"Izuku. It's alright," Senji finally hissed out. The green-eyed boy started to protest, but caught sight of Pino hiding in Rody's hood. The bird shook its head, indicating that the other boy was lying. Izuku, understanding, stopped resisting the hasty treatment while maintaining the ruse that he was arguing with Rody.
"That's right, boy," the main villain, Flect, spoke calmly to Rody. He extended a hand, ready to receive the item that his unworthy assistants had created. Rody slowly lowered the key, which he'd retrieved from one of Izuku's many pouches. Senji at the same time released Izuku, and slowly prepared to pounce.
In an instant, the room's air changed drastically. The boy in front of Flect flicked the key upward, where a tiny bird darted out to grab it. Flect looked up, then down, to find that the boy had already started his mad dash to the door behind him. In his place, wielding a large blade and a monstrous clawed hand, was the girl that had been tending to her fallen comrade. Said comrade shouted a warning to the girl, as she whipped around the villain's side to deliver a decisive blow.
His quirk activated as she struck, sending her straight back into one of the many destroyed bookshelves. Flect activated the lasers around the room, and used the reflective devices floating around him to further obfuscate their trajectory. Izuku used Air Force to destroy the source of the lasers, while Rody weaved through the shots and toward the door. He nearly made it, but one of the laser beams ripped through his abdomen. Izuku screamed, slamming into Flect and getting hurled back. The boy rolled back up, and spotted his classmate beside their companion. She held him up, mostly on her own legs, and sank her teeth into his neck. A small trickle of blood dripped onto his hoodie as she released him. The two stood up shakily, while the villain was focused on Izuku.
"Don't you lose, hero! Keep him busy," Rody yelled out. Izuku steeled his resolve, and launched a full assault on the leader of Humarise. Senji slipped her arm under Rody's, and they started the long descent down yet another flight of stairs. She was about at her limit for controlling all her scales, so rather roughly fused her left arm over his wound.
"Don't s'pose you could fly us down?," Rody asked, only half joking. His voice was pained, and he could feel his consciousness fading.
"Sorry, not enough scales left," Senji apologized, her voice equally as strained.
Blood from Rody's wound stained both their shirts, and dripped down his side. There were some scales covering the worst of the wound, but Senji really didn't have enough left to do much more. Izuku had more holes in him than she was prepared for, and Bakugo had gotten sliced up pretty badly outside. She could feel an intense chill from the scales she left with Todoroki, but he didn't seem to be fighting anymore or sustaining more injuries.
The two moved in relative silence the rest of the way down. Pino rested in Rody's hood, weak and fading. Senji would have taken the chip and gone herself, but that last blow had done some serious damage. That, and the scratches and cuts from stray bullets earlier. Nearing the end of the steps, Rody slipped on the spattered blood and they tumbled forward. Senji formed tiny wings, and they half-glided down the rest of the way with the force from his fall. Unable to stop a complete crash, Senji pulled herself under Rody and took the brunt of the hit on the hard floor. They skidded forward, almost all the way across the large room.
"G-go.."
She pushed the boy off, and he forced himself to stand. He crawled a few more steps forward, each one heavier than before.
"More. Further. Just..a little..more," she heard him fight against his own body, struggling forward. There was a quiet clicking sound, followed by a drawn out beep. Then silence, interrupted by a hard thud as Rody fell back against the server-like machine and slid down onto the floor again. Senji forced herself onto her stomach, crawling over to the barely conscious boy. She pulled herself up beside him, and he half-opened his eyes to look at her.
"Sorry, this is all I can do," she whispered. Rody smiled weakly as the girl's head fell onto his shoulder. Pino rolled off the inserted key, tumbling onto Senji's head and starting to fade out as Rody's consciousness slipped away.
...
Izuku slammed into Flect, ending the fight with a flurry of blows at max power. The villain crashed into the wall, and Izuku rushed through the large doors and down the stairs. There were only seconds left on the timer above. Cameras around the facility showed his companions in varying states of consciousness and covered in blood. He nearly flew down the stairs toward the other two.
"Rody! Senji-!'
He slid down to kneel in front of the two, who if not for the blood would have looked like they were napping peacefully. The deactivation chip was slotted into the machine, with a weak and fading Pino resting in Senji's hair. Rody wheezed, pulling Izuku's attention back to the pair.
"Deku..I did it, right?," Rody squeaked out, smiling despite his current state. Izuku couldn't help but smile back, and the two started laughing.
"You did, and you were cool," Izuku answered his question, feeling his own injuries catching up with a wave of relief. Using the last of his strength, the boy rolled to his side and lost consciousness beside his new friend. Rody, the last one to fade out, ruffled his fingers through Izuku's curly hair with one hand. With the other, he took Senji's hand in his own. She squeezed it gently, muttering something that he couldn't understand. Then his vision went dark and the world with it.
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...
