Chapter Twenty-Four

-Bakugou's POV-

We made our way down the cliff's edge, hiding behind some boulders at the entrance. Almost a hundred people were waiting to get in, chattering and laughing. They all looked to be high society which made my blood boil, they were the ones who made rules against these kinds of things. I kept glancing over to Kiri, noticing that he was getting stressed out at being this close. Finally we found some people to sneak in with, doing so as cautiously as possible.

Once we were inside Kiri led us to a poorly guarded doorway that looked down a hallway with more doors. Dunce sat in the corner by the door making it so no one could see us. I looked down the long hall, the smell of blood making me nauseous, wondering how Kiri could've lived here for so long. He was quietly picking the lock on a door when I finally got a handle on my stomach, going to the next one and doing the same.

I finally got the lock open, yanking the door aside and freezing at what I saw. Huddled in the corner was a child covered in blood. He looked terrified as he kept trying to scoot further away from me. What was chilling was the black hair and dark gray almost black colored eyes. I put my hands up defensively, squatting down in the doorway.

"Hey, I'm not here to hurt you. I came with my husband to help get you guys out of here, would you like that?" I asked softly, seeing him thinking before hesitantly nodding.

"Ok, come on. You can wait out here in the hall while we get the others out ok, we've even got a fairy that would love to meet you." I stated, sparing a soft smile at the young boy.

He carefully walked out as I backed up, knowing he wouldn't want to get too close to me. Kiri had gotten a little girl out, letting her sit next to Dunce as he had finally placed a permanent barrier up on the door so we couldn't be seen. I saw Kiri turn and freeze at the sight of the boy, a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.

"Kota?" he asked, the boy looking at him confused but nodding.

"Reunions later, we gotta get the others out." I stated, seeing Kiri nod and head off to another door.

It took us about half an hour, but we finally managed to get everyone out of the rooms they were locked in. Most of them had blood or injuries on them that looked like they'd never seen treatment. After everyone was in the hall, free of any chains that they had been wearing we explained how we would be leaving. Some looked flighty, which wasn't good. With everyone in a line, Kiri in the front and me in the back with Dunce, we slowly made our way out of the cave. There was cheering as someone announced things further inside, followed by the sounds of guards running around. When they threw open a door near the end of the hall some of the dragons got visibly scared and stopped.

"Check the other cells, they can't have all escaped!" one of them yelled, causing a few of the younger ones to start crying.

Kiri and I quickly covered their mouths, silencing their sounds as one of the guards looked our way. He began walking closer while looking around, looking for us even past the 'shield' around us. Other dragons looked ready to kill the guy, which meant we'd have to stop them if they did jump the guy. Luckily though the guard just huffed and walked off after getting yelled at, allowing us to begin moving again.

As soon as the entryway came into view I noticed all of the dragons, Kiri included, relaxed a bit. Once outside and in cover, Dunce dropped the cloaking, falling onto his knees in the process. The kids that talked to him earlier looked stressed when they turned at the sound of him hitting the ground.

"Kiri, grab Dunce. We gotta get back up the cliff and head home." I whispered to Kiri, getting a nod.

I watched him throw Dunce over his shoulder, fending off the smaller dragons that tried to lay him back down. After trying for a bit Kiri just picked one of them up and held them under his arm. I grabbed the other two and started to head back up the cliffside the way we had come. It was going smoothly so far, meaning that we had to be extra careful.

-Kirishima's POV-

While carrying Denki I tried my best to help Kat lead the others back to Sero and Mrs. Kaminari. When the two came into view I could see the stress take over her features before running over and taking him from me. Sero was seated next to our egg as it rested in a small pile of blankets, warming it slightly. All the little dragons headed over to it, tapping at the shell gently, making me growl lowly at them.

"Sorry little guys, he's just protective of his kid. He won't hurt you unless you hurt them." Sero said, smiling kindly at the little ones.

"There's so many of them, how are we going to get them back to your territory?" Mrs. Kaminari asked, picking up one of the kids.

"If you'd allow it, could you handle them for a little while at your cabin? We'd come get them once we made it back to the castle to get the necessary supplies and manpower." Kat asked, looking slightly more relaxed as he took the blanket buddle with our egg.

"I guess we could, so long as they agree to listen." she stated firmly, facing the kids that were sitting in silence as they watched us.

"Knowing the rules of that place, you won't get a verbal answer from them till they trust you won't hurt them." I stated, looking over each kid.

"The only time I'd hurt a kid is if they misbehave, even then it's only so they can learn from their mistake." she said, hugging the kid in her arms.

"Let's start the trek back before they start searching the woods up here." Kat stated, getting a nod from Mrs. Kaminari as well as me.

We rounded up the kids, doing a quick head count. Any of them that looked too injured either got picked up by one of us remaining three that weren't carrying anyone or placed on a horse. Denki was laid over the back of one of our horses, with an injured kid behind him to keep him from falling. The others that weren't too injured or too young walked with the rest of us as we headed back.

-Time Skip: At the cabin-

It took us a few extra days, but we finally made it back to the cabin. The kids were welcomed by Mr. Kaminari soon after we explained what would happen with them. Each of them was then looked at by one of us and cleaned up before being sent to sit by the fireplace. Denki was resting on the couch, having yet to wake up still. Kat and I wouldn't leave our egg unattended for even a minute, always in one of our arms or within sight.

"Who's ready for dinner?" Mrs. Kaminari yelled, coming from the kitchen with a tray filled with some bowls of soup.

Each kid was given a bowl before us adults got ours, smiling at the sight of the kids eating steadily. We had planned to stay until morning before heading back to the castle, knowing that it would be a long ride. Most of the kids just slept by the fireplace, huddled into a big pile. Kat and I took the room we had before, our egg resting between us at all times. Sero took the couch opposite of Denki, that way someone was with the kids and him if something happened.

"I can't wait to get home, we'll have to check on missed work. At least we'll be able to take care of our child now." Kat said, laying down with me after blowing out the candle.

"Ya, I'll make sure those kids make it to good homes. That way you can focus on running the country." I replied, kissing him gently as he hummed.

"Nah, if they're gonna live in our borders then I gotta help them. But get some sleep, dumbass, we've got a long trip ahead of us." he said, carefully pulling our egg closer to him.

With that I snuggled closer to both of them, closing my eyes and listening to Kat's breathing. Smiling as I finally had my family back. I drifted off into a happy slumber, having many great plans for the future. A warm feeling in my chest as I felt my consciousness slip.