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Something isn’t right.
Bakugou should turn around, or call for backup. He doesn’t. Instead, he takes a step closer to the red and purple energy emitting from a park bench of all things.
When Aizawa had told them that earth was becoming infected with some mysterious dark energy, Bakugou had smirked. He had laughed and told his fellow angels that he for one was glad to finally have something to beat up. They didn’t discuss what the energy could be, but he hadn’t cared. All he wanted was to punch something, even if all he accomplished by the end of the day was causing a petty fight amongst some poor humans. The excuse to travel to earth was all he needed.
However, actually facing said mysterious energy has him questioning his own goal. He pauses, snarling at his own hesitation. Inhaling deeply, he stomps around a tree in his path and walks up to the aura.
“Hey!” He barks out. His eyes lock onto a body consumed by the multi-colored presence. His hands tighten into fists at his side and bites the inside of his cheek.
It’s a demon. It’s a fucking demon. A demon whose vessel appears to share the barely adult age of his own, hair a mocking shade of red and wearing fucking crocs. The demon turns to him, eyes wide and his mouth open slightly to reveal a set of unnaturally sharp teeth.
“Oh,” the demon blinks before breaking out into a grin, “Hey there!”
Bakugou feels his eye twitch. He knows his own aura must be flashing its sharp orange colors as he steps forward, shoulders hunched up.
“Whoa! Calm down there, alpha male.” The demon snorts, looking far too casual as he settles back on the bench, one leg crossed over the other.
Bakugou raises a hand, palm bursting with energy as he readies an attack. The demon looks into his eyes, and then he’s smiling even wider. Bakugou can see the twinkle in the opposing gaze.
“Think about your next action carefully,” the demon lifts his chin and Bakugou feels the temperature drop drastically. “You wouldn’t wanna attract any attention, would ya?”
Bakugou furrows his brows for a moment before the words process. He glances around, catching sight of humans everywhere. A mother walking with her child, eyes wide, a teenager shuffling around with their phone out, and a cyclist who looked like he was debating whether or not to interfere. Bakugou hates to admit it, but the other is right.
He lowers his hand, energy drifting away into smoke. Just to be safe, he makes his way over to the demon and sits right next to him. The action must startle him because he’s grown tense, smile fading. Bakugou waits, watching from the corner of his eye as the crowd he attracted slowly disappears.
He places a hand on the demon’s thigh, smirking in satisfaction when the subtle power in his palm burns a hole into the other’s shorts. The demon yelps, probably just realizing the situation.
“Dude, not cool, I liked these.” He grumbles, not moving otherwise.
“Why are you here?” Bakugou squeezes his thigh tighter.
“You’re not even gonna introduce yourself first?” The demon pouts, and Bakugou catches the flick of a tail behind him. Bakugou wonders what his expression must be because the demon quirks a brow and follows his gaze, snickering once he realizes it’s his own tail. He brings the offending limb closer, twirling it around Bakugou’s arm.
Bakugou grunts, attempting to tug his arm away to no avail. He stomps on the urge to bite it, wondering if it would even hurt.
“Now we’re both in compromising positions,” the demon chimes.
“You fucking wish,” Bakugou feels his palm bursting with power again. “I’d take your whole damn tail with me if I wasn’t trying to get answers first.”
The demon cocks his head to the side. “I’m Kirishima!”
“I didn’t fucking ask.”
“You said you wanted answers,” the demon—Kirishima—whimpers.
“Not to questions I didn’t ask!” Bakugou’s whole body feels on edge. If he doesn’t get answers soon he fears he’ll end up killing the other despite the attention it would attract. Maybe he could hide the body before anyone noticed?
“Can’t a demon just enjoy a day at the park?” Kirishima perks up.
“No.”
He deflates. “Fine, sheesh. Hell is boring, what do you want me to say? I know you probably think I’m lying, and that I have some evil intention or something, but I really don’t. I just felt like seeing something other than death and hearing something other than screaming for a bit.”
Bakugou leans forward, “And the vessel you’re possessing?”
“Wow, okay, no, this guy’s been mine for ages! I claimed this vessel centuries ago, and he was gonna die anyway, so don’t look at me like I’m a bad guy.” Kirishima finally looks pissed off, frown clear on his face.
“You’re a demon, moron! You are bad!” Bakugou wishes his hand wasn’t preoccupied, he feels a major headache incoming.
Kirishima gives him a look, and Bakugou can’t describe it but it makes him feel, for just a moment, that he’s the one that said something stupid.
“Really man? That’s so small minded of you,” Kirishima shakes his head, unwrapping his tail from around Bakugou’s arm. He stands up and rolls out his shoulder. Bakugou hadn’t even noticed when his grip on the other’s thigh had slipped. “Whatever, I’ll just go then.”
“Wait,” Bakugou reaches out and grabs his arm without thinking.
Kirishima turns to him, expectantly. Bakugou swallows. He hadn’t thought this through.
“I still can’t fucking trust you,” Bakugou internally winces at Kirishima’s eye roll, “so I have to keep an eye on you.” Bakugou meets Kirishima’s gaze, a silent dare that he hopes the other understands.
Kirishima narrows his eyes at him for a moment before his face is breaking out into a grin.
“Oh, okay, yeah totally. You can watch me.”
Bakugou groans, not even attempting to hide the way his fingers fly up to massage his temples. Kirishima laughs, settling down next to him once again. They sit in silence for a bit and Bakugou tries to collect his thoughts.
There is currently a demon on earth, and from what Aizawa said that probably means there are many more around as well. This demon, however, seems too stupid to be a threat. In fact, Bakugou would even say this demon specifically is broken, or something.
“How are you a fucking demon?” Bakugou says, once again cursing his mouth for speaking without thinking.
“I could ask you the same thing about being an angel with the way you swear!” Kirishima cackles.
Bakugou tuts, “That’s because I don’t give a flying shit about what’s expected of me. If the other angels want to let their frustrations eat them alive and make them weak, they can go the fuck ahead.”
Kirishima breaks out into a laughing fit at that, arms going around his stomach as he hunches over wheezing. “Holy shit, you are hilarious!”
Bakugou hates that the compliment goes straight to his head. He made a demon laugh.
“That’s honestly so manly!” Kirishima continues, once he’s calm enough. “Someone who doesn’t abide by the rules because they see it as a weakness, but also so they can stay true to themselves is really something!”
Part of Bakugou wants to take the comment in stride, lean back and smirk along with the demon.
“You talk too much,” he says instead.
“You’re the one that’s responding,” Kirishima retorts.
Before Bakugou can open his mouth again, a tingling sensation in his head makes itself known. He frowns, turning away from Kirishima in order to accept the telepathic connection.
Kacchan?
Bakugou growls immediately. What do you want, Deku? Did you get lost on the way to heaven, again?
That hasn’t happened in a millenia! Let it go!
What the fuck do you want?
Aizawa said to report back immediately, a group of scouters found something. How about you?
Bakugou lets his gaze wander to Kirishima. He watches as the demon fiddles with the hole in his shorts, trailing a circle around the burnt patch.
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
I didn’t find anything. I’ll be up in a few minutes.
He closes the connection.
“I have to go,” Bakugou stands up, stretching his arms high above his head.
“Already? Why?” Kirishima pouts.
“None of your business,” Bakugou shuts him down, refusing to look at his face. Who knew a demon would be trying to give him puppy eyes?
“Will you be back?”
“Don’t know, or care.” He’s lying. He wants to ask the demon so many questions, or rather he just wants answers without having to ask. Why does Kirishima find Hell, of all places, boring? Why did he smile so damn much? Why did he spend his day at a park? Why was he so fucking nice? Why was he strangely attractive?
“Oh,” Kirishima recovers quickly and waves at him, “Well, see ya!”
“Don’t cause any trouble, or I’ll kick your ass so hard you’ll be shitting out of your mouth.”
Kirishima’s face scrunches up. “Dude, gross.”
Without another word Bakugou walks away, hands in his pockets as he makes his way down the path of the park. He can feel two attentive eyes on him as he moves. He watches people pass by him, and when he’s finally alone, the environment shifts.
He’s walking through clouds then, hundreds of voices drowning out his own thoughts. To his left, thousands of souls manifested into human figures run around laughing. Some sit next to each other in silence while others live out the dreams they couldn’t fulfil while they were still alive. There are souls reading books in languages they didn’t know on earth, and there are ones enjoying the company of pets who had waited decades to see their owners again. To his right, angelic soldiers watching over the infinite haven.
He recognizes a few of the soldiers on duty today; Tsu, Ojiro, Shouji, Tetsutetsu, and Uraraka. He walks over to the latter.
“Where is he?” He asks.
Uraraka gives him a withering look, “Who?”
“Who the fuck else would I be asking about?”
“Well Iida is doing paperwork at the moment-”
“Motherfucking-”
“If you’re asking about Midoriya, he’s with Yaoyorozu and a couple others in Aizawa’s office.” Uraraka smiles sweetly as if she isn’t wasting his time.
“Fucking finally,” Bakugou replies, stomping past her.
