Katherine Ride: Battlefield *BOOK TWO*

Season Four- Mission: Impossible

"How did I let you talk me into this?" Shoto muttered to himself as he brushed a tree branch out of his way.

Katherine turned to smirk at him. Needless to say, she had planned to sneak out of their dorm using her teleportation (which the school's security system couldn't track), and with a little convincing, Shoto had agreed to it—against his better judgment. After her guitar lesson with Jiro and his study session with Iida and Tokoyami, the two had grabbed snacks, a notebook, and some writing supplies, and headed out to Ground Omega once everyone else was asleep. She led the way with the red aura from her levitation—she had decided against flashlights because the Black Death—Storm—would spot them.

"Let me remind you, cariño, that you are as much of a pushover for me as I am for you," she teased, turning back around.

"We're going to get caught."

"The only way we'll be caught is if we make too much noise. But you're quiet all the time, and I was trained by Japan's Best Stealth Hero, so that's not going to happen."

"Who said Eraserhead was Japan's Best Stealth Hero?"

Katherine turned to him again and shrugged. "Who said he wasn't?"

Shoto glared at her and sighed, but remained quiet. As they traversed further into Ground Omega, he asked, "Do you even know where we're going?"

"I know what we're looking for," she replied.

"So you don't know where we're going. Lovely."

"I have an idea, Pretty Boy, give me a break."

"Then tell me what we're looking for," he retorted, stepping in front of her. "I can help, but not if I don't know what we need."

She stopped and stared at him for a moment, then sighed and opened up her notebook. "Our best bet for finding Storm is locating his resting site. Black Deaths often pick secluded areas to hunker down whenever they're not hunting. One of the best indicators that you're in a Black Death's territory is scorched grass. They use their concentrated plasma blasts to singe the ground and keep themselves warm."

"But there are always people in Ground Omega," Shoto pointed out. "That doesn't exactly scream secluded."

"...Well...," Katherine began slowly, "most people don't know this, but there's a large section of land around here that used to be part of Ground Omega. It's been untouched since my dads graduated—perfect for a Black Death."

"Let me guess...we're not allowed to be in there?"

"Nope."

"Great."

She smiled and nudged Shoto, stepping around him. "Don't worry, cariño. I've done this a hundred times; we're not going to get in trouble."

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," he muttered, following.

Ground Omega was more silent than Katherine would've liked, but that was to be expected in the dead of night. The trees rustled in the wind, providing some background noise, but the loudest thing in the forest was her beating heart. At one point, a squirrel scurried across the ground, which made Shoto jump.

"Just a squirrel," she whisper-called to him.

He sighed with relief, then grimaced. "We should go back. This is getting risky."

"What? Shoto, we're just walking."

"Yeah, walking through a place that we're pretty sure houses the most dangerous dragon in Japan."

She gave him a look. "Baby, you're killing me here. We're still in range, so I'll teleport you back to Heights Alliance if you want, but you won't be able to stop me from doing insane shit when you're up in our dorm."