A Means to an End | Katsuki Bakugou x Male Reader

Chapter 4

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The stink of unwashed bodies and infection broke through the cloud of antiseptic. The guard was ordering (M/N) out, but by the shuffling that followed, (M/N) knew Shoto had somehow detained him.

"What happened?" (M/N) asked his prep team. "What are you doing here?"

"They took us. From the Capitol."

Kan entered behind (M/N). "What on earth is going on?"

"Who took you?" (M/N) pressed.

"People, the night you broke out."

"We thought it might be comforting for you to have your regular team," Kan said behind (M/N). "Keigo requested it."

"Keigo requested this?" (M/N) snarled at the man. Because if there was one thing he knew, it was that Keigo would never have approved the abuse of these three, who he managed with gentleness and patience. "Why are they being treated like criminals?"

"I honestly don't know." There was something in his voice that made (M/N) believe him. Kan turned to the guard, who just appeared in the doorway with Shoto right behind him. "I was only told they were being confined. Why are they being punished?"

"For stealing food. We had to restrain them after an altercation over some bread," the guard said.

A voice from the preps spoke up behind (M/N). "No one would tell us anything. We were so hungry. It was only one slice she took."

"That seems extreme," Kan said.

"It's because they took a slice of bread?" Shoto asked.

"There were repeated infractions leading up to that. They were warned. Still they took more bread." The guard paused for a moment, as if puzzled by their density. "You can't take bread."

(M/N) observed his team members. They were covered in bruises and the skin under the shackles revealed raw sores. "I'm bringing you guys to my mother." (M/N) addressed the guard. "Unchain them."

The guard shook his head. "It's not authorised."

"Unchain them! Now!" (M/N) yelled.

This broke the guard's composure. Average citizens didn't address him this way. "I have no release orders. And you have no authority to-"

"Do it on my authority," Kan said. "We came to collect these three anyway. They're needed for Special Defence. I'll take full responsibility."

The guard left to make a call. He returned with a set of keys. The preps had been forced into cramped positions for so long that even once the shackles were removed, they had trouble walking. Shoto, Kan and (M/N) had to help them. (M/N) noticed a metal grate over a circular opening in the floor, and his stomach turned when he thought about why a room would need a drain. The stains of human misery that must have been hosed off those white tiles...

In the hospital, (M/N) found his mother, the only one he trusted to care for them. It took her a minute to place the three, given their current condition, but already she had a look of consternation. And (M/N) knew it wasn't the result of seeing abused bodies, because they were her daily fare in District 12, but the realisation that this sort of thing went on in 13 as well.

(M/N)'s mother was welcomed into the hospital, but she was viewed as more of a nurse than a doctor, despite her lifetime of healing. Still, no one interfered when she guided the trio into an examination room to assess their injuries. (M/N) planted himself on a bench in the hall outside the hospital entrance, waiting to hear her verdict. She would be able to read in their bodies the pain inflicted upon them.