“Maybe try saying please next time!” She holds up her hand in a wave, but he’s already moving around her. “That guy…” If she says anything else, he doesn’t hear it. His surroundings are already changing once again, an office coming into view.
Every head in the room turns to him as he manifests inside of it. He glares back at everyone in response. He takes a moment to conclude who is there before turning to Aizawa, who is standing in front of his desk looking as exhausted as ever. Bakugou wonders if he’s ever rested a day in his life since the day he was made.
He moves to stand between Midoriya and Jirou, making no effort to hide his displeasure at being there.
“Nice of you to join us,” Aizawa looks at him for just a brief moment and then he’s slipping back into whatever the hell they were talking about before he got there.
“As you all know, there have been mysterious energy readings down on earth. We have every reason to believe that the cause of this sudden outburst is due to demons.” Aizawa’s voice is quickly lost to a sea of whispers.
“Demons?”
“What are they doing on earth?”
“What are we going to do?”
“Are they trying to start a war?”
Waves of crimson invade his thoughts, shimmering red eyes, cherry spiked hair. Bakugou clenches his jaw and tries to destroy the images in his head. He already knows about this, so why does he feel so tense?
“Kacchan,” a gentle hand forces him out of his own mind.
He growls, “What the fuck is it, Deku?”
“Isn’t that crazy?”
“Haah?”
“Demons! They haven’t showed up in centuries like this! This is a perfect opportunity to study them. Ah, but if the rumors are true and they are as evil as we are told, then maybe they won’t let us investigate them. Which is such a shame because we could learn so much from them. We don’t really know to what extent of evil each of them are. Are there ranks for demons like there is for us? Obviously there’s the devil, but-”
“Midoriya.”
Midoriya yelps as his mumbling is interrupted and looks up at Aizawa. The rest of the group had quieted down a few moments before and Midoriya was the only one still talking.
Bakugou is both grateful and delighted that Midoriya shut up. He arms had strained to keep from wrapping around the other angel’s neck and strangling him.
“As I was saying,” Aizawa sighs, “Yaoyorozu and Kendou both followed one of the energies and tracked down a demon of their own.”
Bakugou stiffens.
“Yes, he appeared to have just possessed a human,” Yaoyorozu pipes in.
“It’s good we got there when we did. We were able to successfully exorcise the demon and protect the human from any harm.” Kendou adds.
There’s another burst of praise from the group until Aizawa is clearing his throat.
“Very good job, you two. As for the rest of you, as of right now all angels are ordered to exorcise any demons they find. Interrogate them when you can. The faster we get to the bottom of this outbreak, the better. I will be discussing this with Toshinori and the other archangels soon. You’re dismissed.” Aizawa snaps his fingers and the group of angels are suddenly back at the front gates.
Bakugou doesn’t react much. Aizawa enjoyed getting them out of his way as soon as possible. He doesn’t blame him at all.
“Midoriya!” A voice chimes. Bakugou rolls his eyes.
“Uraraka!” Midoriya responds next to him, turning away to greet his friend.
“I see grumpy pants over here found you,” she beams at him, but Bakugou can see the defiance in her eyes. If there was one thing he could respect about Midoriya’s friends, it would have to be that they weren’t afraid of him like the other angels were. It both pissed him off, and left him feeling invigorated.
“Oh, that reminds me!” Midoriya meets his gaze, “Where were you, Kacchan?”
“It’s none of your damn business,” Bakugou replies on instinct.
He’s walking away before either of them can ask him anything else.
“Why do you even try to talk to him!” Uraraka shouts behind him, probably knowing full well that he can still hear them.
“He’s not that bad,” Midoriya responds quietly.
Bakugou and Izuku had grown up together. They had died together too.
Bakugou’s fists tighten inside of his pockets as he picks up the pace, avoiding souls as he walks to his next duty. Paperwork will surely clear his mind.
It’s a week later when he decides he can’t take it anymore.
Being in heaven all day and watching souls be happy might be enough to keep the others entertained, but not him. He’s an angelic warrior, damn it! He deserves to be on the front line.
Not that the front line has seen any action for hundreds of years ever since demons decided to go into hiding. They were still able to travel and roam earth whenever they pleased though. They didn’t have to suffer overwhelmingly long hours of just staring at souls all day. The dead didn’t even do anything. There is no record of any person acting out after they’ve already gone to heaven. If anything, he should be watching his fellow angels. There are more accounts of angel uprisings than any other potential threat.
Aizawa tells them that they are being kept in heaven so they don’t scare off the demons before they can get answers. Not to mention the fact that every time he hears about another successful exorcism he can feel his stomach churn.
After arguing with Iida about being able to leave the safety of their quarters, which ended up mostly being Bakugou announcing to the other that he simply doesn’t give a shit, he finds himself on earth. He internally kicks himself. He tells himself that he doesn’t care if a certain demon has been caught, and that he’s just curious.
The familiar trees and bushes from a week ago welcome him. He breathes and lets the cool air of the park relax him. He closes his eyes, listening to the trees rustling.
“Oh, it’s you again!” A voice interferes.
He opens his eyes and sees red.
Kirishima is in front of him, hands behind his back as he bends over and looks up at him with a smile. Bakugou’s body releases the tension in limbs that he wasn’t even aware were tense. He abhors how relieved he feels. Kirishima is safe.
“Good to know you didn’t get in any fucking trouble.”
“I’m a good boy!” Kirishima grins, standing up straight and stuffing his hands into his pockets. Bakugou looks at the new pair of floral shorts he’s wearing and raises a brow. Kirishima’s smile disappears and he looks very serious. “Oh, these? I stalked an unsuspecting dad when he was getting ready to take his kids to the park, and murdered him before he could go back inside.”
Silence.
“I’m kidding!” Kirishima’s expression cracks and he starts to laugh.
“Then how?”
“Oh, I just took them off some poor sap who choked on a chicken wing. He wasn’t exactly going to use them anymore.” Kirishima shrugs.
Bakugou wonders if it’s too late to turn around.
“What the hell are you doing here again anyway?” He asks, suddenly not sure what to do with his hands as he slowly crosses them over his chest.
“Oh, no reason,” Kirishima replies quickly, gaze dropping. Bakugou sees the dust of pink across his cheeks. He doesn’t dare hope, or even consider the possibility, that Kirishima was waiting for him for a week. They hadn’t exactly planned to meet anywhere, after all. This is just a coincidence. The park happens to be the first place Bakugou thought of during his escape.
Bakugou moves his feet without considering where he’s going. He has to wait only a few seconds before he hears Kirishima following suit.
“Why a fucking park of all places?” Bakugou glances at him from the corner of his eye.
Kirishima snickers at his side, “That’s easy! Kaminari prefers to be inside because he hates clothes, Ashido always tags along if there are stores involved because she loves any and all material items, and Sero wants to try new food like he hasn’t already eaten everything at least once. So the park is pretty much the only place they won’t follow. That, or a sewer probably, but who wants to hang out alone in a sewer?”
Bakugou reels from the information. He really should keep it to himself and not give off any hints that he could use this information for later, but his big mouth apparently has other ideas.
“Who are they?”
“Huh?” Kirishima tilts his head to the side before realization sinks in. “Kaminari, Ashido, and Sero? They’re my friends!”
“Other demons?”
“Yup! Kaminari is an incubus, Ashido’s greedy and wants new clothes all the time, and Sero’s a glutton, though if you saw him you wouldn’t think he is.”
Bakugou stops walking. “What are you?”
Kirishima stares at him, eyes wide. The demon shrugs, surprised expression disappearing as he smiles again. “Hey, let’s go shopping!”
Bakugou’s nostrils flare, brows furrowed together at the way Kirishima avoids the question. He opens his mouth to call the other out, but something stops him. Kirishima is looking at him, eyes piercing into his very being. They plead him not to bring it up anymore. He ends up closing his mouth and agreeing to Kirishima’s idea.
They end up entering one of the malls in the area. The humans can’t see the dim light of Bakugou’s halo, nor can see they Kirishima’s tail whipping about. To everyone around them, they’re just a couple of average young men hanging out.
Bakugou lets the weight of Heaven’s responsibilities slip off his shoulders for the time being. He sighs heavily and glances at Kirishima, noticing the skip in the demon’s step. He looks happy. Far too happy for a beast from hell.
When Kirishima runs ahead and presses his face against a window pane showcasing a pair of orange crocs, Bakugou can’t help the way his mouth quirks up, just slightly.
“There’s no chance in hell,” Bakugou says, hands in his pockets. His current attire didn’t exactly scream angelic guardian, what with the slightly unbuttoned dress shirt and loose tie, but he’ll be damned if he’s adding Crocs to his closet.
“But Bakugou,” Kirishima whines, turning to face him, “we could match!”
“I’d rather kill you and myself before I let that happen.”
Kirishima quirks a brow, “We could match in purgatory?”
Bakugou snorts and pushes Kirishima’s face away, entering the store. “Let’s find something that doesn’t hurt my eyes.”
Kirishima gives the Crocs one last final gaze, and then he’s following Bakugou, closing the gap between them. They explore the entire store as Kirishima inspects every bit of clothing and accessory he sees.
