Harder to Love

Desolation

A week passed and questions buzzed all around the school.
How sick WAS Kirishima exactly?
Bakugou knew he wasn't sick, but he couldn't say anything. He couldn't even talk to Kiri's stupid friends about what happened because he wasn't sure it was safe to tell them about his hero work.
Every day brought more and more worry. Was Kirishima still alive? Was he in pain? Bakugou certainly was.
It wasn't until the next Monday, when Bakugou saw Kiri's friends, their grief stricken faces, that he considered telling them where the redhead was.
He approached cautiously, trying not to look intimidating.
"Hey, morons," he stuffed his hands in his pockets, leaning forward.
Sero ducked behind Kaminari who blinked stupidly. Mina raised an eyebrow, almost like she was blaming him.
He deserved to be blamed. If he hadn't blasted Kiri through that wall, if he had decided to fight off those Quirk Patrol Agents...
"Kirishima is still sick, Bakugou." She said. He wasn't the best at reading people, but he was SURE she wanted him to leave.
"We all know that's a lie." He said grimly.
The others looked at each other nervously, communicating with their eyes.
Finally; Sero stepped forward to speak.
"He got caught, didn't he?"
"Yeah. And it's all my fucking fault." Bakugou scowled in order to hide the glisten of tears forming in his eyes.
"We kinda guessed he'd been caught." Mina said sombrely.
"Then why didn't you do anything about it?!" Bakugou yelled. "He's probably hurt and scared and-"
"He told us not to." Kaminari answered. "He said that we couldn't save him unless we were absolutely sure he was caught. We had no confirmation until you came along."
"Why would he say something like that?"
"Because he didn't want us risking our lives to save him if he turned out to simply be lying low." Sero explained.
"But what were you supposed to do if you were sure he'd been captured?"
"We have a plan for that. Don't worry about it." Mina stated.
"I want to help." Bakugou insisted.
"Why?" Kaminari asked.
"Because..." Bakugou started, "because Kirishima is my friend...because I had feelings for Red Riot and when I figured out they were the same person...I just...I have to tell him...I have to tell him who Ground Zero really is." Bakugou knew he was rambling and he could feel tears forming in his eyes. This was the worst feeling in the world. He hated being vulnerable around these people, around any people, really, but Kiri-fucking-Shima was in danger. Kirishima needed his help.
If Bakugou lost Kiri like this...he would never forgive himself. He wasn't going to let anybody take him away. Not before he told him his true identity.
Bakugou expected to be laughed at for getting emotional like this, but that wasn't the case. Mina was the first to pull him into a hug, then Sero, then Kaminari. Normally he would hate hugs, but this time he didn't want it to end.
"Meet us at the school's front gates after class." Mina commanded. "We're going to get our boy back."

Three? Three chapters? I'm shook!