, but knowing it's a puzzle doesn't help us! What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" He roared, slamming a fist into the right side of the door,.
The door made a loud, ominous creaking noise, and Kirishima froze.
Even more dust rained down around them, and the left side of the door slowly opened inwards, coming to a slow halt after about a foot. There was a long moment of silence between the pair.
Kirishima grinned. "So...how about that puzzle lock, huh?"
"Shut the fuck up, Kirishima. Not my fault you didn't try pulling."
Kirishima's grin grew. "Whatever you say, Bakugo."
"Die!" Bakugo yelled, throwing the door open and stalking through it.
With a smile still plastered on his face, Kirishima walked through the door and followed Bakugo. The door itself lead to a staircase, with crystals still lining the walls and providing ample light. Kirishima was certain now- it was intentional. These crystals must have been what provided light for the Crystal race when they lived here.
The stairs lead down to another door, this one opening much easier than the previous.
The other side of the door, however, wasn't something that Kirishima had been expecting.
The bad feeling from before returned, full-force. Kirishima almost found himself turning around and leaving, but the sight of Bakugo's broad back, still marching forwards into the large room, gave him the courage to continue.
The room itself was self-contained, with the only entrance being the door they came from. The entire room seemed to be made of the same crystals as before, this time seeming to be more solid, not transparent. It was either that or the crystals were bottomless in all directions, which was just impossible.
Pedestals lined the walls, each one containing something that Kirishima couldn't identify at first glance. One of them held a small, red orb that, when Kirishima touched it, almost burnt his hand.
But in the absolute center of the room lay a book, obviously the most important addition. All of the items in here seemed to be important, but this was given special treatment.
Bakugo went straight for it, grasping the book lightly and brushing at the surface of it. No dust. This area must have been airtight.
"Bakugo...This place...It's what I think it is, isn't it?" kirishima asked, almost breathless as he looked around. Strange artifacts were abound in this room.
"It's some kind of vault, that's for sure. Whatever this book is, it probably says something important. Can't fucking read it, but I know it's gotta say something useful." Bakugo quipped, setting the book back down.
"What- you can't read it? Is it not in Basic?" Kirishima asked, peering over his shoulder. Indeed, the book had a writing that Kirishima struggled to make out at first.
"It's in what looks like the Rock language. You have any luck reading this shit?" Bakugo asked, annoyed, shoving the book into Kirishima's hands.
Kirishima looked at the cover again, frowning. "I guess? I can kinda get what it says. I know how to read Rock, but this stuff looks a bit different. It's old. It's probably what the Crystals used before they even became the Rock race, and our language came from them. The grammar's a bit wacky." Kirishima confessed, giving the book another appraising look.
"You keep working on it. Hell, just start reading off what you can. I'm gonna grab as much of this shit as I can carry." Bakugo grunted, shrugging off the backpack and throwing it into the corner of the room. It flew in a lazy arch.
"What are you doing?" Kirishima inquired as Bakugo took off his shirt.
"Backpack got a hole in it, and I need something to carry all this shit in. Think the backpack got caught on one of the rocks as I fell, or maybe my explosion caught the edge of it. Doesn't really matter." Bakugo grunted, tying two ends of the shirt together and making a makeshift bag.
Kirishima's eyes drifted down to Bakugo's hands as he worked, and his eyes snapped to Bakugo's chest after a second.
"Hey, uh, Bakugo? Your chest is kinda...glowing." Kirishima pointed out somewhat awkwardly.
And true to his word, Bakugo's chest was glowing a very small amount, right around where his heart was. If Kirishima hadn't happened to focus on it, he never would have noticed it.
Bakugo glanced down, and let out a sigh. "It's probably just the cave making light. Don't worry about it."
Kirishima narrowed his eyes somewhat, but decided to take his advice and focus on his task at hand.
Flipping open the first page of the (probably) coveted book, Kirishima began to read aloud.