At some point Kirishima taps Bakugou’s shoulder while he’s inspecting a shirt. When Bakugou turns around he’s greeted with the sight of Kirishima and a pair of red horns on his head.
“How do I look?” Kirishima winks, and Bakugou huffs.
“How fitting,” he replies, “it’s almost like I’m looking at the devil themself.”
With a dramatic flutter of his eyes, Kirishima places the back of his hand to his forehead. “You flatter me!” He glances over Bakugou’s shoulder and straightens, head tilting. “That’s a cool shirt! You should get it!”
Bakugou shrugs, “I don’t exactly carry any universal currency on me.”
“Pssht,” Kirishima purses his lips, “I’ll buy it for you!”
Brows pinching together, Bakugou crosses his arms over his chest. He stares at Kirishima for a long minute before Kirishima is rolling his eyes, throwing his arms up into the air.
“I didn’t steal anything!” Kirishima pouts, “You have such little faith in me.”
“You’re a demon.”
“That’s fair, but it’s my friend Mina’s money, not mine.” He pauses, “She’s the greedy one.”
“I don’t want you buying me anything,” Bakugou tightens his arms, shoulders hunching up slightly. “I’ll owe you.”
Kirishima hums, rocking back on his feet. “Let’s make a deal then. I’ll buy you the shirt, and then you’ll meet me next week so we can hang out again!”
A beat passes before Bakugou agrees, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that starts laughing at his weak resolve. It’s a good opportunity to study the demon longer, that’s all. He refuses to admit it’s because he’s curious and wants to keep spending time with the strange boy who dresses like a clown and actually wants to give Bakugou a gift.
It’s not much later when Bakugou feels something tickling at the edges of his mind, and with a grunt he tells Kirishima he has to go. He does his best to avoid the way Kirishima deflates, and ignores how it makes his heart constrict. They promise to meet again at the park in a week, and then Bakugou is opening up a hole in the world, squeezing through after a final farewell.
When Iida sees him, he absolutely loses it.
Bakugou thinks it’s worth it as he gazes down at his new shirt, the white skull design plastered onto a black background staring back. Definitely not the most angelic style.
-
It becomes a routine. Bakugou sneaks off to hang out with Kirishima every week. Kirishima takes him to random places. From a zoo to a museum, there’s no pattern to where Kirishima takes him. The day always ends the same though, with agreeing to see each other the following week.
A month later, Bakugou is confronted by Hakamata, an archangel who is highly ranked. Hakamata corners Bakugou while he’s in his office, flipping through several papers without actually paying attention to the words written on them. He appears so abruptly, that Bakugou doesn’t get the chance to at least pretend like he’s interested in his work.
Bakugou looks at him expectantly, and it turns into a stare off. The way Hakamata watches his every movement without any hint of what he’s feeling or what he wants puts Bakugou on edge.
“What?” He winces at his tone. He’s in front of an archangel, even he knows he should show more respect.
“You’ve been leaving heaven a lot, lately.” Hakamata finally speaks, not moving. “Why?”
Bakugou sneers at him, “Why do you care?”
“Where have you been going?”
“Nowhere! Just away from this place, so I can see something other than dead people all day. Is that a crime?” Bakugou doesn’t understand why he feels so tense, Hakamata’s stare drilling into his skin.
Hakamata hums, “Of course not. I just wanted to make sure you’re safe. Please, proceed with your hard work.” With a snap of his fingers he’s gone, and Bakugou is left glaring at empty space. The encounter leaves him so exhausted that he ends up closing his eyes and taking a nap, even if he doesn’t exactly need sleep.
When he awakes, he quickly sneaks out of his office and drops down to earth. He’s met with not just one, but several demonic energies.
The hairs on Bakugou’s arms stand up as he reels back, hands glowing as he narrows his eyes. “Who the fuck are all of you?”
Kirishima steps forward, pushing the other three demons to the side. “Bakugou! Calm down!”
Bakugou’s heart skips a beat. Has Kirishima betrayed him? After all this time, Bakugou let his guard down, and now he’s going to pay for it. These demons are going to torture him, and eat his insides for dinner like the stories said. That’s what he gets for trusting someone—for trusting a demon.
“Hey!” Red fills Bakugou’s vision as Kirishima steps forward, arms lifted to make himself seem harmless. “These are my friends, Bakugou. I wanted you to meet them. They’re not here to hurt you, I promise.”
Right. Friends. Kirishima has other friends, he’s told Bakugou about them as well. Bakugou glances at each of them. One is blond and has a strange black streak of hair, eyes half-lidded in a sultry manner. He winks at Bakugou upon meeting his gaze, licking his lips with a smirk. The one beside him, a woman, has tanned skin and pale blonde hair much lighter than the first’s. She’s wearing clothes with bright colors that hurt Bakugou’s eyes. The last demon has black hair, definitely the most normal looking of the group. If not for the way he’s devouring a chicken leg whole, bone and all, Bakugou would have questioned if he’s a demon at all.
Friends. They’re just Kirishima’s friends.
With a heavy exhale, Bakugou straightens, power dissipating from his palms.
“A little warning would have been nice, idiot.” He mumbles, but Kirishima smiles in response anyway.
“Guys, this is Bakugou, he’s an angel!” Kirishima announces, to which all three perk up in awe. “Bakugou, these are my friends, Kaminari, Ashido, and Sero.”
The blond one, Kaminari, steps forward and looks Bakugou over. “You didn’t tell us he was so sexy, Kirishima.” A finger trailing up his arm has Bakugou tensing up. “Trying to keep him to yourself?”
Kirishima squawks and pulls Kaminari away, face as red as his hair. “Dude, don’t try anything funny! He’s a friend, not a potential partner for you.”
“You’re no fun,” Kaminari whines, and Bakugou feels like he can breathe again.
“What the fuck was that!” He shouts, rubbing his arms to rid the way his skin is crawling.
Sighing, Kirishima flicks Kaminari across the forehead. “This one’s the incubus I told you about.”
“Nice to meet you,” the brightly clothed demon bounces up to him, smiling wide. “Love the shirt!” She leans in, eyes glittering. “I’m totally okay with Kiri buying it for you, by the way. Next time ask him for dinner too. The guy doesn’t get out enough.”
“Mina,” Kirishima whines, pulling on his friend’s arm. Ashido laughs, backing away with a grin.
“I was surprised when Kirishima said he was hanging out with an angel,” the last of the trio says, chicken leg completely gone. “I thought he was lying to look cool.”
“Sero!” Kirishima gasps, bringing a hand up to his chest and looking far too wounded.
Sero smirks at him, wiggling his brows. “You know I’m kidding, but it is weird! In a really cool way. We don’t exactly get to see a lot of angels, and especially not ones that aren’t trying to get rid of us.” He looks up at the sky for a moment in thought, and then he’s looking back down and straight at Bakugou. “Anyway, where’s the food?”
Bakugou is rubbing his temples. He’s beginning to think all demons are in hell simply because they’re annoying and loud. Who knew the monsters in the stories would be revealed to be big nerds in reality.
They go to a restaurant. Bakugou sits on one side with Kirishima next to him, while the three other demons sit opposite of them. Ashido tells them all that she’s paying, making a point to take out her credit card and ensure Bakugou that she’s not going to steal the food, or torture someone for it. Sero ends up eating most of it, complaining that he’s still hungry afterwards. Kaminari tries to play footsie with Bakugou at some point, to which Kirishima responds by kicking him in the groin.
While Kaminari is draped over the table, whimpering about his precious jewels, Bakugou snorts, unable to stop himself from laughing. When he looks at Kirishima, he’s already staring at Bakugou, eyes wide. Bakugou’s laughter abruptly stops, and he feels goosebumps break out over his arms. They remain staring at each other until Ashido is snapping her fingers to get their attention, making both boys turn away.
After dinner, when the sun is beginning to dip, the five of them sit on a bench. Or rather, Bakugou, Kirishima, and Sero sit on a bench while Kaminari and Ashido are sitting on the other two. Bakugou can’t help but find the way Ashido plops onto a groaning Sero amusing. It’s hard to deny that the four are close.
At some point, Kaminari’s subtle movements catch Bakugou’s eye, and he watches as Kaminari grinds backwards onto Kirishima. Throat tightening, Bakugou sneers.
“You two fool around, or something?” He asks, thoughts foggy as he glares at them.
“What?” Kirishima answers, brows furrowed while Kaminari laughs above.
“I wish!” Kaminari says, no longer grinding backwards. “I’ve been trying to get this asshole to fuck me for ages, but he’s one stubborn guy.”
Bakugou’s heart pounds in his ear, “Stop fucking with him if he’s not returning your advances then, asshole.”
Kaminari’s eyes widen, mouth open as he stares at Bakugou in shock. Kirishima is looking at him too, a hand reached out between them.
“It’s not like that,” Kirishima says, “we’re just friends. Kaminari is a good guy, seriously.”
