"Pleaaaaasseeeeeee," Kirishima begged, tugging on Bakugou's sleeve.

"Let me f*cking ask!" The blonde spat, calling his boss and asking to patrol with Red Riot.

Kirishima smiled brightly as he watched the phone call. It was funny seeing Bakugou not curse and act as politely as he could. He held onto Bakugou's leg like a child, earning glares from his blonde friend every couple of seconds.

Bakugou sighed and hung up his phone. "I can go." Kirishima cheered. "Don't make this a babysitting job."

The two for dressed and headed out to the streets. They made quick work, checking in alley ways and shops for any signs of trouble. Kirishima once for distracted by and outdoor market, and earned a slap on the head from Bakugou.

The blonde sighed when he saw a young man approach Red Riot. He sighed again when a teenage girl, recording on her phone, came up to him.

"Do you have time for questions, Ground Zero?" She asked.

Bakugou huffed, knowing that Kirishima was busy with his fan. He nodded.

"What's the best thing about being a hero?"

"Feeling successful. Like I'm actually doing good in my life," Bakugou answered.

"Did you find it hard to make a living in heroing?" The girl smiled.

Bakugou shook his head. "I worked my ass off to make sure I could make this my career."

The girl nodded and chuckled. "Okay so, there's been a lot of debate online, but is there a girl in the picture?"

Something came over Bakugou. Maybe it was confidence, jealousy, arrogance, or knowing that his roommate was too dense to understand, but he looked at Red Riot before turning back to the camera.

"There's not a girl and there's never gonna be a girl," he glanced at Red Riot again before winking at the girl. "Oi! Sh*t face!" He called his best friend. "We gotta go!"

Kirishima waved to both fans before jogging to Bakugou, smiling. "He was really nice. Said he wanted to go to UA when he was younger, but he discovered he could be a hero without having to go to our school."

Bakugou huffed and took Kirishima to the center of town, where they had more alleyways to check. They split up to cover the area, staying close enough to hear a call of danger or an explosion from the other.

Kirishima rounded the corner, checking a back street when he noticed smoke coming from what he remembered to be a government building. He frowned, comparing this incident to the one Bakugou had faced a few weeks ago.

"Ground Zero!" The red head called out, waving his hands for his friend to see. He pointed out the building and the two ran into the square to help.

"Can't we get a f*cking break?" Bakugou groaned.

"Please!" A woman shouted from the crowd. "My husband's inside!"

Kirishima gave her a thumbs up and told her not to worry before checking the grounds quickly. "No villain this time. Must've been some sort of accident.l

Bakugou nodded and they headed into the building. They alerted each other of victims and civilians and made trips back outside. The ambulances were going to take a minute to show up, so the men worked as quickly as they could.

Kirishima could carry five people at most while hardening, so he pushed himself to his limits and grit his teeth and he gently set each person down outside. He ran back in, noticing Bakugou pointing to a man cowering under a desk. He was close to fire, meaning Kirishima had to get him.

"I heard one in the left office too," Kirishima told Bakugou.

They nodded to each other as they separated and grabbed their civilians. Kirishima used his body to protect the woman's, asking her to cover her mouth and nose so she wouldn't breathe in the smoke.

He got outside and placed her down, checking her quickly for any injuries she may have had. He ran back into the building as Bakugou ran out. Kirishima quickly searched for more civilians, and found only one man, passed out in the corner.

"I've got the last one!" He called out to Bakugou as he jumped over rubble.

He managed to grab the man and was about to pull him free when a blade hit his hardened arm. He stumbled back, out of shock, and stared as the man freed himself and smirked.

"Ground Zer-"

Kirishima was cut off when the man rammed him in the chest. He hardened and kicked the man off of him, spinning on his heels quickly and grabbing the mans arms. The villain retaliated and kicked Kirishima in the thigh, which wasn't hardened. Kirishima cursed as he slammed the villain into a wall.

"Ground Zero!" He tried yelling again, but it seemed like his friend couldn't hear him.

The villain stomped on Kirishima's foot and spun around, elbowing the hero in the head. Red Riot stumbled back and held his nose, which was bleeding. He scowled and launched himself at the attackers legs, sliding underneath him to kick them out.