"This...scripture? Is the...amalgamation of the past and present of the Gems. Wait, it probably means Crystals. I think that's the symbol for gems, but it looks weird." Kirishima spoke aloud, glancing through the first few words in confusion.
"Cut out the prologue, Rocky. And don't worry if it looks weird, just read it as is." Bakugo ordered, letting out a small hiss as he grasped the rock that Kirishima had touched earlier.
"Right right. Skipping all the non-important stuff, got it...first planet...trouble with the locals...biology...Hey, Bakugo, this book might actually be really valuable to historians. Think we can sell it?" He asked, holding the book up.
"Hell yeah. Half the shit you just mentioned would get people to go fucking insane. We get the right guy to sell it to, and you assholes will never have to work again." Bakugo snorted, throwing a weird stick-like object into the shirt.
Kirishima grinned. "Right. Well, it looks like it goes on about their culture for a bit here...what they ate...This here says that the crystals on the wall were both their light source and their food. That's pretty cool, right?" He pointed out.
"I don't really give a damn about it. Is the only thing in that goddamn book their history? Don't know why they fucking airlocked it if that was the case." Bakugo added, frowning as he gripped what seemed to be a smooth stone.
"Um...It says here that family bonds and tradition were important to them...Oh, here's something cool about their biology! It says that their hearts are special in that it allows them to live for a really long time, and if another race had them, they could do the same. They tried it out, but nothing they met could survive the strain of the...movement? Probably means transplant…" Kirishima muttered, glancing back up at Bakugo.
The other male had frozen, staring at Kirishima with a bewildered expression.
"How long is a long time?" Bakugo asked quietly.
Kirishima blinked, surprised by the quiet intensity in his voice. "Um...it doesn't really say exact numbers, but I think I saw something earlier on in the book in the tradition section...Ah! Here! The oldest crystal was apparently 'ten hundred ten's' old, which is...uh…"
"Ten thousand." Bakugo supplied quietly, turning back around and almost robotically taking objects from the pedestals.
"Man, I think it would be awful to live that long. I can barely imagine living to be a hundred and fifty! Most Rocks live to be a couple hundred years old, but it doesn't seem like we got our biology from the Crystals. Must be because of how tough we are." Kirishima commented.
"Shut the hell up and keep reading, dumbass." Bakugo snapped, and Kirishima furrowed a brow. What's got him so worked up?
"Alright, um...weapons, ships, beacons...Oh, hey, their beacons are self-updating! Seems like they developed an AI that keep track of the movement of the planets." Kirishima pointed out, actually taking the time to read something in a while.
"Is that right? Sounds cool." Bakugo noted neutrally, and Kirishima frowned at him. He wasn't even listening!
"This next section talks about their power to lock down an area with their crystals and how they transferred it into a bomb...Hey, this stuff kinda reminds me of that Quirk technology you were telling me about. Seems like they were ahead of the curve. It's probably an entirely different ballgame getting a Quirk into something, though, so I have to give those scientists that." Kirishima absentmindedly noted, eyes skimming the bizarre language.
Kirishima turned another page, and physically reared back. "Whoa, okay, this is new. First time they've used a picture."
The picture itself was of a large group of Crystals bowing before a seemingly godlike figure, his entire being glowing with piles of seemingly defeated opponents around him. The writing for 'Victory' was written along the top of the image.
"What's it for?" Bakugo asked, attention grabbed once again. Kirishima frowned when he saw that Bakugo's chest was still glowing.
"It says that it's for the...Regal Ruby of the Ge- the Crystals. I think that's the direct translation...Wait, that line means..." Kirishima trailed off.
"That line means what?" Bakugo asked impatiently, his previous task abandoned.
"That line means...That line makes it mean the Crown Jewel of the Crystals." Kirishima said breathlessly, making eye contact with Bakugo, who had frozen.
That pirate...That one from way back when they had started their journey. He had said something about this, something about Bakugo.
"Who doesn't know of the Bombing King? He's famous. He was the reason that All Might died, and he was the one who stole the Crown Jewel of the Crystal Rocks."