Shoulders drooping, bangs covering his face, Kaminari frowns. “Yeah dude, I only do what I do because I was made this way. I make sure my friends tell me when they’re uncomfortable. I’d never pressure them into something they don’t wanna do, I’m not like that.”
A blanket of silence falls over them, the moon rising in the distance.
“Oh,” Kaminari smirks suddenly, “I get it. You’re jealous.”
And oh. Oh no. Bakugou feels his blood run cold.
He’s not jealous. He just doesn’t think it’s okay for someone to be grinding on top of another person without their consent, sex demon or not. He’s not jealous.
Is he?
Taking far too long to deny it, Kaminari laughs. Bakugou glances up, hoping none of them can see the way his face has heated up. Something seems to shift in Kaminari as he looks down at Bakugou, head tilted slightly. With a hum, he shrugs. “I was just joking. Seriously though man, Kirishima and I are just friends. We’ve known each other for hundreds of years, so stop thinking about it so hard.”
When the day comes to a close, Kaminari, Ashido, and Sero all wave at Bakugou. Bakugou only grunts in response as they walk away, leaving him alone with Kirishima.
“Thanks,” Kirishima whispers after a few awkward seconds, shifting from one leg to the other. “I know they can be overwhelming, especially to someone who isn’t familiar with demons, so I can’t thank you enough for today. I was worried you’d leave, to be honest.”
Bakugou frowns at that, gaze downcast. Leaving would have meant breaking their pattern of meeting every week. Leaving would have meant he wouldn’t be able to hang out with Kirishima at all.
“I’ll see you next week?” Kirishima asks, the hope on his face making Bakugou’s chest ache.
“Of course, shitty hair.”
Kirishima’s smile ensures him he’s made the right decision.
It isn’t until he’s already back in heaven that Bakugou realizes he didn’t ask the demons any personal questions. The thought to gather information on them didn’t even cross his mind.
-
The demon problem gets worse. Energy signals start increasing rapidly and stories begin spreading around.
“Kacchan, did you hear about the demon Tsu encountered?” Midoriya asks him a few days later while they’re looking over multiple reports of demon sightings. Bakugou keeps his expression neutral when he gazes at him, one brow quirked.
“What?”
“She said the vessel was just a little girl,” Midoriya shuts his eyes, taking a deep breath. “They really are as cruel as we’ve been told, huh? I thought maybe the tales were just angels before us being paranoid, but I guess not. Apparently Toshinori is telling the other archangels to make the demon situation a priority for every angel.”
Bakugou only grunts in response, refusing to make eye contact. He swallows thickly, the papers in front of him suddenly far more interesting.
The next day, Bakugou gets stuck with watch duty. He stands between Midoriya and Yaoyorozu as he curses his luck. They’re the two most observant angels. After just five minutes watching the human souls laugh and play, Bakugou groans internally. He can’t do this.
“I’m going to go to the bathroom,” he mutters, slipping away from the line of guardians.
Midoriya turns to him, brows pinched. “Angels don’t need to pee.”
“Yup,” Bakugou replies, and then he’s gone, dashing through a hole in the universe.
“Where are you—” Yaoyorozu’s alarmed voice is cut off as he breathes in the fresh air on earth. He admires the green scenery before he’s stepping forward. He’s in the middle of a good stretch when he’s nearly tackled to the ground, two arms wrapped around him in a split second.
“You’re back!” A far too cheery voice says, red eyes staring into his very soul. Bakugou feels his cheeks flush as he pushes Kirishima’s face away, grumbling incoherent thoughts to himself. Kirishima giggles, taking a step back while his tail beckons Bakugou to follow. “Guess where we’re going today!”
Bakugou clicks his tongue, “Are you finally going to try and roast me alive?”
Kirishima’s face scrunches up, “I’m not a glutton, but thanks for the offer.”
“You never did tell me what you are.”
“We’re going to the amusement park!”
“That’s not what I asked.”
“Don’t you know that’s our thing by now?” With a wink, Kirishima is slashing open a portal in the world. Bakugou’s eyes widen a fraction, reaching forward to inspect it. Sure, Kirishima had to have gotten to earth somehow, but his method of transportation is eerily similar to Bakugou’s.
Standing his ground, Bakugou gives Kirishima a hard stare. “How do I know you’re not luring me into hell?”
There’s a few reactions he expects, like Kirishima giving him a snarky comment, or getting offended. What he doesn’t expect, is the way Kirishima’s cheeks redden and the way his eyes look down.
“Well damn, I was gonna wait until the third date for that. Let’s not rush it, yeah?” Kirishima says, and the world beneath Bakugou collapses.
“What?” He chokes out, fingers twitching by his side.
A laugh, and then Kirishima is throwing an arm over his shoulder. “Oh, you should see the look on your face! Come on, I don’t want to waste our valuable time together.”
Bakugou lets out a heavy sigh of relief as Kirishima pulls him into the portal. Of course Kirishima was joking. He’s a demon, it’s his job to cause trouble.
The new area is full of flashing lights. He’s shoved around far too many times as Kirishima pulls him through a large crowd of people. It feels like forever before they’re finally at a clearing and Bakugou can breathe. It’s like heaven, and to be honest, he’s not fond of that idea.
“Where are we?” He asks, trying to ignore how cold he feels.
Kirishima beams, “An amusement park!”
“Why?” Bakugou’s face must look funny, because Kirishima is rolling his eyes and snickering.
They spend the entire day there.
Kirishima tries to win Bakugou a toy that strangely looks like a humanized Toshinori for a solid twenty minutes before giving up. Bakugou ends up winning after one round, and instead of the toy Kirishima wanted for him, he picks an angel doll.
“Isn’t that a bit conceited?” Kirishima points to the doll, but Bakugou shrugs.
“It’s for you,” he says, arms extended with the toy in Kirishima’s face. He doesn’t give Kirishima a chance to respond, stomping away with his arms crossed over his chest. By the end of the day, Kirishima is clutching the doll to his chest like it’s a baby. Bakugou’s heart stutters at the sight, making him growl.
When the sun begins to dip, the number of people lowering to a far more pleasant count, Kirishima points at the ferris wheel in the middle of the park. He holds up what Bakugou assumes is Ashido’s card again, so he agrees, if only because the thought of Ashido finding out Bakugou isn’t treating Kirishima right is a little frightening. Her style screamed fun, but her sharp nails proved she wasn’t one to fuck around.
They settle into their seats next to each other while Bakugou tries to keep his breathing even, the space tight enough that their legs and arms are forced to touch. Kirishima feels warm.
At the top of the ferris wheel, Bakugou leans over to look out the window. Seeing the bright lights amongst the night sky, as well as the hundreds of people still walking about makes him feel strangely calm.
“I can see why humans are always so happy despite everything they go through,” Bakugou mumbles, eyes half-lidded as he watches the crowd below wave to the people on top of the ferris wheel, taking pictures and laughing.
A shifting body catches his attention, and he flicks his gaze over to Kirishima. Kirishima’s expression makes his chest feel far too tight.
Kirishima is squeezing his doll in his hands, body trembling slightly with a distant look in his eyes. Bakugou twists around, reaching a hand out before thinking better of it and recoiling.
“What’s wrong?” Bakugou mumbles.
Releasing his grip on his toy, Kirishima’s shoulders drop. They sit in silence, the moon shining perfectly on Kirishima’s face.
“Hell is covered in fire, but-” Kirishima lets out a shuddering breath, “-it’s so cold. Every damn day all I see is eternal suffering, and I can’t even feel bad because they weren’t good people! They were murderers, and rapists, and just the worst of the worst. They deserve it, they do, but why do I have to endure watching it? Like it’s some kind of show, or something.”
Without thinking, Bakugou reaches over to clasp Kirishima’s hand. He argues with his increasing pulse, telling himself it’s just so he can get Kirishima to keep talking and give him information. It’s a dirty sinful lie.
Kirishima gives him a small strained smile, “And sometimes, when a soul escapes and I have to chase it back, I look at them and I consider for just one moment that maybe I should let them go. Maybe they’ve learned their lesson, and maybe I’ll have one less soul to watch get tortured over and over again.” A hand squeezes Bakugou’s, “And the worst part? I don’t even know what I did to become this way.”
Voice breaking, Kirishima’s bottom lip quivers. “It’s pretty selfish, huh?”
Bakugou keeps their eyes connected, and he searches. He stares and examines those deep red eyes until he sees them fill with tears.
“It’s not,” he blurts out, hands tightening into fists as Kirishima begins to cry. Bakugou swears internally at all the years he’s denied his own emotions, because now he has no idea how to handle the emotions of others. He decides to just tell the truth.
“I know exactly what you mean,” he says, “There are days where I look at the smiling souls in heaven and I think, how can they be happy? They have nothing to compare it to anymore. How can someone be happy if they don’t experience being sad? I get it, they went through a lot when they were alive, but what the fuck! Doesn’t it get boring? Shit, I’m bored, and I’m not the one who gets to live an eternity with everything I’ve ever wanted. I’m basically a fucking lap dog for the higher ups.”
