Red Ink

Part 56 - Eijirou Kirishima

The crowd screamed and cheered around him, but Kirishima just felt dizzy.

He panted with exhaustion from his fight and stared down at his opponent's heaving form. The entire match had been a fucking blur. Normally the sport was something Eijirou reveled in, but tonight, it felt wrong. So fucking wrong.

Even as his opponent climbed to his feet again and the referee raised Kirishima's arm to announce the win, he barely felt like he was there. Everything was a confusing mess of overwhelming lights and sounds and he wondered what the point was. How could he get up here in front of millions of pairs of eyes and act like everything was okay?

If he felt like he was crazy before, it was nothing compared to this. When his ears filled with the triumphant roar of the Event Sector, all he could think about was Red. Dabi. The Doves. The bombing. Civil war.

Then, inexplicably, Eijirou remembered what Ray said.

"The Event Sector is the only Sector that gets any recognition from you people. You'll tune in for the boxing, but god forbid we need housing or medical help."

"You're just like him. Always doin' the right thing without giving a single shit about the consequences."

"You think with your heart, not your head."

Eijirou's chest began to pound as he looked out over the sea of people. He wasn't powerless here— this was an opportunity. A chance to do the right thing. Millions of people were watching, and not just the Underground.

Despite every logical part of his brain screaming at him not to do it, Kirishima reached up, thought of Red, and pulled off his Prince mask.

~~~

The world as she knew it was crumbling around Red.

It couldn't be real. It had to be a trick of the light; a strange blip in the television screen that made her think she was seeing her artwork. Denial gripped at her throat like a vice as she stared wide-eyed at the TV. No. That isn't real.

But the entire Commons in an uproar behind her couldn't be fake. She refused to look around— she refused to acknowledge that other people might be seeing it, too.

"This isn't happening," she breathed to herself, desperately trying to keep calm. "This isn't happening. He... he isn't—"

But the screen switched cameras, and every last hope that she was seeing things vanished.

It was him. It was her Eiji, chest heaving as he looked up at the crowd through a mess of bright red hair, the spotlight shining directly on his expression of pure determination. It wasn't the Prince anymore— it was Red Riot, a pro hero, standing in the center of the Event Sector, surrounded by a sea of the Underground's people. A complete fish out of water.

Dynamight did a double take, then his eyes snapped wide as he realized what Red was looking at. In an instant he was right beside her, the both of them completely slack-jawed at Ray's TV.

"What in the hell---?!" Katsuki growled through clenched teeth, his entire body tensing in disbelief.

The second she saw him on that screen, the first domino fell.

This was why he was out of town. This was why the Prince returned her shoe. This was why he defended her from Peter. This was why he didn't work full time at the agency. This was why his hands were calloused and rough despite his quirk being able to protect his skin— in the arena, it was just his fists. This was why he cared about the Underground. This was how he knew to find her in the Commons.