The villain got up quickly and unbuttoned his shirt, releasing a black gas and disappearing into it. Kirishima coughed as he tried to follow the villain deeper into the building. He feared inhaling the gas, but he could only hold his breath for so long.

He choked on his own breath as he called out for his friend a few more times. He couldn't see much, but after a few minutes the gas settled around the walls, and Kirishima was able to make out anything happening in the center of the room.

He was glad that the gas was not poison, and coughed a few times as he checked other rooms, arms tensed up and ready. He grumbled to himself as he headed back into the hallway, seeing a blonde head of hair looking away from him.

"Bakugou!" Kirishima yelled and happily jogged toward his friend.

The blonde spun on his heels when he heard his name. He smiled at his friend and went to say something when the knife entered his neck, and he collapsed into the floor. Kirishima screamed, rushing over to the place where Bakugou had fallen.

The light was draining quickly from his friends eyes as Kirishima panicked. He felt himself shaking as he tore off his sleeve and wrapped it around Bakugou's neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Bakugou," he said weakly, holding his friend carefully. "Bakugou wake up." Kirishima's shaking got worse, as tears exploded from his eyes. "Bakugou!" He started to sob as he gently shook his friend. "Bakugou! Bakugou wake up! Please don't leave me! I'm sorry! I'm sorry Katsuki! Katsuki, wake up. Wake up. Please," he begged.

Kirishima's sobs shook his entire body as he leaned over his friend, holding the blondes shoulders. His eyes had closed, and his breathing had stopped. Kirishima had failed the person he looked up to the most. He failed the person he loved.

"Katsuki," he sobbed and tightened his grip on the blonde. If only he'd been faster.

Kirishima saw a figure approaching in the smoke. He knew he should've gotten up and tried to fight, or help, but he couldn't bring himself to. He accepted his fate as he continued to sob over the body of his closest friend when the figure stopped.

"Oh dear," a woman spoke as she knelt down next to Kirishima.

"I-I-I f-failed h-him," Kirishima cried harder and made an attempt to wake Bakugou up again, knowing it was futile. "W-wake up," he said weakly.

The woman frowned and looked at Kirishima. "Come with me, dear. We'll help you."

Kirishima shook his head and gripped Bakugou tighter. He wouldn't leave. He couldn't.

"We can fix it," the woman promised, offering a hand and a smile.

Kirishima sniffled as he looked up at the woman, his grief clouding his judgement. "C-can you?"

She nodded and pulled him up. Kirishima hesitated before plopping back on the ground and taking Bakugou's belt off of his body. The red head wrapped it around himself before looking back at the woman.

"It'll be okay," she smiled. "I promise."

She took Kirishima by the hand, and the red head gripped tightly onto the dog tag his friend had given him. 

***

"Sh*tty hair!" Bakugou yelled as a black smoke exited the building. His heart pounded as he raced back inside, choking on the thick black stiff. "Kirishima!" He yelled again.

His voice didn't seem to carry, and he lit a small explosion in his hand in an attempt to try and see better. He entered the main office, calling out for his friend and growing more anxious by the second.

He tried to reassure himself that Kirishima was okay, and that he was capable. But a gut feeling the blonde had told him that he was utterly wrong. The black smoke wasn't from the fire, and Bakugou figured somebody with a quirk had entered the field of play.

He coughed as he made a left, turning into a large hallway. He held out his hand in front of him, searching for any sign of life. The smoke started to change, slightly clearing out the middle as Bakugou continued into a round office.

His heart fluttered when he saw the red hair ducking down in a corner. "Kirishima!" He called and jogged towards his friend.

The red head spun around, looking at Bakugou with an unfamiliar expression.

The blonde smiled, placing a hand on Kirishima's shoulder. "F*cking finally. Let's go find this son of a bit-"

He was surprised when the red head hit his hand off of his shoulder.

"Sh*tty hair, what the hell-"

Rocks hit his chest as Kirishima threw a punch, enhanced by his quirk.

"Kirishima! It's me!" Bakugou tried to reason with his friend.

Another punch was thrown and Bakugou was pinned to the ground by Kirishima's boot on his chest. The blonde stared up in confusion and pain as the red head leaned down close.

"You really thought somebody like me would love somebody like you?" He snarled, his words hitting Bakugou like venom. "Never. You're just a failure. A pampered, spoiled brat, who only ever thinks of himself. You disgust me."