Bakugou takes a deep breath, unable to stop himself from continuing. “I wanted to be an archangel all my life because that’s what people told me I should strive for. They complimented me everyday, for hundreds of years, but you know what? I don’t fucking want that anymore. The praise just feels empty now.”
A beat, and Kirishima sniffles. “What do you want?”
Bakugou shuts his mouth, the question bouncing around in his head. He almost lies. It would be smart to lie, he thinks, yet he doesn’t.
“I want to stay here,” he whispers, low and private. “I want to stay here and ignore all my responsibilities. I want to tell Toshinori and the other archangels to fuck off, and I want to rip up all of my paperwork. I want to hang out,” he swallows, “and go to more places with you.”
Several beats pass, then time speeds up. One second Bakugou’s hands are squeezing Kirishima’s, and the next Kirishima’s hand is in his hair and pulling him forward. A clash of teeth and then they’re kissing. Bakugou’s arms slip around Kirishima’s back to hold him close, chest to chest. His heart is in overdrive as Kirishima’s sharp teeth nip at his bottom lip, the taste of iron filling his mouth.
They pull back to fill their lungs with air. Bakugou swallows Kirishima’s exhale, pressing him up against the now uncomfortable seats. A gasp escapes Kirishima when Bakugou’s knee comes up between the demon’s legs, nudging at his groin.
When Bakugou pulls away next, a string of saliva connects them. He stares into Kirishima’s dilated pupils and sees the same desire he knows must be showing in his own. With a groan, he leans in, trailing hungry kisses down Kirishima’s neck. Fingers tighten in his hair and pull, causing him to moan.
Bakugou can feel the way his halo flickers with anger, his holy promise to protect everything good in the world crumbling before his very eyes. It’s filthy; disgusting, and Bakugou loves it.
And then a knock on the window has him jumping up so hard he bangs his head on the top of the gondola. He grumbles to himself, turning around to yell at whoever interrupted them only to meet the glare of a very angry employee.
Kirishima apologizes profusely, pulling Bakugou out and away from the ferris wheel.
The walk back to the entrance of the amusement park is spent in silence as the reality of the situation comes crashing down on Bakugou. He’s supposed to be an angel first, above all else.
He’s supposed to watch over heaven, make sure all the souls experience infinite happiness, and fight for them when the time comes.
Glancing at Kirishima, Bakugou decides he doesn’t care though. For once in his life he’s doing something he genuinely wants, and if that means he’s breaking the rules so be it. The rules aren’t perfect anyway. How can they be when those same rules deem Kirishima an enemy?
Kirishima meets his gaze for a second before he’s looking away, pink dusting his cheeks underneath the light of a single lamp. If the way Bakugou’s heart flutters, made with nothing but love from a higher power, is wrong then he doesn’t want to be right.
When it comes to parting ways, Bakugou wonders if they’re going to leave on such an awkward note, but then Kirishima is caressing his cheek and pressing another chaste kiss onto his lips and everything is fine. They’re fine.
“See you next week?” Kirishima mumbles as he pulls away, fingers tracing Bakugou’s jawline.
Bakugou grunts, “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
For the first time in a long time, Bakugou feels like nothing else matters. He takes a step back, watching Kirishima do the same. Kirishima grins at him, a reassuring gesture, and Bakugou smiles back. It feels weird on his normally stoic face, but it’s also new, and exciting. For once he has a reason to smile beyond when Deku gets in trouble.
With one final glance at Kirishima, he slips behind a bush and he’s gone, stepping forward onto heaven’s bed of clouds.
It’s absolute chaos.
There’s no warning for the view that awaits him. There are angels flying and running about, expressions varying from anger to fear. The souls that normally seem so happy aren’t laughing and playing, but rather staring at the angels with concern in their foggy gaze.
Just as he’s about to fly up and look for someone to learn about what’s going on, a hand grips his wrist and snatches him away. He turns around, lip curled up and ready to snap, but the words die on his tongue when he sees the tears in Midoriya’s eyes.
“Kacchan! Where have you been? When I heard about an angel getting struck down, I thought maybe…” Midoriya bursts out crying and Bakugou grimaces, cursing his luck that he has to deal with two crying beings today.
“Stop crying,” he says, and he’s aware it’s not the way to comfort somebody, but he knows Midoriya and Midoriya knows him. Still, he takes a deep breath, making his tone softer. “Tell me what’s going on, Deku.”
There’s a fight within himself before he reaches out to grip the boy’s shoulder, squeezing it.
“You haven’t heard?” Midoriya squawks, wiping tears from his eyes as he shakes his head. “They killed an angel!”
Bakugou’s body goes rigid. An Angel hasn’t been killed in centuries.
“Who is they?” He asks, but he fears he already knows the answer.
“Demons!” Midoriya shouts, and the angels around them begin to scurry around faster, a heavenwide panic. “Toshinori is ordering a lockdown on all angels. No one is allowed in, or out of heaven!”
Bakugou’s breath hitches. Everything becomes too much, too quickly. His skin feels hot, like he’s going to burn alive and melt down to his bones. The urge to ball his hands into fists and start swinging at anyone and everyone is tempting, but he swallows it down. Kirishima’s voice in his head reminds him that he can’t reveal anything; he can’t reveal the truth.
Over the next couple of days, heaven is in shambles. The souls don’t laugh or talk, they don’t make any noise at all. Even the souls of so many beloved animals don’t make a peep, content with watching the angels fly around alongside their owners.
Bakugou is stuck on watch duty for most of the day, the weighted presence of the archangels on his back. It causes him to look around at times, positive he’s being watched, but only seeing his fellow angels appearing just as miserable as he feels.
Uraraka sighs next to him, making him turn his head slightly. They meet each other’s gaze, and a silent understanding is passed between them. They won’t argue, or fight. There are bigger things to worry about.
That doesn’t stop Bakugou from feeling overwhelmingly bored.
The rest of the angels look dead on their feet as they stand watch, swaying from side to side like they’re about to collapse from sheer lack of interest at any moment. Midoriya groans from further down the line, making each of them turn to him.
Bakugou stops himself from rolling his eyes, feeling heavy enough. Midoriya pauses, like he’s waiting for some snarky remark from Bakugou. He glances at Bakugou, realizes he’s not going to say anything, then opens his mouth.
“This is all that demon’s fault. If they weren’t so cruel, this wouldn’t be happening.” Midoriya says with an almost childish pout.
Tsu hums next to him, raising a finger to her chin while she looks up thoughtfully. “Don’t you guys think it’s strange?”
“What is?” Uraraka responds, tilting her head.
“That a demon would suddenly kill an angel after so many years? What’s the motive?”
They’ve all shifted around so they’re no longer in a line, but rather in a circle facing each other. Bakugou looks over his shoulder. The souls don’t need to hear this conversation.
“You saw one yourself, Tsu.” Midoriya says, frown impossibly wider. Bakugou wants to bark at him to stop.
“That’s another thing,” Tsu lowers her hand, “no one knows the full story.”
The angels gasp, and even Bakugou quirks a brow. “What do you mean?” He asks.
“I saw a demon, that much is a true. They were with a little girl, but the girl didn’t seem upset about it. The demon also wasn’t possessing her, it was…” Tsu bites her lower lip. “It was playing with her.”
All of them baulk at her, jaws dropped. A wave of relief hits Bakugou harder than he’d like to admit.
“Playing?” Midoriya asks, hands splayed out in front of him like he’s trying to grasp at the truth. “A demon? As in, the same thing that killed one of us?”
Tsu makes a noise, crossing her arms over her chest. Her hair covers her face while she talks, “How come none of us know which angel was even killed?”
The atmosphere between them becomes thick with tension, the group of angels gazing at each other. It’s Tetsutetsu that steps forward, never one to talk much, and someone who usually takes his duty very seriously. At first, Bakugou thinks he’s going to berate them all for conspiring, however what he does instead shocks them all.
“Hakamata was the first one to announce it,” Tetsutetsu claims, arms stiff at his side.
Bakugou’s hands turn to fists. “So Hakamata is the only one who saw it? And what, Toshinori just believed him?”
“He’s a high ranking archangel, why wouldn’t Toshinori believe him?” Uraraka comments, mouth set into a straight line.
They part a few hours later, the underlying truth buzzing beneath Bakugou’s skin. There’s no proof that a demon killed an angel. There’s no proof that demons are even evil.
Kaminari’s words on consent ring in his ears. Ashido’s credit card that she promised she didn’t steal, and the way Sero used his own money to leave a startling tip. Kirishima’s smile, Kirishima’s kisses, Kirishima’s warmth. They aren’t evil.
A week after heaven is sent into lockdown, Bakugou’s nerves are on fire. He didn’t think there would be anything worse than the blind happiness that heaven offered, but he was wrong. Blind fear is worse, and far more infuriating.
Skin feeling like it’s on the verge of shedding, Bakugou decides enough is enough. He knows it’s a reckless move, and that all the other angels would be furious with him, but he can’t take it any longer. He has plans.
It’s during their next watch that he puts his plan into motion, hoping his expression doesn’t give away his fear of failure as he stands amongst his fellow guardians. None of them look at all attentive, but Bakugou knows they would react at so much a hint of something wrong. They’re all on edge.
