All characters and story belong to Kohei Horikoshi and Masashi Kishimoto
The students of Class 1-A were sitting at their desks chatting about their own things. Well... all except Todoroki and Bakugo. It was the first day of the second semester, and they were eager to get back to their studies after having almost three weeks of vacation.
—Deku-kun, do you think Bakugo-kun and Todoroki-kun have obtained their provisional licenses?—Uraraka asked, while Mineta received a kick to the face from Tsuyu for trying to touch her breast.
"I'm sure of it! Kacchan and Todoroki-kun are awesome!" Midoriya exclaimed confidently.
"I hope you're wrong, Midoriya!" Mineta remarked, rubbing his cheek to ease the pain. "The hierarchy has shifted in our favor!"
"Sorry to disappoint you, Mineta. But Todoroki definitely passed the test. I'm not so sure about Bakugo, though. I wouldn't be surprised if he failed again because of his bad manners. Hahaha." Kaminari laughed.
"That wasn't very manly of you, Kaminari!" Kirishima complained. "They're the strongest in the class, and Bakugo isn't the type to make the same mistake twice."
"I hope Todoroki-san and Bakugo-san passed," Momo commented. "It would be fabulous if all 20 of us had provisional licenses!"
—Momo-chan you're too positive, kero kero —said Tsuyu, with her index finger resting on her lips.
After a few minutes of banal conversation, Aizawa and Todoroki entered through the door with serious expressions.
"I told you he failed," Kaminari whispered to Kirishima. "He's probably at home throwing a tantrum right now."
"Where is Bakugo, Aizawa-sensei?" Kirishima asked, ignoring his friend Kaminari's comments.
"And Kacchan?" Deku and Kirishima asked at the same time.
—Did you pass, Todoroki-kun?— was Uraraka's question.
"Silence, everyone!" Aizawa said loudly and authoritatively. "What I have to tell you is very important, so remain silent until I finish. Afterward, you can ask whatever you want." Todoroki remained silent and looked at the ground with a sad expression.
Bakugo's absence, coupled with Todoroki and Aizawa's behavior, made the class's hearts sink into their fists.
"No..." Kirishima shook his head, fearing the worst.
"About a week ago, Todoroki and Bakugo, shortly after obtaining their provisional licenses, went to apprehend some villains who had just robbed a bank. There were four villains, and two of them escaped. Bakugo pursued them while Todoroki confronted the other two. Todoroki managed to capture one of them, and the other escaped. However, Bakugo..." Aizawa explained, but was interrupted by Kirishima.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO BAKUGO, AIZAWA-SENSEI?" Kirishima shouted, getting up from his desk.
"I said questions for later, Kirishima," Aizawa said sharply. Kirishima swallowed hard and reluctantly sat down, waiting for Aizawa to finish the story. "Bakugo has been missing ever since. There's no sign of the pair of villains he was chasing either. The press will be informed this afternoon, and there's going to be a huge uproar about it. I wanted you to hear it from me instead of the press—"
Many stifled cries of concern at Aizawa's announcement. Kirishima was suffering from an anxiety attack, which he managed to conceal very well.
"Kacchan..." Midoriya whispered, his eyes welling with tears.
"Kirishima..." Kanimari looked at his friend with concern.
"I'm sorry, Midoriya. I know Bakugo is your childhood friend. If I had caught the other villain, we would probably know where he is. Unfortunately, the one I caught isn't saying anything," Todoroki said sadly.
"It's not your fault, Todoroki-kun!" Midoriya comforted him, standing up and taking his hand. "Together we'll rescue Kacchan again!"
"Absolutely not," Aizawa declared. "You're staying out of this."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO WAY?" Kirishima shouted, finally reacting to his sensei's words. "He's our friend! You can't ask us to stand idly by!"
"As far as I recall, none of us here are detectives. There's nothing we can do to find out where they are," Aizawa said. "We have to let the police and the heroes who specialize in disappearances handle it."
—But...—Kirishima couldn't find an argument to refute Aizawa's words.
"Wait a minute..." Midoriya's mind was racing. He let go of Todoroki's hand and put his hand to his mouth thoughtfully. "Todoroki-kun said earlier that the villain he caught isn't saying anything. Mind Reader could read his mind and tell us where his classmates are!" he said excitedly, jumping up and down.
"Well thought out, Midoriya! That was very manly!" Kirishima said with a grin. "We'll be one step closer to finding out where they are!"
"Well, I didn't think the little hopping thing was very manly," commented Mineta, who received a playful tug on his ear from Mina. "Ouch!"
"Midoriya-kun, Kirishima-kun..." Iida murmured dejectedly. "I'm sorry to say that Japanese law prohibits any kind of use of Quirks by prisoners."
"You're kidding, right?" Kirishima said, looking annoyed.
—Aizawa-sensei...—Uraraka said, looking at her teacher for confirmation.
"Iida is right. We discussed it in a meeting with the police commissioner, and he was emphatic. But you shouldn't worry. There are numerous police officers and heroes whose sole task is to find Bakugo and the other three villains Todoroki described."
"We can't just stand by and do nothing! There must be something we can do!" Kirisihima insisted.
"Yes! We can help the police find Bakugo! We already have hero licenses, Aizawa-sensei!" Mina said, defending Kirishima's idea.
"Provisional licenses," Aizawa reminded them. "Don't make me revoke them for disobeying me. And it's not like you have time to play detective. All Might has left a huge void that we all have to fill, and you also need to keep studying to continue improving as heroes. In the mornings you'll be at the academy, and in the afternoons you'll patrol in pairs with a pro hero as your partner."