Bakugo's expression wasn't something that Kirishima could describe. It wasn't one that was worried, or weak, but he was caught off-guard. Apologetic, or unashamed? Kirishima couldn't tell.
Things were starting to add up.
The figure on the book was glowing, head to toe. And, despite Bakugo's words earlier, Kirishima couldn't ignore the glow that emanated from Bakugo's chest even now, despite how weak it was in comparison. It was coming from his heart, too…
That must have been why he was so interested when Kirishima mentioned their hearts earlier- whatever this Crown Jewel did, it had something to do with his heart.
Kirishima narrowed his eyes at Bakugo, and the man in front of him met his gaze without any semblance of uncertainty, his eyes steeled.
Finally after a long moment, Bakugo broke his gaze and returned to what he was doing.
"You-" Kirishima began.
"Just keep reading. I'll explain everything if you don't get it." Bakugo said, voice soft and quiet, such a drastic change from earlier. Unwilling, Kirishima swallowed any protests that he had and dragged his eyes back down to the page.
"The Crown Jewel is the greatest duty...responsibility? Honor? Think it means honor- that a living being can contain. Probably means hold…" Kirishima muttered.
"No. It means contain." Bakugo said quietly, and Kirishima shot him a worried glance.
"...Right. The Crown Jewel belongs only to those that it deems...worthy, I think that says. It shall belong only to those who lead the Crystal race to victory." Kirishima intoned, glancing up every few seconds at Bakugo.
"Those who hold the Crown must always strive for perfection and victory. None other shall be...suitable to lead the Crystals and all of their descendents." Kirishima read aloud, the true nature of the situation dawning on him.
"The Crown will test those who hold it at all times. Only the strongest may hold the Crown, and the strongest will go to the strongest." Kirishima frowned at that. What the hell was that trying to say?
After Kirishima's abnormally long silence, Bakugo spoke up. "It means that strong people will always find the person who holds the Crown, most of the time for a fight." There was a certain edge to his voice, and Kirishima gulped.
"Um...let's see… The Crown Jewel will test the holder, but not without providing for the holder as well. Strength... begets strength, and if the strong prove themselves strong, then the Crown will provide for its new master however the Crown sees fit."
"The Crown is a Symbol of Victory- with it, a proper holder shall never lose. An improper holder shall face trial and...tribals? Oh, tribulation. An improper holder shall face trial and tribulation and shall be torn to shreds by the Crown." Kirishima read, shuddering.
"Bakugo, you-" Kirishima started.
"Just keep reading, Kirishima." Bakugo ordered roughly.
Kirishima grit his teeth, but looked back down at the page.
"Should the holder ever fail to achieve victory...then the Crown will abandon the holder, and seek out that person who could win against its overwhelming strength, leaving the holder nothing more than a...a husk." Kirishima read quietly, a slight tremble in his voice.
He shouldn't have come down here.
"Upon taking on the Crown Jewel, the holder's most important bodily functions shall all be reinforced with the power of the Crystal race, and they shall be...removed if the Crown should ever leave the holder."
"Should the Crown ever fail to find a holder, it will spell the end of the Crystal race...and any of their progeny." Any of their progeny. Any of their progeny.
If this Crown didn't have a holder at any point in its lifespan, the Crystal race would end, but so would the Rocks.
So would he.
"That's...all that the passage says." Kirishima said unsteadily, closing the book with a small thud that seemed to echo infinitely in this small space of theirs.
The room was absolutely silent.
"That mission. Five years ago. The one that took you into this sector. That was when you got it, wasn't it?" Kirishima asked, an edge to his voice.
Bakugo didn't respond for a long moment.
"...Yeah. That was where I got it."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
"Would you have believed me if I did?"
"Of course I would! Why the hell wouldn't I! Bakugo, we're friends! I trust you, so why can't you trust me?!" Kirishima almost screamed, feeling a well of hurt and anger swell up in him.
