Chapter Text
Sleep is supposed to be a time when one can rest and allow their body to recoup the energy they spent existing. Yet, for Kirishima, sleeping only meant reliving his worst nightmare over and over again.
He had no idea what had happened after he watched Bakugou fall to the floor. He knew that he had been shot while he was being handcuffed. Then there was the shuffling to get him out of the apartment but the time in between that moment and when he woke up strapped and muzzled in a hospital bed?
He couldn’t recall anything which was only made worse when he was told what had happened; what he had done… After he had received a brief medical examination once he’d woken up, it was not surprising to him that he’d been taken into custody and transferred to a holding cell where he’d stay according to one officer as he awaited his trial.
He didn’t disagree with the detainment and he complied obediently so that he didn’t make any of the officers escorting him uncomfortable. Sincerely, he never wanted to inflict harm onto another person in his lifetime but he could see it in the way they nervously walked around him that they were uneasy. When he had gone through booking, a fairly invasive process, he had immediately been taken to an interrogation room where he was then accused of shooting Bakugou.
There was no way that was true. He just knew that had to be wrong because he’d never wanted to hurt his mate.
Yes, they’d been through something difficult and hard to explain but not once did he want to hurt the blond. Plus, what would he gain by harming his mate? Nothing. He had zero motive to ever do such a thing but maybe he had?
Then there were the photos. Crumpled cars, massive city destruction, dead bodies… All done by his own hands.
He admitted that he had no recollection of doing that either but the detaining officers seemed to have suspected that he would say something along those lines. So, they showed him CCTV footage of him fighting against authorities, his fellow pro heroes and— Kirishima stopped his train of thought as it began to derail. He didn’t want to see any part of him jabbing into another person.
That wasn’t who he was. All he wanted was to be with his mate and he couldn’t even do that. Bakugou was dead…
That was what the officers told him.
That he died while en route to the hospital because he made it impossible for emergency services to do their job. He had shot his mate and killed him. As much as he didn’t want to believe them he really couldn’t argue against the claims after he slept that first night post interrogation.
All he saw in his dreams was a vivid retelling of everything they had told him. It was him and his hands bending metal to the point that the object was unrecognizable. It was him lifting up emergency vehicles to hurl them down the street. And it was his name Bakugou said before he fell back into a dark pit that he couldn’t pull him out of.
Someone once told him that the subconscious mind reveals what the conscious mind won't and if that was the case… All of it had to be true. But how? Why..?
Honestly, he didn’t want to know the answers to those questions because if the information was only more damning to his case… He’d rather just not know. Was that selfish? Probably but he literally couldn’t stomach seeing or hearing another gruesome photo or story about a person who’s life abruptly ended because of him.
That wasn’t who he was at his core. Yet, the evidence was stacked pretty high to say otherwise. He felt horrible about everything. So much so that when he was pulled into another interrogation, he just sat there.
He didn’t speak. He didn’t look up from the steel table until an officer unhooked his hands from the bar underneath to take him back to his cell. When his parents came to see him, he ignored them and refused to leave his cell.
Somehow they had gotten special permission from the warden to come down the cellblock to see him, always with the same man who’s name Kirishima couldn’t recall. He was pretty sure he was an attorney but why did he need one of those? It was pretty cut and dry what he had done. The least that he could do was sit behind bars and serve his time for all the lives that were lost by his actions.
It wasn’t as if there was someone waiting for him anymore. All he had ever wanted was to have a happy family. A mate that loved him as much as he loved them…
A couple pups that would keep the house lively and fun…
He wanted to be a hero to the public and be someone that would make his family proud…
Everyone had those kinds of dreams. Even those officers that had been doing their jobs when he so carelessly took them off this Earth. What about their families? Their mates ? Their pups ? He didn’t just destroy a part of a city. He ruined unsuspecting families that expected their loved ones to come home.
He’d harmed countless people that were still in critical condition and—
“Oi!”
Kirishima looked up from his lap as a baton clacked against his cell door and the window opened. He met the eyes of the guard that always came in the afternoon to let him out after everyone else had eaten their lunch. However, Kirishima didn’t understand why he kept coming back.