Bakugou yelled as he exploded Kirishima's face. He tried to process it all. There was no way this was real. Kirishima wasn't this unkind and unforgiving. But that little bit of doubt that it was real ate away at Bakugou, just as another punch contacted with his face.

Bakugou yelped out in pain. If this was Kirishima, he must've been under a mind control quirk. He would heal, Bakugou promised himself, as he launched AP shots at his friend.

Kirishima didn't harden in time and hissed when the fire made contact with his shoulder. "Monster!" He hissed.

He dove under Bakugou, but didn't sweep his legs out like normal. Bakugou raised an eyebrow and swung his gauntlet to connect with the redheads forehead. He was moving too slow.

Bakugou shot another blast at Kirishima, who barely managed to harden in time. He growled and kicked the red head in the gut before slamming his head into a desk, knocking him unconscious.

Bakugou carefully picked up his friend and set him on the ground. He searched for any sign that this wasn't his Kirishima. He wasn't fighting like himself. Bakugou furrowed his brows as he looked for any inconsistencies on his friend. He sighed in relief when he spotted it.

Kirishima wasn't wearing his dog tag.

It was Christmas, and both boys families were busy for business trips and other important matters. It was the first Christmas Kirishima and Bakugou shared together in their apartment, and Kirishima made sure it was extra special.

He presented his friend with a gift. Upon opening, Bakugou discovered two dog tags. A matching set. Kirishima lifted one and explained how it was meant for himself.

Kirishima's dog tag read "Sh*tty hair, you're stupidly strong. -Katsuki Bakugou." Kirishima smiled as he put the dog tag around his neck.

"Check yours!" He commanded his friend.

Bakugou's dog tag read "Blasty McSpolde, thank you for being my inspiration. -Eijiro Kirishima."

Neither boys had taken the dog tags off since.

Bakugou huffed as he picked up the fake, putting him over his shoulder. He assumed this was the villain, and that perhaps the villain had some sort of shape shifting quirk. That meant Kirishima was in the building, and if Bakugou's theory was correct, safe.

He headed to the main hall and almost made it to the door when a knife barely missed his shoulders. He dropped the fake in surprise and spun around, eyeing the villain, with smoke coming off of his body.

Bakugou glanced at the fake in confusion before launching himself at the villain. They stumbled around, each landing hits on one another, before the villain managed to cut Bakugou.

Bakugou screamed at him and launched an explosion, which burnt the villains body. The villain sent out more smoke, covering himself as he escaped to who knows where.

The smoke left almost immediately like its owner and Bakugou spun around angrily, searching for any sign of his disappearance.

"Two villains," he muttered to himself and grabbed the fake again, taking him outside for the police.

***

Bakugou crossed his arms over his chest, huffing as he waited in the police station. He was back in civilian clothes, so at the least he was comfortable.

He played with the dog tag around his neck and ran his fingers over the engraved letters. He was taken to the station almost immediately and still hadn't seen Kirishima, even two hours later.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't worried. He'd be lying if he said he didn't fear that his 'fake' Kirishima was the real one. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't worried that Kirishima was telling him the truth.

His head snapped up as a police officer stood in front of him, holding a Manila folder and sighing.

"The body you brought in wasn't real," he looked at the blonde.

"The hell you mean, not real? He cut me!" Bakugou was getting annoyed. Anxious.

"The villain's name was Dreamscape. His quirk is called sandman, and he's able to creat two different smokes from his body. The first allows for people's best dreams to come true. The second allows for people's worst nightmares to exist. So this body wasn't real, it was just a living version of your nightmare."

Bakugou nodded slowly, taking in everything the officer had said. "So you didn't find him?"

The officer shook his head sadly. "Not a trace. He just vanished."

"I'll find him my f*cking self," Bakugou promised.

An eerily air floated between the two. Bakugou gripped the dog tag harder. Why hadn't the police officer allowed them to see one another yet? Was Kirishima in the hospital?

"Where the hell is he?" Bakugou stood up, staring at the officer. He seemed uncomfortable, as if he didn't want to answer the question. "Where's Red Riot?"

The officer sighed and hung his head. "He's missing. We have no idea where."

Bakugou gripped his dog tag so hard that the words etched into his skin.

"Missing?"