Monster

Chapter Twenty Three

Kirishima's POV

"What do you want with me?" I asked, trying to sound somewhat intimidating.
"It's quite obvious, isn't it?" Shigaraki replied.
"How did you know?" I said, more as a demand instead of a question.
"A little birdie told us."
"But I haven't told anyone!"
"You didn't have to. Now, it's time to get to work." He said, standing up and throwing something at my feet. I grabbed it and discovered they were clothes. It was just then I realized I was in the full nude. I guess clothes don't survive the dragon transformation.

"Now, Eijirou. Keep in mind you are weak, you're injured and low on stamina. You are no match against us. Be wise, and don't try to attack. It would be a shame to have to kill you." Shigaraki warned, as he unchained me. He stepped aside, and gestured for me to dress. As much as I wanted to refuse, I was cold, and Toga was really creeping me out.
"Good, good. Now, follow me." Shigaraki said, once I was fully clothed. He walked out of the room, and I followed.

I looked around, taking in the new environment. The walls, floors, and ceiling all were made of stone. There were no windows, and very little light. Shigaraki lead me to a chair, and told me to sit. Once I was seated everyone else sat down as well.

"I'm glad you are willingly obeying me. It wasn't so easy when we kidnapped that brat Bakugou. But, I have hope for you. I'm going to put it simply, Eijirou. I want you to join us, join the League of Villains." He opened his arms, as if he were a preacher, promising glory.

"You're kidding, right? You think I'm going to join you, just like that?"
"Well, we were optimistic. But of course, we have ways to persuade you."
"How did you know what I am?"
"You'll get your answer in..." he looked to a clock on the wall. "About ten minutes. Until then, Dabi is going to patch you up. We want you in good shape when we start your training." He waved his hand, and the scarred man, Dabi, grabbed my shoulder and lifted me from my chair.

He lead me down a hall and into another room. This room had better lighting, and wood flooring. Dabi walked over to a desk on the far end of the room, and pulled bandages from a drawer. He didn't say anything as he cleaned me cuts and bruises. But something about the way he handled my injuries was gentle.

"Piece of advice, if you want to live, don't resist against Shigaraki. Because you will be in a world of pain if you do."

Bakugou's POV

I opened Kiri's dorm room, and stared into it. Everything looked exactly the same, as if nothing was amiss. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. Part of me wanted to rampage, wanted to scream and throw everything to the floor. But I knew doing so wouldn't help.

Instead, I walked around his room, taking notice to things I had never bothered to pay attention to before. A framed picture of Mina, Sero, and Kaminari sat on his dresser. Next to it a picture of me and him.
I don't remember that picture being taken, and I don't think we were aware of it at the time. In the photo, we are both looking at something out of frame, and we're both smiling. Looking at that picture made me feel horrible. All Kirishima ever wanted was to see me lighten up and smile more.

Why couldn't I have done that for him?

I turned away, the guilt making me feel sick. I looked at his wall, along with posters of Crimson Riot and other pro heroes, were all the Get Well cards he had received from class 1A while he was in the hospital. They were all pinned in neat rows, connected by some twine.

On his desk was a little wooden box, curiously I picked it up and opened it. Inside were small trinkets, a shark tooth necklace, a small glass horse figurine, a few American coins, some sea glass and brightly colored pebbles. There was also a polaroid of a black messy haired boy, sitting on the lap of a young man, hugging a chicken. I recognized the man to be Kiri's uncle, Kazuma.

I closed the box and put it gently back on the desk. I then walked over to his dresser and opened one of the drawers, on the top was a hoodie, red with a large CR on the front. I took it out to examine it for a moment before pulling it over my head. It was Kiri's favorite hoodie, he wore it all the time. The ends of the sleeves were all scrunched up and funny, because he would always hold them in his fists. It also smelled so strongly of him. It wasn't a stench, more of a mixture of his laundry detergent and deodorant.

I put my hands into the pocket and felt something inside. Upon taking it out, I realized it was a small sketch book. I walked across Kiri's room and sat down on his bed. Slowly and carefully, I opened the book and flipped through the pages. Inside were drawings of simple day to day things. A stack of books, a bird, a school bag, a tree. But also lots of sketches of people. Everyone from class 1A was in here, even several drawings of Mr. Aizawa.

But of all the drawings, most of them were of me. And in every one of them, I was smiling.

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