Not once since he had been here had he gone outside his cell other than to see more officers for the investigation or go to the medic wing. He didn’t want to. Why should he have the privilege to roam around freely? No. That didn’t sit well with him. He’d much prefer to stay right where he was—
“You’re going to the medic wing. Since you won’t sleep, the doc is gonna give you medicine so you will.” The officer said dismissively, sliding the door open.
“I don’t want—”
“It's a court order. You don’t get a say in the matter.” The man said over him, pulling out his quirk proof cuffs from the pouch on his belt. “You gonna make my job easy or am I going to have to come in there and drag you out?”
Kirishima sighed, looking back to his hands. They were sore and a little swollen with a series of bruises scattered along the back of them that led up to his arms. He even had a few cuts and gashes that were scabbed over now from all the other various cuffs that had been used on him. They were always too tight or pinched his skin but he never said anything. In his eyes, this was nothing he couldn’t handle considering what he had done to others.
He didn’t want to be difficult… He just wanted to be left alone. Regardless, he pushed himself up from the cot he was sitting on and put his hands to the back of his head obediently. “Hmph. Guess you aren’t feeling like being a cop killer today, huh big guy?” The guard huffed, entering the cell to take hold of his wrists and snap the cuffs into place.
There was a bit more that the man began to say but before any of it could register Kirishima stopped listening. Instead he was just surrounded in white noise as he was guided out of his cell and walked down the block to the medical center. When he was seated on the table where the doctor would see him, he didn’t say or do anything. He just existed which in his mind was more than he should be allowed to do.
“Good afternoon, Kirishima.”
The friendly voice that spoke out to him was the doctor. He knew her voice by now but he didn’t do more than flick his eyes up nervously to her before looking back down to his lap.
“You know, this would be a lot easier if you just talked to me right?” She sighed, moving to wash her hands in the sink before she pulled on a set of gloves. “I know visiting the doctor is never fun but we could try to make it fun, yah?”
Again, he said nothing.
He didn’t understand why she was always so nice to him. She had to know what his charges were and what he had done. It seemed like everyone knew…
“Alright then. Let’s do a quick check up before—”
“Nah-ah. He’s just here for meds.” The officer behind him snapped taking a step forward.
“Mmm. Are you a medical professional?” She shot back sassily as she came to stand beside him while putting the ears of her stethoscope into place. “Can you take a deep breath in for me?”
“No. I’m—” the officer began when the doctor sighed theatrically.
“Well then, I am afraid you don’t have any jurisdiction over what I do. Right?” She hummed, moving the chest piece from his right pec then his left before moving it to the back. “One more. Big breath please.” She asked him and Kirishima did as he was told until she nodded in approval.
Moving to wrap her stethoscope around her neck, she flicked her eyes back over to the officer before she paused. “Would you mind waiting outside? Doctor patient confidentiality still applieds to prisoners by constitutional right.”
Kirishima had to admit she reminded him a lot of Bakugou. He would have been a damn good doctor. Just like he’d been an amazing hero. Until he had to go and ruin that— “Oof… This is not getting better.”
He hadn’t heard the guard leave the room but when he felt her hand pull the collar of his shirt down immediately he covered the bite mark at his nape with his hand. “Don’t touch—”
“Mmhmm. I knew that would get you talking.” The doctor scoffed with a laugh but pulled his hand away all the same. “Every time you come in to see me your stone cold and silent but as soon as I go to take a look at your bond mark you wanna get all huffy puffy?” She teased, pulling his collar down. “Such an Alpha, I swear.”
Her words were playful but Kirishima internally scolded himself. Clearly she was just trying to do her job and make this all as normal as possible. Why was he getting so defensive—
“Goodness,” she whispered, lightly tracing the outside area of the bite. “This really doesn’t look good. It’s gotten redder and is much more swollen than it was the last time I checked it out. Does it hurt at all?” She asked, pressing her fingers gently around the bite.
It did hurt. A lot, but in his eyes he deserved it. He deserved to be in as much pain as possible until he finally died. That was what happened to most primes once their mate had passed. They’d die…
“Pup… When you meet your mate, you have to protect them. Understand?” Isamu said, shifting Eijirou on his shoulders as he walked.
