Strays (WHM)

Part 3

"What the?"

"Ow," Senji groaned. She had been rudely woken up when someone slid the glass door open, and she tumbled backwards into the hotel room. She hit her head hard on the floor, and the metal tracks for the door dug into her back hard. She squinted up at a dumbfounded blonde, and heard some shuffling elsewhere in the room.

"The fuck? The door's over there, idiot," Bakugo chastised her, but offered a hand to help her up. She took it, and pulled herself up. She rocked unsteadily on her heels, yawning and stretching her arms up.

"Senji?," Izuku stepped out of the bathroom. Bakugo tensed up reflexively, and Senji sighed.

"Mornin'," Senji yawned again and moved toward the currently empty couch, where she flung herself unceremoniously across.

"You reek of booze," Bakugo complained under his breath. Before either of the boys could ask any questions, Shoto returned to the room and shared the orders he'd received from his dad Endeavor.

"Huh?! Why the hell are we shopping!," Bakugo shouted across the room. He was clearly displeased with the assignment. Senji grumbled a slurred insult from the couch about him being so noisy, and Shoto finally noticed her there. He raised an eyebrow, and Izuku started to ask something but was cut off by Bakugo.

"Fine, let's get it over with!," the blonde commanded the other two to get moving, tossing a blanket over Senji and shoving them out.

Senji slept off the rest of the alcohol, waking up a couple hours later. The boys were still out shopping, and her phone was loaded with a string of irritated texts from one of them. The sunlight bleeding in through the window was even more blinding than usual, and the city was bustling with people now. Senji changed her top, and tied a hoodie around her waist for later. Then she dug out her sunglasses, did a quick check in the bathroom mirror, and took flight from the balcony.

"Get down!"

Senji looked down at a cop that had spotted her flying, and was shouting angrily from below. She cursed, knowing full well that daytime flight was going to be easier to spot but having done it anyway. She flew into an alley and landed, letting her wings dissipate and sliding on the hoodie she'd brought. As she turned to walk out from the alley, she spotted a familiar set of old and worn clothing. Her own eyes met with the gray eyes of the boy she'd seen last night, now carrying a metal briefcase, and they both froze up.

"U-uh! It's not-"

Senji held a finger to her lips and winked, partially to hide her own nervous smile. The boy's expression softened, and he held out a big thumbs up. A small pink bird made a similar motion from atop his head, making Senji laugh a little. Before either could leave their current location, a loud explosion sounded from the street along with a string of insults being shouted. Senji recognized the voice and ducked behind some nearby boxes. The boy with the briefcase panicked, shouting something about heroes, and took off through the alleyway. Izuku chased after him, not far behind Bakugo and spotting the suspicious boy to the side. He failed to spot Senji, however, who flew up after they rounded a corner and surveyed the city.

She could see a trail of icy spikes, likely from Shoto, and explosions in the distance where Bakugo was chasing a villain. Just then, her phone rang from her pocket and startled her. She pulled it out, nearly dropping it, and answered the phone to an extremely angry Endeavor.

"What the hell are you guys doing!," he shouted into her ear.

"I'm not doin' shit," Senji whined back.

She sighed, then gave him a full report based on what she could see from the air. She offered to go grab the boys, but Endeavor instead urged her to keep an eye on things and report back to him if anything escalated. Senji mentioned having a lead, from before, and that she'd continue pursuing that for now. The call ended, and the girl slumped forward in the air, already exhausted. She had called it babysitting on the way here, but she didn't expect it to actually turn out like this.

"I'll deal with them later, they're fine," she made her decision to head elsewhere for now and headed back for the slums. With her scales on the briefcase boy, she could keep track of his and Izuku's location and basic condition. Unlike Hawks, who could listen in on things from a distance with his feathers, Senji could only manipulate the shape of her scales over long distances and feel things like heartbeats or strong hits. While not quite as useful for obtaining information immediately, she could still use the information to track people and get information later.

Gunshots, and a lot of them, rang out in the distance behind her. Senji glanced toward the main city, worried, but shook her head and pressed onward. She spotted the bar from last night, open surprisingly early in the day, and shuffled inside.

"Bit early for a drink," the bartender huffed from behind the counter. He barely looked up from polishing his glass, while one other customer watched her through his peripherals.

"Hmm, maybe," Senji slid onto a stool at the counter and glanced up at the silenced television hanging in the corner. The bartender gave her a nasty glare, but tried to switch to a more customer friendly face.

"Are you a traveling student or something? Chaperones'll be lookin' for ya."

"What, you worried about little ol' me? Don't," Senji switched her demeanor in an instant, throwing the man off. She glanced back to the news broadcast on the screen, which showed her classmate's face and a string of wild charges. The bartender put down his glass and towel, and turned his back to her.

"Y'see, a little birdie told me that you deal in other stuff, too," Senji folded her fingers together under her chin. She heard some scuffling behind her, but maintained her attack on the bartender.

"Little birdie said you might be willin' to share some info with me, for the right price."

"You little-!"

Senji spun around and slipped behind the other man that was present. He had been trying to sneak up on her, and grab her from behind. What he intended to do after that, Senji didn't bother waiting around to find out. She swept her legs under the man's, throwing his balance off while she spun back around and lunged forward. She rammed her knee into his lower back, sending him tumbling to the ground where she pinned him down. She pulled his scruffy hair to hold up his head, exposing his neck, and held a blade made of her scales to his throat.

"What the hell're you doing!," the bartender shouted out.

"Hmmm?!," Senji grinned up at the man, her eyes not matching with the beaming smile of the lower half. Her eyes were cold, and shrewd. Her tail swung back and forth, flicking at the end every so often. The man underneath her struggled, and she rammed his face into the stone floor knocking him unconscious. She produced more blades, and stuck them in his clothing to hold him in place before rising and approaching the counter again. The man behind it flinched and backed away, but she hopped over it with ease and pinned him against the rack of liquor.

"So then, I have a few questions for you sir."