Caring for a Dragon

Part Two

TEN YEARS LATER

          Bakugou slowly walked the main road that passed through the market. He bit at the apple in his hands as he looked around for a potential target. He had to also keep his guard up around the King's knights. Bakugou and Kirishima have made a name for themselves, but now with them being eighteen, they'll be in serious trouble if they get caught compared to when they were younger.
          Kirishima walked the back alleyways, waiting for Bakugou to give him the signal that he found a new target. Kirishima would walk next to Bakugou, but his spikey bright red hair walking next to a spikey blonde-haired draws attention to themselves. The knights would recognize them that way. 
           It didn't take long before Bakugou found a target. There was a small fruit shop that sold fruit from many different lands. Bakugou saw this as a perfect target, he gave Kirishima a slight nod to let him know that he found it. A jewelry stand would be too obvious for thieves to come and steal their jewels. Bakugou also knew that stands that sold anything from distance lands had hefty prices. It takes a lot of effort to bring things from distant lands to the King's closest city.
          Bakugou tossed the apple to the ground as he looked at the many different fruits. He recognized where every fruit came from. Their travels over the years have taken them everywhere. As he lifted one fruit called a Baka fruit from the Akio village in the mountains, the old man behind the stand gave him a smile.
          "See something you like young man?"
          Bakugou put on his charm to come off nicer than he was. "Maybe. Where is this fruit from? I feel like I recognize it." Bakugou said lifting up a different piece of fruit.
          The old man thought for a moment before answering. "Ah, I remember. I collected that in the high lands across the Brock sea. It's called Tanbi. This fruit has many uses. It can ..." The old man went on and on explained the many uses for Tanbi fruit.
          Bakugou watched as Kirishima snuck behind the old man and reached underneath the stand and pulled out a huge bag full of tokens from people buying the old man's fruit. Kirishima nodded at Bakugou and snuck off. Bakugou waited there until the old man finished explaining before saying anything.
          "That's right," Bakugou said with a slight smile. "I forgot that it was called Tanbi fruit. I have visited the high lands many times, but couldn't remember the name. Thank you, sir."
          The old man smiled. "I'm glad I could help you. Would you like to buy any?"
          Bakugou thought for a moment before reaching into his pocket. "I'll take two for six tokens, sound fair?"
          The old man smirked. "I've been doing this for a long time, young man. Eight tokens."
          Bakugou rolled his eyes and leaned forward. "You know that your prices are ridiculous. I could tell everyone in the market there's a shop on the other side that sells the same fruit, but cheaper."
          The old man nodded his head. "You've been doing this a long time, too. Fine. Six tokens."
          Bakugou set the tokens in the old man's hand and took the second Tanbi fruit. "Thanks."
          Bakugou tried to keep a calm walking pace, knowing that the old man would be quick on noticing his bag of money disappeared. Once Bakugou felt out of sight, he spread up his walk. He didn't run in case he bumps into a knight. Though the option soon left when he heard a sort of commotion going on behind him. He quickly went to running straight towards the dock where Kirishima was waiting.
          After Kirishima got the bag of money, he ran as fast as he could through the alleys, straight to the hot air balloon. He tossed the bag on one of the seats and quickly started getting the balloon ready for lift-off. The balloon was ready for lift-off. Kirishima stood near where the rope was tied to the dock, ready to toss it the second he saw Bakugou. It didn't take long before Bakugou appeared.
          Kirishima tossed the rope off the balloon causing it to be free. He started the engines and waited by the steering wheel in the back of the balloon. Bakugou placed the Tanbi fruit into his pockets as he ran. The second Bakugou's foot hit the docks, he used his explosion magic to propel him into the air. It was enough to catch up to the ship and land on the deck. Bakugou turned to see four knights stopping at the docks. Both Kirishima and Bakugou waved their hands as they flew off into the air.
          "Now that was a good target, Bakugou," Kirishima said with a smile. He walked over to Bakugou pointing at the bag he took.
          Bakugou nodded. "I told you I'd find a good fucking target. We'll be set for a while. Give the knights time to find something else to focus on than us." Bakugou sat down next to the bag of money while he pulled the Tanbi from his pockets. "Got us a snack." He tossed one up to Kirishima.
          Kirishima caught the Tanbi and sat down next to him. "Where are we going next?" Kirishima said as he took a bite of the fruit.
          Bakugou shrugged. "We should probably head inland. There are some small time villages we can go to to get supplies. The balloon is going to need some new patches. Honestly, if he had more money we should get a new hot air balloon. This damn balloon is getting old."
          Kirishima nodded his head as he took another bite. He swallowed before talking again. "Maybe we could go visit the Bassoon village in the mountains. We could hang out with our friends for a bit."
          Bakugou rolled his eyes. "You mean your friends. You're too fucking happy to not make friends everywhere you go."
          "They're OUR friends, Bakugou. You know you want to see them too." Kirishima argued. "Come on. You said it yourself. We have enough to last us a while. We'll be able to have some actual fun too."
          "If this life is so boring, you can leave anytime you like, shitty hair."
          Kirishima shook his head. "That's not what I meant and you know that. Please? I bet Sero could get us a deal in his village. His mothers are traders there."
          Bakugou chuckled and then sighed. "Whatever. It's going to take a couple of sundowns *days* before we get there. We won't stay there for more than a moon *month*, alright?"
          Kirishima smiled as he wrapped his free hand around Bakugou's shoulders. "Thanks, bro. I miss them so much. I can't wait to see them."
          Before Bakugou could answer, a hawk appeared and stood on the front of the balloon. It had a ribbon tied around its ankle. Bakugou got up and walked straight underneath the balloon. As he came back up, he had a letter in his hand. He handed it to the hawk and the hawk took it away. Bakugou watched until the hawk disappeared.
          Kirishima and Bakugou have been stuck with each other so long that they practically know everything about each other. Of course, Bakugou and Kirishima don't talk too much about their childhood, but they talk to each other about everything. Sadly though, Bakugou never said anything about this with Kirishima. All Kirishima knew was that Bakugou was writing letters to someone and the hawk was the carrier. Kirishima has tried to ask about it, but Bakugou does not say anything about it. 
          Kirishima took another bite of his Tanbi as Bakugou came back and sat down next to him. Bakugou picked his Tanbi back up and started eating it. They ate their fruit in silence, not able to start a conversation with each other. The second Bakuogu finished he went to the steering wheel to set a course for the mountain village. Once Kirishima was finished he did a maintenance check on the balloon to figure out what they needed to get. 
           Like every night, Bakugou headed to bed the second the sun disappeared on the horizon. Kirishima stayed up to watch the stars. Kirishima got used to sleeping a bed winters *years* ago, but he still had the habit of watching the stars before going to sleep. Bakugou taught him about the thousands of constellations and Kirishima makes it his goal to find as many as possible before going to sleep. It honestly helps Kirishima get sleepy doing it.