“Of course I will, papa! I’ma be the best Alpha ever!” Little Eijirou promised, fisting his hands as he threw them up over his head. Then he was giggling as his father scooped him up and over his head to cradle him close.
“No… I mean it.” His father said sternly before casting a look over his shoulder where his mother was setting up the blanket and picnic they had come to have. “It's not just about being an Alpha. Being Primes, once we mate with someone, we can’t live without them. If we don’t protect them, it will literally cost us our life.”
Eijirou frowned at the seriousness in his father’s voice. He didn’t want to think about his future mate dying. That was too sad to even consider. All he wanted was to make them flower crowns and maybe go to the park and play with them. His Omega would like that, right? They’d have so much fun together!
“Primes mate for life. We don’t get a second chance. That is why you have to be careful and make sure you pick a nice strong Omega.” Isamu sighed, leaning forward to nip at Eijirou’s cheek affectionately. “One that will keep you safe just as much as your pups—”
“Ewwww! I don’t wanna have pups! I wanna play!” Eijirou whined, giggling when his father started to tickle at his sides.
“Oh? You wanna play?” His father growled, setting him down onto his feet. “Fine, let’s go play.”
Eijirou giggled as he turned to run for the play set not too far away. He could hear his father running after him, his laughter carrying in the wind behind him to expose just how close he was. However, it was a woman’s voice that caused him to stop suddenly and become alert.
“Suki-kun! Not so fast!”
Just as he had been running, there was another little boy fastly sprinting across the grass towards the swing set. Eijirou immediately perked up and dodged his father’s attempt to grab him.
He grinned as he ran towards him and waved out a hand to greet him. “Hi! Wanna be friends?!” He asked—
“I’m going to put some ointment on it and see if that brings the swelling down.” The doctor said, snapping Kirishima out of his head so he straightened up in his seat. “However, this would get better if we could get a visit scheduled for your mate to come—”
“He’s dead.”
The two words came out harsher than he intended them to but they had to be said. Leave it to reality to come crashing down on him, maybehe really did need to sleep if he was starting to space out like that… There was no “making this better”.
The one person that could—
“Um… Dead?” The woman asked, pulling back to lift his chin so she could check his eyes and ears next. “I’ve gone over a lot of papers in your file since you’ve been in my care but nowhere does it say you have a deceased mate.”
Kirishima looked at her oddly as she worked around him. What was she talking about? Had she even truly read all the documents that he had been forced to? Did they possibly forget to include—
“All good in the hearing and seeing department.” She hummed in approval, taking a couple steps away from him to grab his file off the counter.
Opening it, she flipped through a couple of the papers before she nodded again. “Yep, it says here you’re mated to a Bakugou Katsuki—Wait, as in Ground Zero?” She smirked, looking back at him. “I knew it. I always thought you two were a thing…” she said mostly to herself before clearing her throat.
“Is that correct? You’re mated to Bakugou Katsuki?”
Kirishima couldn’t do more than nod as a response. However, what she said next brought literal tears to his eyes.
“Hmmm… Yeah, there isn’t any mention of him being deceased. Only that he is incapacitated.” She explained, closing the folder to put it back on the counter. “With this being an Alpha only facility, I imagine the government will still attempt to facilitate a rut/heat leave for the two of you if and when the time comes. Mates get special privileges like that and honestly it will make whatever your sentence is easier.
“If it hasn't already been brought to the table, you should talk to your lawyer to make sure it happens. I can even put in a good word for you if that helps. Your bite really needs to be tended to—”
“Wa-wait wait wait… He’s alive?” Kirishima asked breathlessly, tears trickling down his face and onto the top of his orange jumpsuit. “He’s not dead?”
He didn’t want to interrupt her but she had to be mistaken. There was no point in getting his hopes up if Bakugou was dead like everyone had been telling him. Yet, a small part of him wanted to cling to her words.