"...Kirishima. Do you remember when I told you that I had a ship that I ran by myself, with only drones to keep it moving?" Bakugo asked, meeting his gaze with an empty look in his eyes.
"What the hell does that have to do with-"
"You aren't the first people I've tried travelling with since I got it. You idiots are the second group I've travelled with. The first tried to kill me to get the Crown for themselves." Bakugo said, expression and tone entirely blank. Kirishima could tell, from a single look, that this was something that Bakugo didn't want to talk about.
But, even still, Bakugo kept talking, and Kirishima's heart bled for him.
"I didn't consider them friends, but I trusted them to have my back whenever I needed it. That was too much faith to place in anyone. And, at first, I didn't even place that faith in you two. I kept my guard up. I made sure not to let you become someone that I trusted. And yet, with every occasion, you two just kept on breaking what expectations I set for you." Bakugo said, a far-away look in his eyes.
"At first, I felt comfortable enough to easily leave the two of you behind. But then, Aeon Station happened, and for the first time in years, I found someone that I knew. Someone that I was familiar with. Someone I could trust. And she trusted you, and you trusted Kaminari. And it got just a little bit harder to leave you behind."
"From that point forwards, the three of you just kept on breaking through whatever walls were in front of you. You broke past your own limits time and time again, all because I just asked you to. All of you placed your entire faith and trust in me, and I felt like I was a part of a cosmic joke. Why would three of the brightest people I've ever met believe so much in an asshole like me?"
"Even Sero wasn't immune to it. Within the span of a few days, he became friends with all of you, and even now, I can't say that the ship would be the same without him. He saved Kaminari, and he trusts you the same way you trust him."
"I've built up something safe. Something comfortable. Somewhere I can call home, and it's all because of all of you. Even if it's a shithole of a ship, it's a shithole of a ship that has some of the best people I've met on it. It's a shithole of a ship that I can look at and, somehow, be proud of. It's something that I've put work into, and it's something that I can lose at any second. I can lose it at any second, Kirishima. I don't want to lose it. I can't. So, tell me, Kirishima," Bakugo met his eyes, and there was a desperate sort of despair in them.
"If there was a chance that you would lose the only thing you've loved in years, why would you take it?"
Kirishima had never expected such despair to come from Bakugo. Never, in a million years, had he expected the man in front of him to show such a vulnerable side to him. It made his heart cry out in anguish, even as Bakugo's red-eyed stare seemed to burn a hole into him.
"I couldn't take that risk. I didn't want to wake up in the morning with a knife in my back. So, I hid it from all of you, and don't you dare tell me that you would do any different." Bakugo challenged, his red eyes regaining some of their intensity.
"Bakugo, I…" Kirishima tried, searching for words and praying that some would come to him.
"What? Got something to say?" Bakugo almost taunted, but there was no heat behind it, no passion.
The same tactic that he used with Mina earlier wouldn't work here. Bakugo was just too different a person in too different a situation for Kirishima to try to cheer him up the normal way.
"...You've carried the biggest burden out of all of us, and yet you've still earned our respect. I'm not the type of person to trust just anyone. I know what it's like to be betrayed, to be sold out. When I first saw you, fighting for your life against more opponents that you can handle, I didn't think, 'That guy looks like a hothead', I thought, 'That guy looks strong, so I'm going to help him'. And you proved it. You've fought against a lot of people, and you've done it for both yourself and others. In the beginning, I wasn't sure what to think of you, but you proved yourself worthy of my trust, time and time again. So, let me say this: You're my friend, Bakugo, and you're not my friend because of your strength, or because of some stupid crystal in your chest. You're my friend because of who you are. My friend is the hero named Bakugo Katsuki." Kirishima stated earnestly, extending a hand out to him.
"So forget about everything that came before, and focus on what you have. Our ship still needs a captain, and it needs a friend. For as much as you love us, we love you, too. So, just take my hand, and we can go home." Kirishima offered, his hand still splayed out.
This was an all-or-nothing gamble. It was putting both of their wishes, both of their ideals on the line. This was Kirishima asking Bakugo to let down his walls and trust in them.
