Strays (WHM)

Part 13

Bakugo's face was beet red when she looked over at him. In her state, she hadn't fully noticed how she nearly flashed everyone just a moment before. She held something in her hand that looked like spare clothing. Bakugo took a deep breath, then looked her over once more. He noticed the shredded shirt, of course, but there was a lot of bandaging underneath it. Her tail had a few trails of blood dripping down from it, as well as an amount of crimson spreading across the wrappings.

"Get that off," he growled at her, disappearing for a moment to get supplies from the other bags. Senji's condition was worsening fast, and she felt more dazed than she had in a long time.

She slid down onto the ground, tired from her injuries and the day's events. Pulling the shirt up and over wasn't an option, with the pain that shot up from her back. So she opted to just rip it off instead, and held the cloth over her now bare chest. Bakugo returned with more medical supplies, and knelt down behind her. She sat extremely still while he redressed her various wounds, none of her usual flinching or tensing up when his fingers brushed her pale skin.

"You're hurt pretty bad," he blurted out, turning to place the first aid supplies back into her bag. He could hear a strained grunt from his partner, then the dirt crunching underfoot as she pulled herself back up. She was unsteady on her feet, and stumbled into his back.

"Sorry," she steadied herself. Bakugo turned to face her, examining the poorly wrapped bandaging and her new attire.

"Let's..focus on redressing this first," she choked out, pointing to the even older gauze wrapping her thigh and lower on her opposite leg.

"Don't tell me what to do," Bakugo snarled, but went to retrieve supplies. Senji leaned against the stone, pulling up her loose shorts for better access to work with. She flinched this time, as he worked, making his movements more clumsy. The wounds here were already healed considerably, so they agreed to leave them uncovered for now. The boy stood, and leaned into her with his head on her shoulder.

"You're supposed to be doin' this," Bakugo whispered into her ear. He wrapped his other arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his chest. He traced her tail, showing his rare gentle side.

"Would be better if neither of us had to," Senji retorted, with a warm smile. Her hand found its way upward, her fingers running through the blonde's spiky hair. They shared their embrace for a few minutes, the only sounds coming from the boys on the other side of the large rocky barrier. A little too soon for either's preference, Bakugo pulled away and Senji felt something soft fall over her head.

"Huh?," Senji pulled it off, and realized that it was the buttoned shirt he had been wearing over one of his loose tank tops. She pulled it on, deciding not to fight with the clasps for now. Bakugo helped her stand up and steady herself, but held her hand for a moment too long.

"Quit just disappearin'," he spoke softly, not meeting her gaze. Senji didn't have an answer, nor was she given time to reply. Bakugo tugged at her arm, and she was pulled into another tight embrace. The boy cupped her cheek in his palm, lifting her chin so he could see her eyes. Senji lost all control of her facial expression, startled by the range of emotions swirling in her partner's crimson eyes.

"Sorry," she whispered back. In response, the boy's brow unfurrowed a little, and his hand moved over Senji's ear. His fingers curled through her hair, and he pulled her closer. Their lips met, and they surrendered to the tension surrounding them.

...

I can still hear you, Rody thought to himself on the other side. Pino sank into his hood, while he tried desperately to focus on the puzzle device. He had seen one just like it before, many years ago, but it wasn't any easier a second time. The pressure of his already weird situation, along with the eager stares from the two boys with him, only compounded with his complicated feelings on what he overheard from around the corner.

"What's that?"

"Whaegh!?"

Rody jumped, startled by Senji's sudden reappearance in front of him. While he had been lost in thought, her and Bakugo rejoined the group. The blonde boy shot a needley glare Rody's way, while the girl had knelt down and was mere inches away from him. She had been looking intently at the object he was working away at, but looked up at him when he made that sound. His shocked movements were just right, though, to complete the puzzle and pull the final pin out.

"Ah! Got it!," Rody refocused his attention, pulling apart the box that the puzzle had held together. Two tiny objects fell out, caught by Izuku with his fast reflexes. One was some sort of device, long and thin. The other was a media storage device of some sort, which Senji snatched up. She dug a laptop out of her bag, and opened a tray that could hold the SD card. She pushed the power button, but got no response from her device.

"Really? It's dead," she groaned. The boys all let out their own defeated groans, as a shout echoed up over the ridge.

"Shit, we gotta move," Senji slammed the laptop shut and stuffed it back into her bag. The boys quickly scrambled together the other packs and the briefcase.

"We gotta get over there, though," Rody spoke up. The others paused to think it over, with Bakugo reaching an answer first.

"Icyhot, make us a bridge then melt it," he dragged Todoroki to the edge. The quiet boy let out some small complaints, but followed the other's instructions anyway. Bakugo took Senji's bag from her, and Rody helped her across the slippery bridge. Once over, Todoroki melted his ice and they hurriedly made their way over the border into the neighboring country. Once across, it was only an hour or so of walking into the nearest town. Senji's legs gave out part way there, so Bakugo handed off her belongings to Rody and carried her the rest of the way. They found a public library space, where Bakugo plugged in the laptop and pulled up the stored media.

"There's so many files," Izuku commented. The group sat huddled around a small table, with Bakugo taking the only chair. He spun the laptop around and searched through the files, finding an audio file and playing it just loud enough for the group to hear. The audio log detailed Humarise's plan to use Trigger bombs across the globe, and how several scientists had been forced to work on the bombs. One in particular, a man named Eddie Soul, lost his life developing the countermeasure. It was a small device, the other one that was enclosed with the SD card. It held data to act as a deactivation key, but needed to be inserted into the activation device in the main base.

Senji glanced over at Rody, noting the name mentioned and recalling some of what she'd learned about the boy's unfortunate circumstances. Pino noticed her looking, and flew over. Senji took the bird in her hand, wiping away the tears that spilled over its eyes. She looked back to Rody, who didn't appear to notice her. She watched as he forcefully wiped away his tears, and steeled himself. He was just about to speak when the quiet building erupted with several terrified screams. A woman ran past the shelves behind them, dropping her phone. Izuku rushed to pick it up and get it back, but noticed something on the screen and instead carried it over to his group. He turned up the volume, and put it face up on the table for everyone to see.