“Mmm. For mated inmates we have to have accurate records for obvious reasons.” She said, gesturing to him. “If he was deceased, we would know so that we could watch your symptoms as the bond breaks—”
“Bu-But I'm a prime.” He reminded her, shaking his head in disbelief. “No… If he was alive—”
“Well, I might not be the most educated on Prime types but everyone in the field knows if a Prime’s mate dies, the other mate dies shortly after them.” the doctor said calmly, coming to put her hand on his shoulder. “Kirishima, you’ve been here for two weeks. Surely, if your mate was deceased, you wouldn’t be with us anymore, right?” She asked, offering a small smile to him before she moved across the room to grab a couple tablets from a secure container on the wall.
“When I got the order to give you a sleep aid, I was hesitant to accept it. You’ve already had a lot of things introduced to your system and regardless of what the officers think, it takes time for the body to reset back to normal. So, melatonin was what I pushed for.” She explained, coming back to him and offered him the pill.
“Try and get some rest for me so that we don’t have to do this for too long. Overuse of melatonin can have some really nasty side effects but they really want you rested so you can stand trial—”
“He’s alive?”
Kirishima really didn’t care about the rest of her words. Truly he just wanted to hear her say again that Bakugou wasn’t dead. He didn’t kill him? He was really alive?
“Kirishima… He’s not dead.” She gently reassured him, reaching out for his hand to put the pill into his palm. “I don’t know if I can do anything about getting him here for a visit but I can try and arrange a meeting with your attorney to see if it would be possible. I tried to speak to him this morning but he seemed pretty busy...” She grumbled, shaking her head with a sigh. “The law is innocent until proven guilty and as a Red Riot fan, I just don’t think the story being told is the truth.”
Hold up… She was a fan? Didn’t that pose a conflict of interest—
“Easy there. I can be a fan and also do my job.” The woman laughed, gently poking his arm. “I’m not one of those super fans but I would like to think you’re a hero that’s pretty open book. That’s at least why I like you. You always tell the truth and that’s something your real fans and supporters know without a doubt.” She said confidently.
“Keep your chin up… People are still rooting for you—”
“Are you done yet?”
Kirishima wanted to ask her what she knew or how she could be so positive about what she was saying. However, before he could say anything, the door leading out to the hallway opened and the officer was back. “What’s the hurry, officer? It’s not like he’s going anywhere.” The doctor scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.
“But yes. To answer your question, we are almost done. As soon as I see Kirishima-san take the tablet you may escort him back to his cell.” With that she turned back to him and nodded reassuringly. “It will take a bit to kick in but once it does you should sleep soundly…”
“Will I dream?” He asked her nervously, casting a worried look up at her.
At that, she frowned as she nodded again. “The medication just helps you produce more melatonin so you are pulled to sleep. It doesn’t inhibit you from dreaming. Although some do say they can’t remember their dreams once they wake up.” She informed him as she lifted his hand up towards his mouth. “You’ll be okay... Promise.”
It was four kind words he didn’t feel he deserved but this whole interaction had felt like that in all honesty. He popped the pill in his mouth and chewed it as she asked him to, immediately hit with the sweet like candy taste as the pill dissolved. Then he was roughly grabbed by the guard and escorted back to his cell.
All the way back, the guard complained about this, that and another but all Kirishima could do was think about how the doctor said Bakugou was alive. If he was alive why was he told otherwise? Why would the officers tell him something so cruel— Wait…
Nervously shooting a look to the man beside him, Kirishima swallowed anxiously before he looked ahead. Perhaps he shouldn’t be trusting anything anyone said right now even if he wanted to believe Bakugou was alive. What if he wasn’t and he got angry and… No.
He wouldn’t. He would never lose control over himself like that again, Kirishima told himself as they arrived at his cell.
“I suggest you lay down. I’ll have the next guard bring you something to eat once you wake up.” The man told him but Kirishima shook his head.
“But I’m not hungry—”
“Did I ask? ” The officer huffed, uncuffing his wrists just to shove him forward. “No. I’m telling you. You better get used to being told when to eat, shit, and sleep. I don’t imagine you’ll be leaving this jail for a very long time.”
Kirishima stumbled a bit but he got his bearings so he could turn around to face the man. He wanted to say there was no need to push him around but he held his tongue. After all, the man was right and he knew that himself—
“Well… guess you could leave earlier. But only if it’s in a body bag.”