Bakugou only feels slightly guilty using that to his advantage.
Straightening his back, he hesitates for one split second and then he’s shouting. “What is that?”
He points ahead, all heads turning to the direction.
“What?” Midoriya asks, hands glowing green as he steps forward.
“I saw something,” Bakugou declares.
“I think I saw it, too.” Uraraka says, and Bakugou glances at her. They share a look, and Bakugou’s breath is caught in his throat. She doesn’t buy his claim, and yet-. “Hurry, let’s go investigate it!”
Bakugou stares at the back of her head as all the angels move to investigate, not sure how to feel. Uraraka looks over her shoulder and moves her hand, gesturing for him to go. Exhaling, he nods and in an instant he’s no longer surrounded by white clouds.
The last thing he expects to see are the immense amount of dark energies surrounding him. Demons. Everywhere.
They aren’t looking at him, though. Demons are walking around the park next to humans like it’s a completely normal thing. Bakugou expects to witness a possession at any moment, but that moment never comes. The few demons who do notice him don’t start a fight, or threaten him. They only squeak and jog the other way.
It’s surreal.
He’s so enraptured by the numerous dark colored souls, that the sudden weight on his back has him startling and twisting around. Without fully registering who it is, Bakugou lashes out, only for a hand to grab his wrist with ease. Kirishima stands in front of him, grinning like he hasn’t just stopped Bakugou with one swift movement.
“Bakugou!” Kirishima chirps, letting go of his arm in favor of pulling him into a hug. Bakugou only hesitates for a second before he’s returning the hug, arms tightening around Kirishima as the past week flashes by in his head.
“Fuck,” Bakugou chokes out, despising how emotional he feels as Kirishima cups his jaw and presses his lips to Bakugou’s cheek.
“What’s wrong?” Kirishima whispers, voice dropping so only Bakugou can hear him.
“Look at this mess,” Bakugou huffs, pulling away to wave a hand at all the demons walking around. Kirishima perks up, looking around like he’s just realizing what Bakugou is referring to. Bakugou leans in to speak directly into his ear, “Heaven is on fucking lockdown. It’s a damn miracle I made it here at all. There’s something fishy going on, but no one has a damn clue what.”
Kirishima hums in response, slipping his hand into Bakugou’s with a frown. Their fingers intertwine and Kirishima pulls him along, ignoring the demons around them. “I’m not sure what’s going on myself, to be honest. Not many others wanted to go to earth when I first started coming here. Not unless they had some evil intentions, ya know?”
Bakugou grunts in affirmation.
“I wonder if,” Kirishima continues, “they started coming up here because of me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ah, nothing. Forget I said anything!” Kirishima laughs, and Bakugou’s lip twitches. Kirishima still hides so much from him. “Let’s just enjoy the time we have, yeah? If what you say is true, then who knows when will be the next time we can meet.”
Bakugou’s chest aches at Kirishima’s words. He hadn’t thought of that, but Kirishima is right. He got lucky today. That didn’t mean he would get lucky next time.
They walk in silence, Bakugou’s eyes sweeping across the demons in the park as Kirishima pulls him along. It’s not until they’re exiting the park that Bakugou’s brows furrow.
“Where are we going?” He asks, shoulders hunching up slightly when he realizes the demons go beyond the park. They’re all throughout the city as well. No wonder heaven went into lockdown.
“I want to take you somewhere special,” Kirishima replies, not at all bothered by the dark energies surrounding them. Kirishima turns to him, smile in place. “You always deserve to go somewhere special.”
Bakugou’s heart is a lump in his throat, and he looks away. Kirishima’s soul may be dark, but he still manages to shine brighter than a damn star.
Soon, they’re surrounded by sand instead of people. Bakugou blinks a few times, taking in the new area.
They’re at the beach.
Kirishima lets go of Bakugou’s hand and jogs ahead, stopping in front of a large rock. Bakugou takes a few steps forward, only to be tackled in an instant. He drops to the floor, groaning as Kirishima laughs on top of him.
The sun above is hidden amongst passing clouds, and the beach is nearly empty. The weather isn’t exactly cold, but it’s definitely not hot enough for the cool ocean water to seem alluring.
Bakugou lets his eyes close as Kirishima buries his face into his chest, sighing. His fingers find their way into Kirishima’s hair, and he runs his fingers through several strands. Kirishima makes a noise and curls in closer, pressing a kiss to his neck. A gentle breeze has Bakugou letting go completely, all the tension easing out of his shoulders. Heaven feels so far away.
It’s when Kirishima gasps that Bakugou opens his eyes. Kirishima is staring at him— no, past him. Bakugou’s brows furrow and he looks over his shoulder, breath catching in his throat.
He wings are spread out behind him, not exactly opaque though clearly noticeable. Each orange feather blends in with the sand below, and Bakugou grimaces. They’re going to be a pain to clean.
“They’re beautiful,” Kirishima says, startling Bakugou.
“What?”
“Your wings,” Kirishima emphasizes, “they’re gorgeous. I never really got to see them before.”
“I don’t usually need to fly down here.”
“Can I touch them?”
Bakugou grabs a handful of sand, “Whatever.”
“I’ll clean them for you!” Kirishima chimes, scrambling to get off of him. Bakugou grumbles as he sits up, wings twitching behind him. He’s not scared of any humans seeing them. Their sights aren’t as clear as angels and demons.
As soon as Kirishima’s fingers are in Bakugou’s wings soothing out a row of feathers, he regrets his compliance. He bites down on his tongue as Kirishima rubs one of his primary feathers, showering Bakugou in compliments that he can’t handle.
Once Kirishima gets to his coverts, Bakugou is already straining to keep himself upright. He shoves his hands into the sand, legs spread out around them as he tries to hide himself. He brings his knees up when his arms begins to tremble. His palms cackle beneath him as his body threatens to implode.
When there’s pressure on the base of his wing, right by the bone, Bakugou can’t keep himself from moaning, head dropping as his hair falls over his face. The fingers on his wing hesitate before they begin massaging around his scapula. Bakugou whimpers, voice broken when he finds the ability to speak.
“Kirishima,” he begs, and then there are two arms slipping around his waist and pulling him back against a hard chest. Kirishima buries his face between Bakugou’s wings. Lips press to the bone connecting his feathered limbs, and Bakugou melts. His inhibitions subside with the tide in the distance. Legs wall him in and Kirishima rests his chin on Bakugou’s shoulder. Kirishima hums and Bakugou finds the vibration strangely comforting.
Having a demon this close to him should be horrifying. If Kirishima wanted, he could turn and in a few seconds have Bakugou’s jugular between his teeth. He could mount Bakugou’s wings up like a prize.
He won’t though. Bakugou knows he won’t. It’s what keeps him coming back.
Heart slowing to a normal rate, he allows his gaze to lazily drift to the ocean. Violet and orange hues cover the water as the day comes to an end. The last few remaining people on the beach start to gather their belongings and leave, their feet marking the sand with every step.
There’s no telling how much time passes exactly when Bakugou’s eyes are opening. He must have fallen asleep to the chorus of waves. His wings twitch slightly, and he glances at them, scoffing at how fluffy they’ve gotten. Red hair tickles his cheek when he turns his head, the arms wrapped around him tightening.
Kirishima appears to have dozed off as well, his snores in harmony with the wild sea. Bakugou allows a tiny smile to grace his lips, Kirishima’s serene expression causing his fingers to jerk with the urge to touch him.
A harsh breeze catches Bakugou off guard, and he frowns, brows coming together. A prickling sensation covers his arms and neck, and Bakugou’s body seizes.
They are not alone.
“So this is where you’ve been running off to,” a voice says, and Bakugou’s picture perfect moment cracks.
Kirishima shifts behind him, a yawn right by Bakugou’s ear making him wince.
“Oh?” The voice says, and then there’s a flash of light so bright that Bakugou has to look away, only to return his eyes to the figure in front of him. Hakamata floats above the ground, wings far larger than Bakugou could ever dream of flapping on either side of him. “And who do we have here?”
“It’s not what you think-” Bakugou tries.
“Don’t.”
Unmoving, Bakugou bites his tongue.
“Not only have you disobeyed orders from the archangels themselves, but you came to earth to meet with a demon? Are you perhaps possessed?”
“No!”
“That’s unfortunate. This would have been easier if you were.” Hakamata tuts, feet meeting the ground as his wings come together.
Bakugou’s not sure when his fingers became intertwined with Kirishima’s, though he’s glad they did. He squeezes the hand in his, and it squeezes back. This was bound to happen, but Bakugou has come too far to back down now.
“Hakamata, let me explain. We were wrong about demons!” Bakugou keeps his voice steady, Kirishima’s touch grounding him.
Hakamata cocks his head to the side, a sharp stare making Bakugou feel utterly naked and vulnerable. Analytical eyes look past him, and then Hakamata perks up.
“I remember you,” Hakamata says, and Kirishima’s entire body stiffens. Bakugou squeezes, but doesn’t get a squeeze back. “Oh dear, Bakugou. A wrath demon of all things?”