For a long second, Bakugo didn't move, and Kirishima let out a small sigh.
He closed his eyes, feeling disappointment begin to well up in him with each passing second- until a firm, warm, slightly sweaty hand gripped his own.
Bakugo Katsuki met Kirishima Eijirou's eyes- and a feral grin grew on both of their faces.
"I'm with you bastards all the way, huh?" Bakugo whispered, the light back in his eyes.
"You're not gonna get rid of us that easily! We're gonna pester you to hell and back, even after we beat All For One!" Kirishima retorted playfully, feeling a warm, exciting energy brewing inside of him that he hadn't felt in years.
This...this feeling was the true spirit of a man. He felt invincible, ready to take on anyone and everyone, now that he knew that Bakugo was by his side.
With everyone around him, all of his friends, he knew that there was absolutely no way they could lose.
They would go beyond their limits, faster than the speed of light, and break free from the shackles that held them down.
This was what it meant to be both a man and a hero.
And right now, Kirishima felt like both.
"So...it's kinda like a...heart transplant?" Egg-head tried, and Bakugo felt like slamming his head onto the console.
They'd returned to the ship after Kirishima's little speech (that had Bakugo feeling a lot more confident in himself) and now, he was trying to explain to them about what the Crown Jewel was at Kirishima's insistence.
Bakugo grit his teeth. "It's more like...a parasite. It chooses the best host, and if it finds a stronger one, it infects that one instead. When it does, it digs it's goddamn talons into the host's heart, and then it can run rampant in the body and change whatever it damn well feels like. For example-" Bakugo lifted up his shirt to show his chest, which now had a small glow emanating from it. It hadn't even started before he'd entered the Crystal planet, and now it wasn't fucking going away.
Egg-head nodded slowly, face dawning in understanding.
"Is that all it's done?" Pikachu asked, peering at his chest. "I think it's gotten rid of some of your scars, too." He pointed out, and Bakugo glanced down.
"Fucking- god damn it!" Bakugo swore. Those scars made him look badass! Why the hell did this shit have to go and decide to change it now?
Bakugo let out a long sigh, massaging his forehead. It wasn't important right now. "That's not all it's done. The fucking thing messed with my Quirk at one point. Made it stronger. Fucking shatters my arm when I do it, though." Bakugo grumbled, annoyance beginning to well up in him.
"Ooh, that can't be fun. Almost like Deku when he first got started, remember? Can't you just train your body to get past it, though?" Raccoon Eyes asked, a serious look on her face.
Bakugo's frown deepened. "I've tried. The bastard made it too strong. The only time I can even think about using it is with my hero costume, which is another reason to get to Terra Ultima. I have a backup stored there." Bakugo grumbled, flexing his arm, remembering the sensation of how he did it the first time.
Pikachu whistled. "You're pretty ripped already, dude. What kind of firepower does it take to blow apart your arm just like that? I mean, Deku's pretty big, but he's not that much bigger than you, and he handles almost as much power as All Might did with ease." Pikachu pointed out, poking Bakugo's arm as if to prove a point.
Bakugo scowled. "You ever hear of the Big Bang?" He asked, making sure to keep his expression as neutral as possible.
Pikachu laughed for a second, but it slowly died out when Bakugo's expression didn't change. "You're kidding." He tried.
Bakugo kept his face calm and neutral for about five more seconds, letting Pikachu slowly lose his composure, before he broke and a small smile broke out on his face.
"Oh, hell yeah, I'm kidding. If I could control that kind of power, I'd fucking die with a single use of it. It's closer to one of the hydrogen bombs of old, on Terra Prime. Still fucking terrifying, and I need a name for it." Bakugo admitted with a small laugh, and the entire crew of idiots around him stared at him.
"...What the hell are you looking at?" Bakugo snapped, scowl firmly back in place.
"Dude, I think that's the first time I've ever seen you smile. Or laugh. I swear to god, you look like an entirely different person. I've never been more terrified of you." Pikachu told him, backing away slowly with one hand out as though fending off a wild beast.
