Kirishima tried to control his breathing, standing up from the pavement and readying himself in a stance. He stared the villain down. He was basically a lowlife thug, but Kirishima couldn't figure out exactly what his quirk was.

He flexed his muscles, activating his quirk as he charged back into battle. They had been fighting for maybe five minutes, but Kirishima knew he was exerting himself.

'Think' he commanded himself as he dodged a knife thrown by the villain. 'Stop his hands'

Kirishima jumped over the villain, hitting him in the head with his hardened arm. It definitely slowed the villain down, but not enough. He kicked the villain square in the back, forcing him to the ground.

Then, quickly, he made his arms even harder and held the villains hands down while the police surrounded the two. The villain was sedated and arrested, and Kirishima could finally relax.

He was 20 years old and already in the top fifteen superheroes. It was no easy feat, and Kirishima even felt like he didn't deserve it at times. He felt like he was just nice enough for the public to like him, and that's why he was #13. He didn't think he was strong enough to be a good hero, so he kept working.

A news reported approached, holding out her microphone to the pro hero. "Red Riot! Do you have time for a few questions?"

Kirishima smiled and turned to face her. "Why of course!" He was always cheery and bubbly in front of the camera, and in real life too, as it helped give people hope that even the worst fights were nothing.

He remembered words from his idol, Crimson Riot, that seeing somebody die and not being able to do anything was the worst thing a hero could experience. So Kirishima worked hard to make sure nobody would ever die on his watch. Ever.

"What just happened here?" The news reporter asked.

"Well the police have just apprehended some low level thug. His quirk is unknown, but I do believe that he is apart of the gangs causing an unusual amount of trouble lately."

"Are we citizens safe? Is there anything to fear?"

Kirishima smiled brightly. "Of course not! I know that I'd never let anything to happen to any citizen. Theres tons of pro heroes out here ready to protect and serve. These low level thugs also usually don't strike in the day time, so there's nothing to worried about there. Just make sure to be vigilant at night and you should be fine!"

The news reporter smiled and thanked Red Riot for his time. Kirishima waved goodbye and headed down the street, just making sure nothing else was out of the ordinary.

'That attack came out of nowhere. I'll check in with some other hero agencies and see if this is all connected.'

While Red Riot was mostly a free floating superhero, he worked very closely with Fat Gum. The man was such a great mentor figure and hero for kirishima that it was no surprise he often visited and worked with him.

As he walked down the road, he heard two girls squeal behind him, followed by "Red Riot!"

The hero turned around and smiled at the two teenagers. "Hey! How can I help you?"

"Can we please get a picture with you?" One of them asked. She had shiny blue eyes that reminded Kirishima of Todoroki. He wondered what quirk she had.

Her friend smiled politely and kirishima could tell she was shy. Her red eyes sparkled like his, but they had the same determination as Bakugou's.

"Of course! Get in here!" He slung his arms over the girls' shoulders and took the picture for them, smiling and throwing up a peace sign.

"Thank you so much!" They said and looked at the picture. "We'll tag you in it on Twitter!"

Kirishima waved the two girls off as he got a text from his phone. He couldn't help but smile.

Blasty Boy
Nice job on the news. Why so many villains tho?

He responded "Not sure. Maybe gangs or drug rings"

Kirishima knew there was more Bakugou had to say, but they would talk about it when he got home. These quick little texts were how Bakugou checked in with the red head. They moved in together after they graduated, as they were so close it only made sense. The two worked together as heroes as well, often fighting side by side. Bakugou had worked his way up to #12, forcing his partner to get better as he did.

Kirishima walked into the agency, saying hello to every employee, sidekick, and hero he saw. He headed up to Fat Gum's office. He gave a quick knock before walking in and smiling widely.

"Kirishima!" Fat Gum smiled widely and put down the cupcake he was eating. "You look smiley today!"

Kirishima shrugged and smiled wider. "Yknow, I'm just a happy person. Also I stopped a thug, I wanted to tell you a bit about it and see what you thought."

"Bakugou?" Fat Gum asked, taking Kirishima's slight blush as an answer. Since he saw himself as almost a father figure to kirishima, he knew a lot about the young hero. He was glad to see that Bakugou made Kirishima happy, even if the red head didn't act on it.

Kirishima took a seat. "So, yknow how we've seen a rise in the underground crime scene? I think this guy was apart of it. When we find somebody confirmed from these rings, their quirk is always unknown. I don't think the villain I fought against used his quirk ever."

Fat Gum nodded his head. "I wonder if they're all quirkless."

Kirishima nodded. "Maybe they joined with the promise they would be given quirks, since we don't know any of them have one for sure."

Fat Gum nodded. "This is a really good find, Kirishima. You can go home for the day, take a break. You've deserved it."

Kirishima beamed. "Thanks so much! I'll see you tomorrow!"

And with that, he headed home.

***

Bakugou sat inside, scrolling through his twitter. He saw a post that tagged Kirishima in it, so he curiously tapped on the image and examined it. It was a picture of kirishima wrapping his arm around two girls with the caption 'What a babe'.

Bakugou's eye twitched and he scowled. He knew that he wasn't entitled to Kirishima in anyway, but seeing somebody else hit on him made him angry.

He skipped the tweet, trying not to focus on it too much, when the door opened. Sure enough, his favorite red head stood in the doorway. While Kirishima was dirty, he didn't seem to care as he walked into the living room and sat down next to Bakugou.

"Did you not even go into work?" Kirishima asked.

Bakugou smirked. "There's not much crime where I patrol. I guess I'm just better at my job."

Kirishima gasped. "How dare you? Yknow what, I'm mad now." He pouted and crossed his arms.

Bakugou chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I'm kidding, sh*tty hair. But that was a good fight on the news."

Kirishima nodded. "Did your agency discover any links about it?"

Bakugou shook his head as Kirishima opened his phone and scrolled through twitter, eventually seeing the tweet. Bakugou was peeking over the red heads shoulder and waited for his reaction.

"Yknow, I love my fans, but doesn't it feel weird when teenage girls are calling me a babe?" He had a grossed out look on his face.

Bakugou scoffed. "Take my advice and refuse any pictures then."

Kirishima shook his head. "I feel guilty doing that. They don't mean bad but like, I'm an adult and they're teenagers and I feel like they're almost objectifying me or idolizing me."

"You need to stop hating yourself. I don't care what you think, you're a great hero and you need to still doubting yourself. There's a reason you're in the top fifteen. You're f*cking great." Bakugou scowled.

Kirishima smiled. "Thanks, bakubro."

"Tch, whatever, sh*tty hair."