ATOMIC STRUGGLE

9「worth protecting」3

As the marathon went on, Bakugo began taking the so-called 'villains' aside one by one. There were definitely some choice words being said between them, but Bakugo wasn't blowing anything up and the people returned to their seats, so Izak didn't really see a need to interfere. 

When Bakugo had his talk with Dabi, however, that was a bit much. At first, they were just talking over at the table quietly, but then the blonde had slammed his hands on the table and demanded what Dabi's problem was. "You go around killing people for a reason as stupid as that?!" 

"It's the noblest reason there is."

"You're insane."

"Never said I wasn't."

"That's it," Bakugo kicked his chair away and stormed towards the door, and instantly Shinso was on his feet going after him. Bakugo seemed to have expected that since he paused at the door, glaring at the incoming purplette. "If no one else, that deranged asshole needs to be put away."

"Bakugo--"

"Look," The blonde snapped, then sighed as he ran a hand through his hair and averted his eyes. "The others are fine, I guess. They aren't the worst, and they haven't been doing anything bad recently, so I guess I can let it slide. But Dabi is actively killing people!" He hissed, then deadpanned at something behind Hitoshi. "Oi, stop watching us and eating popcorn!"

"Nah," Twice, Toga and Mihoko said in unison as they sat in the living room doorway, once again eating popcorn as they observed the two boys. 

"Just--" Hitoshi sighed, then walked over and slammed the living room door closed, which effectively stopped the creepers from watching them. "There," He returned his gaze to his classmate, who tutted and crossed his arms. 

"Honestly, I could excuse Dabi if he were committing something like robbery because fuck capitalism, but killing people, in Izak's name? That's inexcusable no matter how I look at it," Bakugo sneered. 

"...I don't really get why he's doing it either," Shinso admitted. "But all I know is that Dabi, for whatever reason, worships Izak like he's a god. He probably is one, but that's not the point. The point is," He took a deep breath, then let it out before continuing his line of thought. "Dabi will listen to Izak. If Izak tells him to stop, it's more than likely that he'll stop. But, just hear me out," He gave the blonde a look, which was returned with exasperation, but silence. "You know he's only been killing those in alleyways, right? No law-abiding citizens loiter in alleys."

"...Dammit, I know that," Bakugo growled. "But what if he starts killing innocent people instead, when he's rid the alleys of the filth? What then?"

"It won't get that far," Shinso asserted. "Dabi may be a maniac, but he knows that Izak wouldn't approve of killing indiscriminately," Even though he probably would if he had a choice, Hitoshi thought to himself but didn't say it out loud because that would ruin his argument. "Besides, you know by now about the dorm system, right?" 

"Yeah," The blonde squinted at him distrustfully. "Mister Aizawa came by yesterday, which was why I came to see Izak."

"Then you know that this is practically the last time that Izak will be able to see these people, all of them that he's helped without a single regard for a reward, so please don't ruin it."

"...Fine," He spat, turning and opening the door to leave. He paused with one foot out the door. "If I see that firefuck outside at all, I'm letting loose on his ass and turning him in."

"As long as it doesn't implicate Izak," Shinso replied, so with a nod, Bakugo shut the door and left the property. When Shinso reopened the living room door, everyone was back to watching the powerpuff girls. The sight made his lips lift up from the frown he had been sporting, and he quickly made his way over to his seat and sat back down. 

"So," Giran leaned over towards him with a quiet murmur, causing him to glance at the broker. "How'd it go? Izak had the three popcorners leave the door alone, but we're all curious."

"He's not happy, but he won't turn any of us in. But," Shinso's eyes trailed over to Dabi, who was sitting at the table still. "If he sees Dabi out in public, he's going to do it then so it won't implement Izak at all."

"That's fair," Giran nodded, then offered the purplette a smile. "Thank you for working so hard to convince him not to turn us in."

"...Of course," Shinso looked down at his lap, then shyly glanced over at where Izak was sitting. Mihoko was in his lap as Toga sat next to the maroonette, all three watching the program on the television. Hitoshi's expression softened at the sight, and he knew for certain that he had done the right thing in deterring Bakugo. This domesticity was worth protecting. 

Izak's small, almost unnoticeable smile was worth protecting, even if it wasn't directed at him.

~*~

"Y-you won't get away with this," Koda stammered. When they had woken up, they were not in the body that they knew. Instead, they were in a much slimmer, dare they say prettier, body of the villain they had seen and apparently not escaped from at the training camp. Koda had no idea how long it had been since they had been imprisoned here, but at least they were getting meals every day and some person in a mask came to visit a lot to check that they were alive and everything. 

That person hummed, patting Koda on the head. "We already did, but you don't need to worry about that. All you need to worry about is eating well and sleeping well, okay?"

"..." Koda didn't respond, but that was how their conversations usually went, so after another second of petting their hair, the person stood and left the cell that Koda was trapped in. 

"I'll be back later, try and get some more rest, bodies with new souls need time to adjust," The person said, through the bars before finally leaving Koda to their own thoughts. It was cold, the bed sucked, but at least the blanket was plush and warm, and the food was good too. 

But no matter how good anything was, how humane it was compared to how it could have been, Koda really just wanted to go home. They swore to themselves that they wouldn't tell on Izak and wouldn't go against the villains, as long as that meant they could go home, hug their parents, eat their own food and sleep in their own bed. 

But no matter how much they wished for that, it didn't come true, and all they could do was curl up in a ball, cry, and wait.

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