"I, personally, feel blessed. You know, Bakugo, you could probably get a girlfriend if you stopped frowning all the time. It can't be good for your face. You'll have lines there permanently if you keep it up." Raccoon Eyes joked from her seat on the makeshift bed.
"All of you can fuck off and die." Bakugo grumbled.
"Yeah, man, I'm actually with Mina on this one. You do look a lot better when you're smiling. A lot more heroic! Or scary. It depends on the smile." Kirishima pointed out, and Bakugo grit his teeth. That damn traitor. He knew that Bakugo would listen to him.
"...I'll fucking think about it. Don't go around expecting miracles." Bakugo grumbled.
The ship lulled into quiet for a few moments, before Egg-head spoke up once more. "Hey, what exactly happened down there? You seem a bit different, Bakugo. Was it something in this book? The answers on how to be a kind and empathetic person? Because if so, then whoever left it there has my thanks." Egg-head spoke up, waving around the book on the Crystals.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Egg-head! I'll kill you!" Bakugo roared, plucking the book from Egg-head's grasp.
"And be careful with this fucking thing! One scratch and we'll be out of thousands of credits!" Bakugo scolded, carefully placing it in the pile with the rest of the strange array of objects they'd recovered.
Most of them honestly looked like they were sentimental objects. The fire-stone was cool, and some of the objects had some interesting effects, but that was all they were in the end- interesting. Most of them didn't even have any practical use, so they were useless to them.
Bakugo sighed as he sat down in the captain's chair again. "We're getting out of here."
Within moments, the ship entered hyperspace, and the crew of the Ground Zero were off once more on their way to Terra Ultima.
Egg-head suddenly frowned, glancing at Pikachu's leg.
"Something up, Egg-head?" Bakugo asked, not unkindly.
After a second of digging in his pockets, Egg-head pulled out the crystal that he had gotten from the caves. "Thought something was off. This thing stopped glowing. Might have been because of the planet." He commented.
Bakugo glanced down his shirt. He, unfortunately, did not have the same problem.
"Aw, damn, it stopped? That makes this thing a lot less cool." Pikachu lamented, and with a sigh, held it up. "Hey, Sero, you want mine? I really only kept it because it glowed, but it kinda weighed me down."
Egghead shrugged. "Might as well. Always nice to have a cool crystal on-hand. Make a ring out of it for that special someone one day, maybe show it to chicks at a bar...the opportunities are endless."
"If you need a rock to impress some chick, you probably don't deserve to get the chick in the first place. I prefer the all-natural method, wooing them with my limitless charm." Pikachu bragged, tossing the crystal to Egg-head, who grinned and pocketed it.
Raccoon Eyes snorted, and Bakugo did the same, but Pikachu seemed immune to their criticisms.
"Your loss, dude. Free crystal for me." Egg-head bragged.
Bakugo sighed. "You two are morons."
But really, wasn't that part of their charm?
All his life, Bakugo had been surrounded by people who were either too smart for their own good or too dumb for their own good. His friends were a perfect mix of the two, toeing the line between perceptive and asinine when the situation called for it.
Bakugo wouldn't have it any other way.
Midoriya Izuku was dealing with a group of people who knew far more than they should and far less than they knew.
"Deku, it's been rumoured-"
"May we get a word-"
"Deku-"
"Deku-"
"Deku-"
Deku stopped in his stride, and the chatter around him grew somewhat dimmer.
The incident at Sol Aeternum had become galactic news in hours. Everyone was talking about it, regardless of race, and the opinion on it was unanimous- it had to be an inside job.
The defenses at Sol Aeternum were second to none, guarded heaving by a large group of heroes who both oversaw the races to ensure they didn't step out of bounds and who defended the area. For the size of the force that attacked the planet, there was no possible chance for them to succeed. And yet, despite their best efforts, the heroes were easily defeated.
