𝓐 𝓜𝓮𝓪𝓷𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓪𝓷 𝓔𝓷𝓭 | Katsuki Bakugou x Male Reader

Chapter 4

Shoto sat next to (M/N) and put an arm around his shoulder. "She'll fix them up." (M/N) gave a nod, wondering if Shoto was thinking about his own brutal flogging back in 12.

Kan and his assistant took the bench across from them but didn't offer any comments on the state of (M/N)'s prep team. If they had no knowledge of the mistreatment, then what did they make of this move on President Kaina's part? (M/N) decided to help them out.

"I guess we've all been put on notice," (M/N) said.

"What? No. What do you mean?" Kan's assistant asked.

"Punishing my prep team was a warning," (M/N) told her. "Not just to me. But to you, too. About who's really in control and what happens if she's not obeyed. If you had any delusions about having power. I'd let them go now. Apparently, a Capitol pedigree is no protection here. Maybe it's even a liability."

"There is no comparison between Kan, who master-minded the rebel breakout, and those three beauticians," Kan's assistant said icily.

(M/N) shrugged. "If you say so. But what would happen if you got on Kaina's bad side? My prep team was kidnapped. They can at least hope to one day return to the Capitol. Shoto and I can live in the woods. But you? Where would you two run?"

"Perhaps we're a little more necessary to the war effort than you give us credit for," Kan said, unconcerned.

"Of course you are. The tributes were necessary to the Games, too. Until they weren't," (M/N) said. "And then we were very disposable - right, Kan?"

That ended the conversation. They waited in silence until (M/N)'s mother found them. "They'll be all right," she reported. "No permanent physical injuries."

"Good. Splendid," Kan said. "How soon can they be put to work?"

"Probably tomorrow," she answered. "You'll have to expect some emotional instability, after what they've been through. They were particularly ill prepared, coming from their life in the Capitol."

"Weren't we all?" Kan said.

Either because the prep team was incapacitated or (M/N) was too on edge, Kan released him from Mockingjay duties for the rest of the day. Shoto and (M/N) headed down to lunch, where they were served bean and onion stew, a thick slice of bread and a cup of water. Neither of them spoke much during lunch, but when their bowls were clean, Shoto pulled up his sleeve, revealing his schedule. "I've got training next."

(M/N) tugged up his sleeve. "Me, too." He remembered that training equaled hunting now.

His eagerness to escape into the woods, if only for two hours, overcame his current concerns. An immersion into greenery and sunlight would surely help him sort out his thoughts. Once off the main corridors, Shoto and (M/N) raced like school children for the armoury, and by the time they arrived, (M/N) was breathless and dizzy. A reminder that he was not fully recovered. The guards provided their old weapons, as well as knives and a burlap sack that was meant for game. (M/N) tolerated having the tracker clamped to his ankle, tried to look as if he was listening when they explained how to use the handheld communicator. The only thing that stuck in his head was that it had a clock, and they had to be back inside 13 by the designated hour or their hunting privileges would be revoked. That was one rule he would make an effort to abide by.

They went outside into the large, fenced-in training area beside the woods. Guards opened the well-oiled gates without comment. They would be hard-pressed to get past that fence on their own - ten metres high and always buzzing with electricity, topped with razor-sharp curls of steel. They moved through the woods until the view of the fence had been obscured. In a small clearing, they paused and dropped their heads back to bask in the sunlight. (M/N) turned in a circle, his arms extended at his sides, revolving slowly so as not to set the world spinning.