Red Ink

Part 58 - Baited Breath

CONTENT WARNING: Blood, threats of violence

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Kirishima's head hurt like a bitch. His neck, too.

He blinked slowly, trying to wake himself and understand what was causing him so much pain. Everything was spinning and the air smelled like copper and alcohol.

He was sitting, he realized. Not just sitting, though; he was completely bound to his chair with an absolutely absurd amount of bungee cord. When he tried to move, there wasn't a single part of his body that wasn't restrained to his seat. That was enough to snap him awake.

Eijirou lifted his head. Half his face felt warm and sticky, and another painful throb from the top of his head told him it was blood. When he tried to use his quirk— nothing.

There was a big light pointed right at him, but he couldn't make out any details in the room. Everything was too dark in comparison. Where the hell am I? How did I get here?

The last thing he remembered was... the speech! His eyes widened and he tried to squint around the room, still coming up empty. He'd been escorted out of the arena, he remembered that, but then... nothing. It all went black.

"That was quite the stunt you pulled."

Kirishima narrowed his eyes in the direction of the voice. "I get that I'm a hostage or something, but can I at least see who I'm talking to?"

A few seconds passed, then a man in one of Mei's CC masks stepped into view. For a moment they looked at each other in silence.

"Wanna tell me why I'm here?" Eijirou muttered through gritted teeth.

"First you're going to tell us what the heroes have planned."

Kirishima gave the man a heavy side-eye. "Planned for what?"

"That stunt you pulled was smart, Prince. Or... should I call you Red Riot?" The masked man tilted his head at Eijirou. "Regardless, you're not leaving until you tell us what we want to hear."

Who was this guy? Who was this "we"?

Kirishima racked his brain for an answer, though that proved difficult with the painful ache at the top of his head. He must've gotten knocked out right after exiting the arena if he didn't remember anything after that— so was this the Event Sector?

It's possible that these were the Promiser's minions, here to collect what he owed for breaking his contract; but if that were the case, why were they shaking him down for information instead of money? What reason did the Event Sector have for fucking him up like this? A bit of anger at losing their star fighter was understandable, but not tied-to-a-chair levels of anger.

Why would the Event Sector care what the heroes planned to do next?

...Unless they weren't with the Event Sector.

"Who are you?" Eijirou asked, glaring at the man. "Take off the mask."

He laughed at that, his voice distorted through the mask's modulator. "I like you, Kirishima. Really. I think your enemies have a tendency to underestimate you given your partner's ranking, but I've always believed you to be underrated." He took another step closer, this time flicking open a switchblade. "I don't want to force you to talk. For your sake— and mine, as I do hate cleaning up messes— I suggest you start talking."

Okay. Whoever this was, they were desperate for information; information they thought he knew. Did he know? Kirishima was getting more confused by the second.