—But we're an odd number, Aizawa-sensei. How are you going to divide us, kero kero?—Tsuyu asked.
"We're not an odd number, Tsuyu-chan," Kirishima said, his face showing determination. "Bakugo will be back soon. I'll go with him. Divide the rest of the class however you like, Aizawa-sensei."
"The couples are Aoyama and Ashido." Uraraka and Iida. Kanimari and Jiro. Koda and Sato. Mineta and Yaoyorozu. Tokoyami and Shoji. Sero and Asui. Hagakure and Ojiro. And finally Kirishima. —announced Aizawa
"And Bakugo," the redhead added. "Kirishima and Bakugo."
"Heh," Aizawa said with a smile, pleased by Kirishima's determination. "That's right. Kirishima and Bakugo."
"What about Todoroki-kun and me?" Midoriya asked.
"You are special cases. When classes are over, you will stay here while the rest go on patrol with the heroes," Aizawa explained.
When classes ended, All Might and Aizawa explained to Todoroki and Midoriya that the Japanese government had placed all its faith in them to become the new number one and number two heroes, replacing the retired All Might and the badly injured Endeavor. But in order for them to be able to replace them reliably, they needed intense and special training that would shorten the time it took for the government's objective to be achieved.
The days passed with a certain routine for Class 1-A. Classes and patrol. Patrol and classes. Luckily for them, there were no other major incidents. In contrast, the city of Musutafu was changing more and more. The villains and the new quirk liberation movement were gaining strength with each passing day. The efforts required of the police and heroes were increasing. If things continued to evolve this way, the city would soon descend into anarchy and utter chaos. This growing influence of these groups opposed to the heroes and the police was bad news for the efforts to find Bakugo and the other three villains involved in the bank robbery.
A month and a half after Bakugo's disappearance, Kirishima's life was about to change drastically. This change would begin to be noticeable with his visit to the Bakugo house. It wasn't the first time he'd seen the Bakugo family, but it would be the time that affected him the most.
Kirishima took advantage of a free weekend to visit Bakugo's parents and, while he was at it, find out how the investigation was going. He rang the doorbell, but no one answered. He had to ring three more times before Mitsuki finally opened the door. To say she looked disheveled was an understatement. Dark circles under her eyes were prominent, her hair was dirty, she wasn't wearing makeup, and she was wearing pajamas that looked like they hadn't been washed in ages. What worried Kirishima most were Mitsuki's eyes, completely red, a sign that she had been crying earlier.
"Ms. Bakugo, I'm sorry to intrude. But I was passing by and thought... Well..." He was embarrassed when he saw Mitsuki staring at him like he was a ghost. "Um..." He pulled a Tupperware container of curry out of his backpack. "I brought curry. Hehe." He said, scratching his head, unsure how to continue the conversation.
"Eijiro..." Mitsuki said. Bakugo's mother regained consciousness. "Come in. Don't just stand there."
They ate in complete silence. Kirishima felt awkward about the situation, so when they finished eating, he tried to start a conversation. Since he didn't know what to talk about, he told her anecdotes about himself and Bakugo at UA Academy. Mitsuki nodded quietly, occasionally offering a small smile as she listened to her son's stories.
"By the way, Mrs. Bakugo, where is your husband?" Kirishima asked, hoping that Mitsuki would start talking too.
"He's spending the day in the dungeon," Mitsuki said casually, as if what he had just said was the most normal thing in the world.
"What? How?" Kirishima raised an eyebrow, confused.
"For hitting a police officer. Technically he only pushed him, but whatever. What does it matter?" Mitsuki replied, shrugging.
"But that's impossible! Mr. Bakugo is affable and kind! He's not violent at all!" Kirishima said, not believing what Mitsuki was saying.
"He's the opposite of Katsuki and me. I know. It's funny how bad news changes people," Mitsuki said, her gaze distant.
"Bad news? Don't tell me that..." Kirishima said, with a lump in his throat.
"The police have stopped looking for him," she explained, with tears in her eyes.
"What?" Kirishima said, partly relieved that they hadn't found him dead but also worried about what he had just heard.
"The police have stopped looking for Katsuki, Eijiro. They don't have enough personnel. That's the excuse they've given. They consider him lost. Masaru went crazy and grabbed the shirt of the officer who told him," she explained, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I, on the other hand, just sat on the sofa like a statue."
"There must be some mistake, Ms. Bakugo. I assure you that's it. I'll tell All Might and Aizawa and they'll clear up this misunderstanding," Kirishima said, though he wasn't entirely convinced.
"You must think I'm a bit of a masochist. I miss his yelling and swearing. I even miss him calling me an old hag. Hehe," Mitsuki said, forcing a smile.
"Mrs. Bakugo..." Kirishima couldn't help but hug Mitsuki to comfort her. "I miss you too."
"I need my Katsuki. I want him back, Eijiro." Mitsuki returned the hug, sobbing. "My little boy, my poor little boy."
"I assure you that Bakugo will return," Kirishima said, looking Mitsuki in the eyes, this time without a trace of doubt.
—Eijiro...—Mitsuki hugged Kirishima tighter and cried harder.
"I swear, Mrs. Bakugo," Kirishima said, clenching his jaw.
"I'll bring Bakugo back," Kirishima thought. His gaze reflected an even greater conviction than Bakugo displayed when he claimed he would be the number one hero. "No matter what it takes."