Bakugou’s mouth parts. “What?”
“Stop-” Kirishima is standing up, and Bakugou is immediately overwhelmed by the sight of his energy growing darker, as dark as the night sky. It envelopes Kirishima like a dark flame.
Hakamata makes a pitying noise, “He doesn’t know, does he?”
A growl leaves Kirishima. His lips are curled back, revealing a row of sharp inhuman teeth. The claws on his fingers, normally short now extend, refined and pointed. His shoulders are hunched up and he looks like he’s going to pounce on Hakamata at any moment.
He looks like the one thing Bakugou realizes he’s been denying this entire time. He looks demonic.
“How do you know what he is?” Bakugou barks out, but he’s not sure if it’s for Kirishima’s benefit, or his own peace of mind.
“Well,” Hakamata takes a step forward, “I was the one who decided his fate after all.”
The following silence cuts Bakugou deeper than any set of wings or claws ever could.
“What?”
“There once lived a man far from a peaceful village,” Hakamata begins, “and though the villagers would often invite him to join them, the man had other plans each and every day. You see, this man wanted but one thing in life. He wanted to turn into a dragon.”
Bakugou shakes his head, blinking rapidly as the words sink in. “What does that have to do with Kirishima?”
As if unperturbed, Hakamata continues. “This man did nothing other than make potions all day and night, testing each one out in the hopes that he would become the beast he so desired. There were countless evenings where, after becoming sick from his own product, the man wondered if he would even wake up in the morning. And when he did, he started the entire process over.
“Then one day, years later, the man finally succeeded. He became a dragon, or at least, mentally he did. Whether by his own potion, or his own breakdown after numerous failed tests, the man barged into the village and slaughtered everyone. Falling to his knees that night, the man would succumb to exhaustion, and die soon after.”
Hair blowing in the wind, Hakamata turns to Bakugou with what can only be described at pity in his eyes. “I’m sure you can guess what became of that man once I captured his soul.”
Bakugou’s heart is in his throat when he twists to look at Kirishima. He wants Kirishima to lash out and call Hakamata a liar. To tell Bakugou that nothing that was just said is true.
Kirishima doesn’t meet his gaze.
Instead, Kirishima’s body is trembling and tears are falling from his eyes onto the sand beneath them, a watery gasp sending him into a coughing fit.
“I’m a monster,” Kirishima wails, hands coming up to pull at his hair. “I knew I had to have done something wrong, but so many people? So many lives including my own?”
Throat tight, Bakugou reaches out a hand. “That’s not who you are now, idiot!”
“On the contrary,” Hakamata interjects, “I believe I still see that same monster deep inside.” With a few steps, Hakamata is in front of Kirishima faster than Bakugou can blink.
Before Bakugou can react, an arm is shooting out and Hakamata’s hand is inside of Kirishima’s chest. Kirishima’s pupils are so miniscule that it almost appears as if his sclera has taken over.
“What the fuck!” Bakugou shouts, his halo glowing bright with indignation. “Who the fuck do you think you are! Get the hell away from him!”
Hakamata holds his other hand out, a single finger raised. “A piece of hell is exactly what I plan to show you.” And then the hand inside of Kirishima is retreating, Kirishima’s energy dissipating as it’s sucked to the core of his body. Kirishima’s vessel drops, and Bakugou growls, jumping forward.
Crushing the energy within his palm causes it go wild as Hakamata releases it. Bakugou skids to a stop when a giant shadow towers over him, covering the moon from his view. Bakugou looks up and gapes, breath stuttering.
A large mutilated beast stands in front of him, four- no, five legs sprouting from beneath it, and from its side. The skin by its chest is ripped apart, its rib cage protruding outward with each rattling gasp it makes. Its long neck leads to a head that looks far too heavy for its body, dozens of eyes covering each and every part of it. Jaw hanging open, fangs cracked and gums diseased. Goop hangs from the corner of its mouth, a combination of red and green.
It’s a monster.
Bakugou shuts his eyes.
No, it’s Kirishima.
The beast screeches, and Bakugou covers his ears at the high pitched sound not letting him think.
“This is a demon’s true form,” Hakamata shouts, arms spread out as he showcases the distorted dragon. Bright yellow jets of energy shoot out of Hakamata’s arms, enveloping him in a blanket of power. “And this is why we must terminate them all.”
There was a time in Bakugou’s life where he wanted nothing more than to become an archangel. It was his sole goal, and he had done everything he could to achieve that purpose. Like a loyal dog he followed every command he received without question. He wanted to be like Toshinori. He wanted to be like Hakamata. Archangels were supposed to be good— to want a better world where everyone was at peace.
And demons were supposed to be bad.
Now, Bakugou realizes, nothing makes sense anymore.
With a yell that shakes his insides, Bakugou erupts in a burst of orange. Sharpened feathers curled forward, he pushes himself off the ground and lunges. Hakamata turns to him at the last moment, and in that split second their gaze meets and Bakugou is shocked to see betrayal flash across his features. As if Hakamata has the right to feel that way.
Bakugou’s wings strike at him, impaling the ground when Hakamata jumps backwards. Hakamata’s own wings rise and then a storm of feathers shoots out right at Bakugou. He cries out when they hit him, cutting every surface of his skin like dozens of knives.
When the frenzy of feathers subside, Bakugou remains standing. His skin feels like it’s on fire.
But he won’t give up so easily.
Snatching his halo from the top of his head, Bakugou flings it forward. Hakamata is ready for the attack, moving to avoid the disc with attentive eyes. In that same moment, Bakugou flaps his wings and charges at Hakamata, causing the man to freeze. Either he gets attacked by the disc, or he lets Bakugou tackle him.
Choosing the latter, the two angels skid across the ground in a cloud of sand. Screams fill the space between them as they roll around, each of them trying to gain the upper hand. Bakugou isn’t aware it’s his own screams until he processes what’s coming out of his mouth.
“I’m not your puppet anymore! I’m my own angel, and I’m going to make my own choices. I’d rather hang out with a demon all day than deal with blind fate!” Bakugou spits, knowing his words will be all he has in the end.
Though he’s managed to fight back, Hakamata is still an archangel, while Bakugou is not.
Pushing Bakugou back and forcing his arms up above his head, Hakamata glares down at him, blond hair frazzled. Bakugou can’t help the minor satisfaction he feels at the normally well kept archangel looking so disheveled.
“You had so much potential,” Hakamata hisses. “We are going to return to heaven and you are going to face the consequences of your actions. You will be banned from visiting earth for an indefinite amount of time. Enjoy your last look at it because you will not be back in a very long time.”
Bakugou bites him.
He sinks his teeth into Hakamata’s arm and clamps down, reveling in the shout of pain he gets in return. Hakamata pulls his arm back after a current of energy explodes from his hand, making Bakugou recoil at the burning sensation.
“That will be enough,” a voice startles them both. Bakugou spits out the blood pooling in his mouth and arches his head back, watching as Toshinori himself appears through a ripple in the sky. Hakamata is off of Bakugou instantly. “I have seen all that I need to.”
Bakugou tries to swallow the lump in his throat, but fails as he sends himself into a coughing fit.
“I am saddened by your actions, young Bakugou. When Hakamata came to me and told me about your suspicious activity, I refused to believe him.” Toshinori sighs, “Yet here you are, with this beast accompanying you.”
Tongue tied, Bakugou just listens. Hakamata is one thing, but the top angel himself? It really had been a losing battle. Biting back the pang of emotion in his chest, Bakugou stands up and keeps his head lowered.
“I’ll return to heaven,” Bakugou finds himself saying, ignoring the wet streaks that have begun making their way down his cheeks. “Just leave Kirishima alone.”
No one says anything and the silence fills him with dread.
“I’m afraid we cannot do that,” Toshinori finally says, and Bakugou’s head shoots up. Toshinori doesn’t look happy with what he’s saying, but he continues on nonetheless. “We cannot let a demon roam around like that.”
There’s movement behind Toshinori, and before he can think, Bakugou’s wings spread out and he springs at the archangel. The two of them hit the ground just as a claw swipes by the space Toshinori had been standing a second before. Bakugou opens his mouth to ask if Toshinori is okay, however as soon as he does he is being lifted into the air.
The last thing he hears just before he’s thrown up and out of view are Toshinori and Hakamata shouting his name. He tries to flap his wings and balance himself, but a clawed hand wraps around him and slams him into the ground, all of the air escaping him on impact.
Laying in a newly formed indent in the sand, Bakugou scratches at his throat in an attempt to breathe. The beast, no, Kirishima stands above him, all eyes focused on him. Fear consumes him and Bakugou considers for the first time that this may be where his life ends.
As he thinks about Kirishima’s smile and the way Kirishima showed him a world outside the one he grew to hate, he can’t find himself regretting anything.
“Kirishima,” Bakugou croaks out, and the beast pauses, looking at him up and down as if it’s looking for something.
“Young Bakugou,” Toshinori shouts, and Bakugou’s eyes slowly try to focus on him in the distance. “We will save you, do not worry!”