The statement was probably the worst one ever spoken to him by the guard but again he remained quiet as the officer slid his cell door shut and chuckled to himself. When he left down the hall again, Kirishima finally took his seat on the cot to process everything he had been told. Was there any truth to it?
Could Bakugou really be alive, he wondered, reaching up to gently cup his neck. “Are you?” he whispered, closing his eyes. “Are-Are you still with me?”
Maybe when his parents came tomorrow he could ask them? Would they know where he was or how he was doing? He wanted to be a little hopeful about that meeting and hearing from them what they knew. However, he quickly squashed that idea when he thought about Mitsuki Bakugou. She had not been his biggest fan the last time he had seen her. And with how everything had played out in the year after, yeah...
She had a right to be upset with him as well as prevent him from knowing anything about Bakugou if she was with him right now. But would she at least let him know if he was dead or alive? Would she let him… Well, he probably couldn’t attend the service if Bakugou was really dead. He was stuck here. Sighing, Kirishima lifted his hands to his face and groaned into them.
There was no point trying to figure out things when he didn’t have much information to go off of. All he could do was sit and wait and even that seemed pointless. What was he going to do if Bakugou was alive, he asked himself as he laid down.
What could he do, he rephrased as he took his pillow and held it to his chest. It was thin, far too soft to be comfortable, but the medication seemed to be working to some degree because as he closed his eyes again, he felt as if he was holding the blond snuggly in his arms.
He curled in on the pillow more, desperately picturing the feisty man as he slept. It was always when he was asleep that Bakugou’s adamant stubbornness seemed to wane and he became much more affectionate. The harsh words he would say would become soft breathy whispers as he unknowing whispered sweet nothings to him. Kirishima wished he had the confidence to say them to him at any point of the day but they were still working on that—
“ Alpha… ”
Kirishima jolted up right, his eyes snapping open at the soft whine he heard. He took a look around him but he didn’t recognize exactly where he was. It wasn’t his cell, he knew that for certain.
Instead of muted gray walls and a dingy cot that was barely big enough to fit the average size man, much less someone of his size, he saw a familiar blond sitting under a tree over by a stream. Never in his life had he seen such a beautiful piece of nature. The grass seemed to be greener than normal grass and the whisper of the wind as it passed through the tree’s leaves made him feel at ease. Honestly, he had to be dreaming because nothing was this beautiful in reality.
“Alpha?”
Looking back at the blond, Kirishima felt his whole body start to tremble as ruby red eyes peered over at him. There was a brief moment when nothing was said or done as they stared at one another but then quickly, he was running towards him and Bakugou was up on his feet doing the same. Even if this was a dream, he’d happily take it and enjoy it before it became a nightmare.
Unexpectedly, he found himself falling back as Bakugou tackled him into the grass. Then he was being aggressively scented as the blond cupped his face and warmly pressed kiss after kiss to his lips, cheeks— everywhere that he could reach. When he felt a tongue lick up his cheek, he laughed nervously attempting to pull away until he was forcibly made to bare his neck.
“Alpha…” Bakugou gasped, looking at him then to the bite mark. “My Alpha… Hurt?”
“I’m fine. Doesn’t—” He began to say only to gasp as Bakugou nuzzled into the crook of his neck and licked over his bite. It caused a little ripple of pain to spread down his shoulder and down his back but there was also a sense of pleasure to it all.
His mate was here with him. Alive and tending to their mark like a bonded pair were meant to…
Kirishima could feel his chest beginning to tighten as he wrapped his arm around Bakugou, the tight squeeze pulling a beautiful needy purr out the man. He shivered, feeling a set of kisses to his mark before those affectionate lips worked back to his mouth. Bakugou made him face him, purring continuously as his scent wafted around him like a comforting blanket. This… This was definitely not how he expected his dream to go.
At least this wasn’t how the others had gone when he had fallen asleep due to becoming exhausted. Furthermore, Bakugou himself was never this… clingy?
Yeah, clingy was the appropriate word to describe the man’s behavior as he curled into him and wrapped his arms around his neck. He tried to sit up so that he could properly hold the man but that was met with an impatient whine as Bakugou became dead weight on top of him. “No. No move, Alpha. Mine.”
