Kirishima's PoV

Sero wasn't lying. There were a lot of people from the Country Guard here, chatting with each other or hanging out at the tables exhausted because they had had a long shift. Only a few looked up at all when we went inside. As Sero had told us, we followed him to the notice board and looked at the duty roster together. It took a while for my eyes to decipher the overcrowded and therefore confusing plan until my gaze fell on the names we were looking for.

"Well, what time do you have shift tonight?" Sero asked casually.

"At 8:00 p.m. on the exterior wall. So we still have a little time," I replied as casually as him. Bakugou just nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I'm gonna have to go right away. I've got a shift at the western gate. See you there," he said, patting us on the shoulders briefly and then disappearing again.

Now we were alone. Alone between all the people who could recognize and betray us. But we were not allowed to panic. I looked at Bakugou, who obviously found it difficult to remain calm, and gave him another encouraging smile.

"Come, let's sit down," I said relaxed and nodded to one of the many tables, some of which were empty. Together we walked up to one and sat down. For a moment I let my gaze wander through the room, but in fact nobody seemed to care about us.

Carefully I reached under the table for Bakugou's hand and pressed it briefly. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards for a moment.

"And what do we do when we get out?" I asked casually.

He snorted and took a quick look at the guards. "Should we really discuss this here?"

"Relax Baku. Nobody's listening to us. So?"

He thought for a moment. "I guess we're flying north and looking for a place to stay. Just you and me," he replied quietly and his ears turned a little red.

My heart jumped a little when I heard his words. "Just you and me," I repeated quietly and looked him in the eyes. "That sounds great. And we will fly? I have to admit that I'd like to fly again. The last time I was seriously injured and could hardly enjoy it, but I can't think of anything more beautiful than gliding through the air with you."

A dreamy expression lay on Bakugou's face as he listened to me and I had to smile. After tonight it would certainly be easier for us. Now all we had to do was wait the remaining hour for our shift.

We waited patiently and continued to talk quietly. Again and again we assured ourselves with a short look that nobody was listening to us. But nobody noticed us. Some of the guards left, new ones joined us and sat down at different tables. They were mostly walking in small groups, some seemed to be close friends and some only fleeting acquaintances. Also Bakugou seemed to come to the conclusion that our plan was working and that we were actually drowning in the crowd. Anyway, he relaxed more and more.

When the clock finally indicated 19:50 o'clock, we decided to set off. Before we passed everyone else, we checked inconspicuously whether our uniforms were still hiding our swords and belongings after our sitting. But then we went out again quickly.

The fresh evening air welcomed us when we opened the door and only then I realized how stuffy it was in the tower. I tightened my shoulders a little as we walked the short way to the western gate along the wall. A few people were waiting in front of the gate, but we walked right past them, just as Sero had told us.

But as we approached the two guards, I immediately noticed that something was wrong. Sero looked at us, and even if he tried to hide it, I saw the nervousness in his eyes. My gaze wandered to the other guard. He was of middle age, well built, had grey combed back hair and dark piercing eyes. Didn't Sero say the other guard was from his grade? My eyes briefly scanned the uniform and I noticed that it was different from ours. His shirt sleeves were decorated with golden borders and his cape was embroidered more elaborately.

But I didn't have time to think about it, because we took the last steps towards them and stood up tightly. There was no time for a change of plan. Now or never!

We laid our hands on our hearts and swore the oath. But I didn't like the way the other guard looked at us at all. When we had finished speaking, they naturally raised their hands to their hearts and repeated the oath.

Sero took a step to the side to open the way out for us, but the other one stayed. "Where did you do your training? I don't know you," he asked and squinted his eyes together.

My heart missed a beat. Damn it. Probably the guard from Sero's year was still ill and was replaced by an older colleague. Someone with a higher rank and a better overview of his colleagues.

"In Shiyama," Bakugou replied. Shit. I had hesitated too long.

"Who trained you?" he dug deeper.

"Yamada," Bakugou replied curtly.

"Well, well. I didn't even know we had new staff. He took a step towards us so that he stood unpleasantly close to us. "Who are you really?" he asked with a threatening undertone.

I looked frantically at Bakugou. He had dropped the charade of a bored guard and stared at the man in front of us with his fiery eyes. "You let us pass now, otherwise it can become quite uncomfortable for you."

I suppressed a sigh. Bakugou had probably classified our unchecked escape as hopeless. Anyway, the man immediately saw through the situation and stared at my blond mate.

"Bakugou." he growled. "You lousy little deserter, you stand in front of me and swear the oath." He drew his sword and pointed it at Bakugou's chest.

But the dragonslayer didn't look impressed at all. Instead he laughed quietly. In complete calmness he reached under the trousers of the uniform and pulled out his sword. The man looked at the iridescent blade. "You let us pass now," Bakugou repeated threateningly.

"Certainly not. I had the same basic training as you. Only that I have much more experience in fighting people. Don't play the big guy, kid."

Bakugou smiled dangerously. "I'm afraid you're forgetting something. I am not alone," Bakugou replied amusedly. The man's gaze wandered to me.

"Red," said the dragonslayer calmly. "Time for plan B." He gave me a mischievous grin and I understood immediately.