Buried Treasure (BakugoxReader)

Ch. 35: Analyze and Attack

Kirishima's POV

"Ye really think ye of all people is gonna stop me?" Tomura taunted as he kept swiping his hands at me. I had managed to hit his sword out of his hand and kick it to the opposite end of the room, but I still was struggling to hold my own. My quirk was made for close combat, but Tomura's quirk made close combat a deadly game. I couldn't let him get a full grasp on me, so I was playing more on the defensive than offensive.

"I don't need to stop you, I just need to buy them some time. So long as you can't get past me, then I'm doing my job," I grunted, hoping I was able to do my part. I just needed to keep Tomura at bay until (L/n)'s safety was confirmed. As soon as she is out of Tomura's clutches, I could run and get back up... but for now I couldn't risk letting Tomura escape. 

"Ye really think keeping me here will keep yer lil' wench from dyin'? Oh poor lass, ye really are as dumb as ye look," Tomura insulted me but I shook it off. One benefit of Captain Bakugo's quick temper was that I was used to being insulted and knew not to take it to heart. Tomura was the dumb one for not seeing through (L/n)'s act sooner. Sero didn't talk for almost a week after (L/n) was captured by the League, but when he did I was the first person he talked to.

"I know Captain hates me," Sero said quietly one night as we were on lookout duty together.

"Sero? What?" I barely managed to formulate a sentence because I was so shocked by the sound of his voice. He hadn't spoken to anyone since the Battle of Aruba and those weren't the words I was expecting.

"I know Captain hates me," he repeated, "for letting (L/n) go."

"I highly doubt that, Sero. I think he's upset with himself for not being able to do anything. He hasn't mentioned anything that would lead me to believe he's angry with you. It's Bakugo-- trust me, I'd know if he was mad at you," I tried to console my crewmate and friend, but his pained expression didn't seem to change.

"I could have saved her! I disobeyed orders and now there's no hope in sight," Sero snapped, looking at me with tears in his eyes. I was taken aback by this sight and sighed, looking up at the moon.

"Why didn't you then?"

"Huh?" Sero asked, not prepared for my question.

"Why didn't you save her? Why did you disobey Captain's orders? Did you hate her? Want her to die or something?" I pushed, fully knowing this would upset him.

"Of course not! Why would you even say such a thing!" Sero yelled at me, sending his tape out and pulling me forward in a chokehold. Sero realized he let his anger get the best of him and released me. I rubbed my neck a bit and leaned back against the side of the ship.

"Then why did you let her go? She told you something, before she left, didn't she?" I asked, Sero seeming fairly surprised at my last question. "I saw you two speaking before she boarded the League. What did she say?"

"She asked me... no, she begged me not to let the Captain come looking for her if for some reason she didn't make it off the League and the kids were safely in our clutches. I didn't want to agree but she looked so sad. I could tell that she had been thinking something through, something that she could never tell the Captain. Everyone had been acting like this mission was a guaranteed success, even I picked up on that. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she had been thinking the same thing I had been-- what if we fail," Sero admitted, looking away from me. He was right, the days leading up to our contact with the League in Aruba were so overwhelmingly positive. Everyone seemed so confident that it almost felt fake. I had no idea (L/n) had been faking her courage, but I should have seen it. We had all thought it-- what if we fail? I brushed it off though, figuring that the Captain would just power through with his strength.