“No,” Bakugou coughs out, and though he’s sure they can’t hear him he keeps trying. “Don’t hurt him.”
The beast leans forward, and then the only thing Bakugou can see are rows and rows of teeth that will surely rip him to shreds. With no energy to move, Bakugou takes one last rattling breath and brings his hands up to caress the dragon’s head, or rather just a portion of its muzzle.
“Thank you,” Bakugou wheezes, and a new wave of tears escape him, making his vision blurry. “Thank you for showing me what love is, Eijirou.”
Eyes closing, he waits.
One.
Two.
Three.
Bakugou opens his eyes.
The beast has its mouth closed, and with an ache that shakes him to his core, Bakugou realizes the look it’s giving him.
Fear. Pain. Sadness.
His hand trails from the bottom of its muzzle to the top of its nose, and the beast leans into his touch.
“Kirishima?” Bakugou finds his voice, despite how his throat hurts.
A low keen fills the air, and the beast begins to shrink. It gets smaller and smaller until it’s in the form of a transparent figure. The figure has dark hair down to his shoulders, and vaguely familiar red eyes. The boy looks similar to Kirishima, but something tells Bakugou that he’s not— not fully, at least. The boy looks at him, and smiles. Then he shrinks until he’s nothing more than a ball of red and purple energy. The ball floats in the air for a moment before spinning around and flying into Kirishima’s vessel.
Unable to move, Bakugou isn’t aware of what’s happening until he hears a gasp. Chest tightening, he waits until his vision is met with a canopy of red.
“Bakugou?” Kirishima calls out, head twisting around until he’s looking down and meeting Bakugou’s gaze. “Bakugou!”
Kirishima drops to his knees next to Bakugou, lifting the injured angel’s head onto his lap. “You’re so stupid!”
Lips quirking, Bakugou huffs at the words he used to describe Kirishima when they first met.
“Young Bakugou!”
Bakugou doesn’t move, though his body really wants to. It screams at him to fight. Protect.
Two arms lift him up, and Bakugou makes a noise. He tries to look for Kirishima, but his eyes refuse to cooperate.
“Be still, we are taking you back to heaven to heal you.” Hakamata says, far too close for Bakugou’s comfort.
“I’m coming with you!” Kirishima speaks up. Bakugou wants to keep listening, wants to say that he won’t go if Kirishima can’t. Instead, his mind begins to grow hazy and he only catches bits and pieces of the conversation as he drifts off.
“... can’t… sacred grounds…”
“… at fault… begin with…”
“... protect…”
-
When he comes to, Bakugou is met with dozens of eyes on him. He startles, sitting up and regretting it the moment his abdomen flares up with pain. He grunts, slowly laying back down when two pairs of hands gently push him back.
Once his breathing is stable, he glances around. Yaoyorozu, Iida, Uraraka, Tsuyu, Tetsutetsu, and Toshinori surround him. Something tickles the back of his mind, telling him that someone is missing.
“You’re awake!” Uraraka says, fanning herself with both hands. “We were so scared.”
Bakugou quirks a brow, and she rolls her eyes.
“Who else would I get to yell at on a daily basis?” She pouts, and Bakugou snorts.
“When we realized you were gone, we had thought the worst.” Yaoyorozu says, hands clasped in front of her.
“I told them everything,” Toshinori declares, and Bakugou stiffens.
“Why the fuck would-” Bakugou coughs, clutching his chest when he’s unable to continue. A hand holds out a cup of water, and he takes it with a grateful nod.
“Because if I didn’t, then our new law wouldn’t make much sense when I announce it.” Toshinori says, steady gaze meeting Bakugou’s.
Bakugou doesn’t respond, a million thoughts racing in his head. What could Toshinori be referring to? Did Toshinori plan to use what happened with him and Kirishima to persuade a war between heaven and hell? Were they going to destroy all demons on sight? What happened to Kirishima?
“Your friend,” Toshinori chimes in, and Bakugou immediately turns his attention to him. “Would you like to see him?”
Eyes widening and then narrowing, Bakugou sneers. “What, did you skin him and keep him as a trophy?” Though they’re his own words, Bakugou feels nauseous at the thought.
“Quite the contrary,” Toshinori smiles, undeterred by Bakugou’s facade. He turns around and calls out, “Come in, my boy.”
If he wasn’t watching it happen right before him, Bakugou would have thought it was a dream.
Kirishima stands in the doorway behind the group of angels, shoulders hunched up to his ears. When he sees Bakugou, an invisible weight is lifted and he runs forward, pulling Bakugou into a hug. Bakugou winces, and Kirishima lets go, whimpering.
“Sorry, sorry!” Kirishima brushes Bakugou’s hair back, pressing their foreheads together. “I’m just so glad to see you.”
“You’re here,” Bakugou replies, because this isn’t something he can just ignore. “You’re in heaven.”
“I am.”
“How?”
Toshinori clears his throat, “As I saying, after a long talk with the other archangels, nearly all of us agreed to give demons a chance.”
Refusing to get his hopes up, Bakugou peeks at Toshinori over Kirishima’s shoulder. “Nearly?”
“A couple will need to adjust.”
“Hakamata?”
“He actually voted to give them a chance.”
Bakugou’s mouth parts. “Why?”
“You can ask him yourself,” Toshinori responds, and steps to the side. Hakamata walks forward, stopping at the foot of Bakugou’s bed.
The other angels exchange a look before they begin to file out. Bakugou catches the way Tetsutetsu waves to Kirishima, and Kirishima grins. He whispers, “He’s cool. We got to talk and we like a lot of the same things about earth. I think Kaminari would like him.”
Bakugou hums, shifting so Kirishima can sit beside him. He doesn’t admit out loud that the reason he does this is so Kirishima can be further away from Hakamata.
Hakamata waits until all the angels including Toshinori have left the room. Once the room is empty save for the three of them, he sighs.
“I deeply apologize,” Hakamata says, and Bakugou nearly topples out of bed. An apology is the last thing he expected.
“Do you think this is a fucking joke?”
Hakamata shakes his head, “No. I truly am sorry for everything I put you through.” His eyes trail to Kirishima. “And you.”
Kirishima studies Hakamata for a moment before shrugging. “It happens.”
Bakugou gives him a withering look. Hakamata isn’t getting off the hook that easily for him. “Tell me something.”
Hakamata raises a neat brow.
“Did you actually see a demon kill an angel?” Bakugou barks out, and Hakamata freezes.
“No,” he says after a beat.
“Then why the hell did you spread that rumor!”
Several expressions contort Hakamata’s face. “Because someone told me to do so, and at the time I did not consider the possibility that there was no evidence for the statement.”
Bakugou glances at Kirishima and then back at Hakamata. “Who told you?”
“Todoroki Enji.”
-
Bakugou traces lazy circles along Kirishima’s back. Kirishima is resting his head on Bakugou’s chest, the two of them still in bed. Kirishima refuses to leave until Bakugou feels better, even though Bakugou can see how uncomfortable he is.
Toshinori had entered the room awhile ago to tell them more about the process of making peace with hell. Instead of enemies, Toshinori announced that they should consider heaven and hell to be mutually beneficial partners. Heaven would soon open its doors to a few select demons in an effort to create a better afterlife alongside a better world for those still alive.
Soon after that, Uraraka had snuck in to tell Bakugou that Midoriya was missing. She hated to bring up the news during such a weird time, but told him he had a right to know. He appreciated it. When she left, Bakugou sighed heavily. When he said he wanted heaven to be less boring, he hadn’t intended for all this to happen.
He makes a note to try and reach Midoriya telepathically later.
Lost in his thoughts, he almost doesn’t catch the way Kirishima begins staring at him. He yawns, “What is it?”
“I was just thinking about how you said you wanted to be an archangel your whole life,” Kirishima mumbles, “but today you proved that you’re stronger and far better than any archangel could ever dream to be.”
Bakugou coughs, turning away to hide the way his cheeks flare up. “You’re such an idiot. Stop thinking, you’re only going to hurt yourself.”
Chuckling, Kirishima leans in further, face inches away from his own. Bakugou gulps.
“Did you mean it?” Kirishima whispers, and it sends a chill down Bakugou’s spine.
“What are you talking about now?” Bakugou growls, though there’s no heat in his voice.
Kirishima places a gentle finger on his chin and tilts his head to face forward. Their lips just barely touch.
“That I showed you what love is?”
Bakugou’s breath hitches.
“Do you love me, Katsuki?”
“I’m supposed to be the one asking questions.”
“I can give you an answer to the one you’re thinking,” Kirishima smiles.
“Can you?”
“I love you, Katsuki.”
Bakugou’s resolve crumbles, closing the miniscule distance between them as he presses his lips to Kirishima’s. It was supposed to be an answer, but he’s not satisfied. No, no, Kirishima deserves more.
He pulls away, bringing both his hands up to caress Kirishima’s face as he stares into those deep red eyes that have utterly consumed his life.
“I,” he swallows, “I love you too. So much. Too fucking much.” He breathes, and Kirishima grins, kissing him once again.
Whatever happens next can wait. For now, Bakugou wants to explore the world he never could before.