Dystopia (MHA AU)

7. Staring and a Story

"Stop staring, extras!" Bakugo snapped at some of the people who were gawking at them as they passed. Shoto felt very self conscious and desperately wanted his hood back on, but Kirishima strictly said they couldn't do that. Mina and Jiro were still glued to Shoto's sides, making sure people didn't come any closer. They had mean glares when they wanted to.

Denki and Sero, on the other hand, were walking up to random people and clapping them on the back or high diving them. Shoto raised his eyebrow. "So, how do you all fit in here?"

Jiro shrugged, "We're kind of like scouts, I suppose. We spend more time out there getting attention and information while Kirishima and the rest do the secretive things. People don't trust us too much when we come back, since they assume we'll actually switch to a life of crime and sell them out."

Shoto made an "oh" sound and Mina laughed. "It's not all bad; I actually prefer being in the outside world than being cooped up in here." Her smile wavered. "It was a lot different when he was still alive."

Before Shoto could question who he was, a loud call caught their attention, "Red Riot!"

A large man moved to meet Kirishima, embracing him tightly and lifting him off the ground due to his size. He had on a bright yellow cloak over his white shirt, and black trousers and boots accompanying the look. His quirk must've had something to do with how large he was, because Shoto wasn't one to judge, but this man was gigantic.

A navy haired kid that looked to be a few years older than Shoto trailed behind the enthusiastic male, his head down and his shoulders hunched. He had a white cloak over a dark shirt and dark pants, His feet, however, were bare.

"Woah! Hey, Fatgum. Suneater. Didn't expect you two to be out here; we were just coming to see you." Kirishima responded after being released by the giant.

"We knew you were coming back, so we decided to make a few rounds and make sure everything was in order before you got back," Fatgum explained. His eyes scanned over their group before homing in on Shoto. His eyebrows practically shot up into his pale hair. "I see you've brought someone back with you. The prince no less."

The navy haired boy was scanning Shoto uncertainly. "If he's here, will the king find us?"

Kirishima shrugged, "He claims he ran away. I undoubtedly believe that the king will send someone looking for him, but they probably won't think to start in our base, and even if they did, how will they find it? They never have before."

"Maybe there's a chip in him," Denki narrowed his eyes at Shoto. "He didn't put a chip in you when you were a baby, did he?"

"Um...I don't think so? If he did that to his kids, he would've found my older brother when he ran away," Shoto stated.

Kaminari nodded his head as if that was enough convincing for him. Fatgum still looked skeptical though. "Let's bring him up. You were heading there anyways." He turned and marched back up the way he came, Kirishima falling into step with the boy called Suneater. Bakugo decided to fall back and talk to Jiro, and Mina moved to talk to Sero, which left Shoto with Denki.

"What's it like being a prince?" Kaminari asked, as if he'd been waiting for the opportunity.

Shoto thought back to all the times his father beat him, all the extra training and schooling he had to go through, and the insufferable dinners and balls with people he didn't like, and more recently, the forced marriage plans. "Sucks ass."

Kaminari's eyes widened. "Damn. That bad?"

Shoto nodded. "It would probably be better if my father wasn't an asshole."

"Yeah, damn bastard always uses public execution methods. Like we want to see our teammates die after knowing they'd gone through immeasurable torture." Kaminari kicked a rock that was in his path. "His general is hard to avoid. I was almost caught by him before Bakugo blasted him."

"Hawks is okay. Whenever he tries to talk to me about personal stuff, though, I'm always worried he's just spying for the king. He doesn't care for my feelings, only for his job."

There was a small silence after that. Kaminari broke it, "I'm sorry for, well, all your losses."

"Thanks. What happened to your family?"

Denki rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Never knew my dad. Mom tried caring for me but found out she couldn't and sold me to the blacksmith so she could have enough money for food and shelter. Wasn't all bad, though. He was nice and cared about my well being enough. And, if I'd never been there, I'd never have met Bakugo. He's nice when he wants to be. He helped me get away by basically bribing the man. Back then Bakugo only had Kirishima, so us three are the originals of this group you could say. Jiro is the most recent addition, though she still came a few years ago."

Shoto was silent as he took that all in. "I'm sorry. That life before must've sucked."

Kaminari flashed him a grin, slipping back into his positive-go-lucky nature. "Not as much as yours."

Shoto rolled his eyes slightly, "Yeah, okay."

They were silent the rest of the way into the central tent, which was large enough to fit probably over 100 people, with a good amount of space to move around. There were different seats all around, as if they were just whatever they could come across: some couches, loveseats, stools, pillows, school chairs, and so on. Fatgum stopped abruptly when they neared the back of the tent.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Fatgum demanded, his fists clenching at his sides.

A dry laugh came from the couch before them. "Come now, Fatty. An alliance means we work together."

"It's temporary, and we haven't given you permission to enter our base." Fatgum practically growled, his feet planted as if expecting a fight.

"Temporary means we are allies at the moment. So, we may enter when we please. After all, Kurogiri is an expert at getting into places we normally can't."

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-1,026 words-

My word document said this was more words so now I'm worried it missed something even though I copied and pasted it three times :P

Anyways, favorite villain?

Enjoy the day in which you read this :D

Thank you for reading :))