Izuku pulled out a map that he'd been carrying with him since they received the mission briefing. He studied it hard as they drove, trying to plan out their route. Senji was initially in charge of navigation while Rody drove, to keep his eyes forward. There were some issues with that, though.
"How'd we get turned around so hard?," Rody complained. He gave the girl some intense side eye, and she squirmed.
"Um. Well I usually fl-I mean. I don't really keep track of roads well?," Senji caught herself a little too late. She had a terrible time with maps of roadways and directions, since she often just flew over the city to get from place to place. Izuku wasn't really aware of that habit, though, and he was too honest to not bring it up later in a bad way.
"Let's head this way, though it'll take longer," Izuku showed Rody the map, tracing a route with his finger. Rody scanned the horizon, and checked the map again.
"This'll be faster, and stays further from main roads," he suggested. Senji slumped down in her seat while the two discussed it further, hoping they'd forget her mishaps. They settled on Rody's route, and started driving again. The sky gradually darkened with some hefty cloud cover, and the roads grew bumpier. Senji tried not to make too much noise, but the noise and rough ride were doing a number on her injuries.
Rain beat down over the ragtag trio as they pulled up to a rather steep incline. Some of their driving had moved to more off road paths, to avoid the increasing police patrols on main roads. Senji, not fond of excessively leaning vehicles, had stepped out while Rody pressed forward. The truck stalled not even a quarter of the way up, its backward return stopped by Senji's scales forming rough wedges under the tires. She was also using scales as a sort of umbrella. Izuku hopped out, and she shielded him from the rain as best she could.
"Senji! I'm gonna use Black Whip to pull it up! Can you keep up what you're doing so it doesn't fall?," he called out to her, shouting over the wind and rain. Senji showed a thumbs up in response, and the two set to work. Senji picked her way carefully up the incline, not wanting to slip in the mud and take a tumble. Or worse, end up out another set of clothes with no way to replace them for a good while. Rody handled steering from inside, and they slowly made their way up. They were nearing the final stretch, both heroes in training starting to struggle from the exertion.
BAKOOM
"HaiaAAAh!"
There was a massive clap of thunder from a really close strike of lightning. Senji shrieked and lost control of her Quirk, forcing Izuku to react quickly and lurch the truck over the final hurdle. The two boys looked back to see her doubled over, and on closer inspection she was shaking pretty violently. Izuku moved closer, just as another bolt of lightning crashed down nearby. It sent some rocks tumbling down. Before Izuku could react properly, Senji had bolted up the incline and was now clinging tightly to him while still hunched over. His face burned up in an instant, but that reaction quickly faded away. He could feel his classmate trembling, and she had buried her face into his shirt to hide her face. Her left arm's form flickered and danced with each echoing crash of thunder, as did her tail. Izuku glanced around, not sure what he was looking for, and finding himself extremely lacking when it came to handling this drastic shift in her demeanor.
"Hey, stay out here and you'll get a cold," Rody spoke more softly than normal, and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched, but didn't try to swat it away or offer any kind of quip. The boy looked up at Izuku, who was panicking in his own way, and gave a knowing smile that set him at ease. The reassured boy slowly tried to pull Senji off himself, but she refused to budge.
"Hey, it's the sound getting you, right?," Rody asked, mostly thinking out loud. He pulled the thick band he wore around his head off, and gingerly pulled it onto Senji's head and over her ears.
She finally looked up at the two, her eyes flashing an eerie pink with the lightning strikes that bleached everything in their light. Rody smiled sweetly at her, and Izuku could only watch things unfold. His initial reaction was creeping back in, making him too awkward to be of much more help. Rody gently pried Senji's hands from his shirt to free him, and he let out a relieved sigh. Senji stared at the ground now, her expression impossible to guess.
"Let's get back into the truck for now," Rody nodded to Izuku. They turned back toward the vehicle and started to climb up, when another bolt of lightning struck a little too close. Rody was caught off guard this time, with Senji latching onto him from behind suddenly.
"That makes it kinda hard to move, y'know," he teased lightly, before continuing forward. They reached the truck, and Senji darted inside. She curled up in the seat, knees bumping the dash, tail coiled around herself. The boys climbed in after, and they started the drive again. Senji fell into a fitful sleep, eventually uncurling and shivering slightly from her damp clothing. Pino chirped gently in her ear, and her twitching stopped after some time.
"That feels like more than just a regular fear of lightning," Rody commented well after nightfall. Izuku had kept a watchful eye on his friend's condition, and nodded his agreement.
"You handled it a lot better than I did, though," the freckled boy said in response.
"I'm sorta used to it? Lala doesn't like storms either. Have you never seen her like that before?," Rody asked, expecting a flustered response.
"No. No, I haven't. I don't think anyone has," Izuku instead gave an answer that left them both unable to say much more. He appeared lost in thought, though what he was thinking was impossible to gauge.
YOU ARE READING
Strays (WHM)
Action"Hey lovebirds, hate to interrupt but-Oh shit." Senji had let go of the cave mouth and fell forward into the dirt, coughing up a little bit of blood and clutching her side. Izuku, half-dressed, rushed to help her but tripped over his loose pants and...