“Bakugou,” Kirishima chuckled softly, turning his head to kiss the side of his face. “I’m not going anywhere… Just wanted to hold you—”
“More.” Bakugou huffed, sticking out his cheek to him expectantly.
“More?”
“Yes. More. Gimmie more.” The blond insisted, mashing his cheek to his lips.
Kirishima actually wheezed in surprise at the action but he did as he was told, kissing his cheek sweetly before working up to his temple. “I’m so glad you’re here. I was worried…” he whispered, smoothing a hand up and down Bakugou’s back. “You’re really okay, right? I… Well, I guess you really can’t answer that can you?”
He frowned as Bakugou turned to kiss him. “Omega okay Alpha. No worry… Omega fine.”
Kirishima’s brows furrowed a but as he took in the words. Why was his dream so… Odd? Even if he was asleep there was no way Bakugou would refer to himself as an Omega. The man was struggling to come to terms with that being his reclassified gender. And from his understanding, Bakugou hated that he was an Omega—
“Pups!”
Before he could fully process what was happening, Bakugou shot up to sit over his hips just as a pair of cubs trotted up to them. One pawed at his face before nuzzling up close to the side of his head. The other climbed up on top of him, rumbling as it tried to get closer to Bakugou. In an instant, the blond swooped up the animal and began to lovingly scent them.
He watched in confusion for a moment until a paw batted at his face and the cub beside him rolled in the grass to start playing with his hair. That made him chuckle and reach up to scratch the baby animal’s back. Maybe Bakugou really liked cats? If he did perhaps they could talk about getting one? Or— wait… That probably wasn’t a good idea since he was kind of stuck in jail right now.
Placing the cub down next to the other one, Bakugou came to curl beside him, tucking himself into his side so he could watch the two little tigers as they began to play. He smiled, his facial expression softening before he looked up at him. “Alpha happy? Alpha want pups?”
The question had Kirishima’s face warm suddenly. Of course he wanted to have pups of his own but was Bakugou referring to the cubs? That’s what they were, cubs not pups.
“Someday—” he agreed only for the blond to spring upright and glare down at him.
“No someday! Alpha no want pups?” Bakugou demanded, nervously looking back to the pups as they got closer to the stream. “Oi!”
Immediately, two curious little heads perked up, the cubs stopping their play fighting to quickly trot back over to them. They chuffed and jumped playfully in the grass as if trying to get them to play with them but Kirishima could only focus on so much at once.
Bakugou didn’t want to have pups, did he? No, this was a dream. Bakugou didn’t—
“Alpha… Alpha why no want pups…” the blond whimpered, crossing his arms to hug himself.
“No-no-no… I didn’t say that!” He whispered, sitting up so he could pull Bakugou back to him. “I do want pups! It's just… That’s kind of difficult right now is all.”
“Alpha no want pups!” Bakugou wailed, fat tears streaming down his cheeks as he wrestled out of his hold to hurriedly scruff both cubs. “But… But pups…” he whined, lifting them up to him for him to see. “Pups!”
Kirishima sighed, getting up to go after him but when he looked back at the blond there were no cubs to be seen and Bakugou had his hands raised above his head. “Ei…”
Suddenly, that lovely field they had been in was gone and instead they were standing in the apartment. Bakugou was in the doorway that led to the bedroom and there was blood spilling from his chest.
Kirishima’s ears rang loudly with the gunshot and he watched as Bakugou's eyes rolled back as he began to fall backwards. It… It was happening again, he thought fearfully.
He tried to take the steps needed to grab Bakugou before he hit the ground but his arms were wrenched behind his back and he had a muzzle slipped over his head. “No! No-no-no!” He cried out, shaking his head and trying to get his hands free.
“Katsuki? Katsuki! Kat-WHY?! WHY-WHY— HE-HE WAS COOPERATING!! WHY DID YOU SHOOT HIM?! NO-NO-NO-NO-NO—”
“Easy-easy-easy! Baby! Baby… You’re okay…” His mother cooed, appearing at the edge of his bed as Kirishima shot up gasping for air. “Breathe! Baby, breathe, you’re okay… Shh-shh you’re okay.” She whispered, curling him into the crook of her neck as he continued to panick. “It’s just a dream… A bad dream. You’re okay… ”
Kirishima couldn’t do anything but sob as his mother held him, blind to who else was actually there with them. He never wanted to sleep again. He couldn’t keep watching the same thing play over and over in his head. It hurt too much and he felt so helpless…
“Mama… They shot him— they-they…” he sobbed, turning his face more into his neck. “I-I didn’t… I couldn’t—” he tried to say but he was interrupted.