Some of the heroes had fallen ill, reporting vomiting and general sickness. Others had gone to sleep and not woken up. Others still had been prepared for battle, only for their ship's energy to drop significantly and their weapons and shields to fail on them.
For such a colossal failure on the part of the heroes, the Federation looked like fools. The Rebels, on the other hand, had acted quickly, neatly, and efficiently, arriving mere minutes after the disaster, providing aid for any who survived, eliminating all of the attackers with ease, and performing surveys of the area, uncovering precious evidence that was currently being used to extricate them from their involvement in the attack, given the fact that the attackers had flown Rebel ships and flags.
Midoriya, on the other hand, had to fly halfway across the galaxy and abandon his chase to focus on a bigger problem. All For One was temporarily given a bit of room away from the all-seeing eye of the One For All, instead being chased by smaller, Interceptor class ships.
Which meant that both of his failures would be for naught, both Aeon and Sol Aeternum falling for no purpose.
Perhaps now no purpose, as Jirou and Koda were following the ships that launched the bomb, but still, the amount of deaths...
Midoriya grit his teeth, and the mask of Deku was back on, a wonderful, bright smile filling his face.
"Sorry, but I don't really have time to answer any questions right now. I'm going to be late for my interview. There's no need to worry, though- everything will be alright!" Deku reassured the crowd, who only pressed harder. Deku's smile was still there, but it became slightly apologetic.
He pulled his arm up, checking his watch, and his eye twitched. He was definitely going to be late if he didn't hurry.
"Sorry again!" He called back- and green lightning enveloped him as All Might's power filled his body.
Full Cowl- 85%.
With a single bound, he cleared the building, leaving a gaggle of reporters in the dust without a story. Midoriya really did feel bad for them- he knew that they were only trying to get a story to support themselves, and he knew that he was a quick ticket to that, but he really just didn't have the time. Ochaco would laugh at him and call it his 'good heart', but she wasn't here to tease him about the reporters that so many heroes hated.
In the time being, she and Iida were piloting the One For All in his absence.
Deku let out a small flare of power as he landed, cushioning the blow and leaving only a small crack in the sidewalk while he managed to land comfortable. He frowned- he must be more off than he thought. That amount of power shouldn't have done any damage at all. Now, someone would have to fix it at some point, lest it expand in the winter.
And Terra Ultima had some long winters.
With a few more jumps, Midoriya found himself outside the studio where he was expected to be on air in...fifteen minutes. He was more late than he thought. Quickly, Midoriya stepped through the door, adjusting the tie on his green suit ("It brings out your eyes! You look amazing in it. Trust me.") and was instantly greeted by a frantic assistant.
With his suit being adjusted for him by someone he didn't recognize, Midoriya had time to prepare himself.
Time for him to make or break the Federation's reputation in front of the entire galaxy.
He would put his best foot forwards. That's what you always said to do...wasn't it, Kacchan?
And that's a wrap for chapter 10! In this chapter, a whole lot of shit happened! I think I went into a trance for the last five hours and the second half of this chapter was the result! I didn't even plan on doing some of this.
Alright, explanation time. No, the Crown Jewel isn't some magic bullshit- it is a parasite, just one that the Crystals revere. The part about the Crystal race and all their descendents dying out if it does was just dramatics, but Kirishima doesn't know that. It functions as a mutualistic symbiotic relationship, where it enhances different parts of the body of its host, while it gets a place to live. Whenever its host is in danger of dying, it leaves and goes to the most powerful person around. It doesn't technically have the ability to draw powerful people to it, but it happens regardless because of the wish to hold that kind of power.
And, finally, we have the reason behind the Roman Council's existence. Remember what Vesta said- how they wanted to be immortal? Bakugo and co. don't know about it yet, but if all of their information were combined…
Jirou and Koda are going after the group that fired the bomb, and Bakugo's group will pop out of the Crystal sector somewhere in Federation space. Wonder if anything is gonna happen…
Anyways, that's really all I wanted to talk about.
Until next time,
Anonymuss45, signing off.