“Fat load of lies.”
“Free legal advice… You probably should watch what you say?”
The two voices that spoke out as Kirishima tried to catch his breath had him look up from his mother. He still held on tightly to her but when he saw the guard glaring up at the taller man standing beside him, a surge of anger overcame him. There was a large hand that settled on his back making him turn to see his father just as he dipped down to embrace him from behind. However, once he knew who else was touching him his attention was back on the two standing in the doorway.
“You can’t boss me around.” the guard scoffed, lifting a brow as he glared challengingly at the other man.
“Mmm. No but I can press charges against you as well as the city.” The man smiled, flicking his golden colored eyes over to Kirishima and his family. “I might be the attorney general but my loyalty lies with the law. And considering the amount of distress my client is under, I smell a fat settlement brewing—”
“You…”
“Yes?” Gushiken asked curiously, tilting his head to the side. “Do you wish to say something more?”
With a huff, the guard clamped his mouth shut and closed the cell door before locking it. “You have one hour—”
“Again, can you not read?” Gushiken asked, shaking his head. “Here, in case you’re illiterate…” he sighed, pulling out a document from the folder tucked under his arm.
“Effective immediately, waiting inmate Kirishima Eijirou is to be released into the custody of his guardians, Kirishima Isamu and Kirishima Mayu, until the courts are able to determine a date for the Kyoto vs Kirishima trial. At the recommendation of the Attorney General, Gushiken Masahiro, I am granting this motion…” Gushiken stopped, offering the paper out to the guard.
“Do you need me to define those big words for you or are you going to go start the release process that is in this request?”
Kirishima didn’t understand why it seemed that Gushiken was here and appearing to be on… his side? Truly, he didn’t think the man had a side in anything. He was too flippant and nothing proved that to him more than watching the guard open the cell door to snatch the paper out of the attorney's hand.
“Ah, smart man. I knew you were semi-competent.” Gushiken grinned, waving at the guard as he walked away. “Now,” he hummed, turning back to face the three of them. “As you might have overheard, you’re leaving to stay with your parents for the time being.”
“Why are you here?” Kirishima demanded, narrowing his brows.
“Eiji…” Mayu gently scolded him, pulling away to look at him.
“It’s alright Kirishima-sama. We,” Gushiken started only to shrug his shoulders. “We don’t exactly like one another. Am I correct?” He asked, his smile back in place just as quickly as it had disappeared.
Kirishima didn’t answer him. Hadn’t Bakugou told him to shut his mouth when it came to his agency? As far as he was concerned, this man had probably sent Alpha authorities after him—
“I may not personally agree with a lot of things you’ve done recently. However,” Gushiken began, pausing as he came up to the three of them and glanced down behind his mother’s back. “I really don’t like when people go over my head. If I did, I wouldn’t have run to become the attorney general.”
“And?” Isamu huffed, straightening up to stand in between him and his family. “What does that have to do with his release?”
“Everything.” Gushiken replied coolly. “Seeing as I had already submitted paperwork to halt the ongoing investigation at Ogino Ginko a few days prior to this massive incident.”
That didn’t sound like something the man would do but then again what reason did he have to lie? If he— No.
“Is he alive?” He asked.
“Pardon?” Gushiken frowned, snapping his attention back to Kirishima instead of his father.
“Bakugou…” Kirishima whispered. “They told me he was dead. Is he? Or… is he alive?”
He watched as that false smile left Gushiken’s face and for the first time since he’d met the man, he saw a genuine expression come across his face. It was barely a noticeable reaction and if he didn’t know Bakugou's facial expressions pretty well he might not have caught it. However, Gushiken was mad, silently raging on the inside as he clenched his jaw.
“Is that right? My, I think you and I need to have a little chat, Kirishima. What else did they tell you?”