Strays (WHM)

Part 19

The pair caught up to the rest of the group, picking their way through the streets. Senji tried to participate in the conversation, but found her voice failing her every time Rody stole a glance her way. Bakugo started arguing with Izuku over something while they walked, drawing stares from passing people. Senji was about to snap at them, but crashed into Rody and the others as they got close to the Souls' family home. She looked forward, at the busted up trailer with the door propped against the frame.

"What...exactly did you do?," Rody finally got the words out. Senji, unable to find a suitable explanation, apologized profusely. There were some new crates out front, pushed against the side of the rusty metal structure. Todoroki and Izuku moved toward those, sharing an awkward glance.

"You nerds stay out here," Bakugo moved forward with them, and barked an order at the four others. The three boys set to work, first tossing out the broken living room furniture.

"So..."

"I'm glad you saved Roro and Lala, but," Rody finally spoke up. The two children looked up at the girl apprehensively, and she cursed for a moment at the weird situation she was stuck in.

"I guess I went a little..overboard. Sorry," she looked away again. Roro, the younger boy, finally addressed her.

"Um, thanks. You were really cool!"

"Uh?," Senji chuckled nervously and turned her back toward the group.

"Looks like they like you," Rody grinned at her, leaning past her shoulder to look up at her face. She jumped, letting out a startled squeal before admonishing him for his sudden movements. Then she turned to the children, desperate for a distraction.

"Hey, did you see on the news? Your brother was pretty cool, too," she tried to change the subject, and thankfully the kids rolled with it.

"Yeah!"

"We saw you fly, too!," the girl, Lala, spoke up finally. The two beamed up at Senji, making her flustered all over again.

"Oh! Do you wanna try it?," she seized an opportunity, eager to break away for even just a moment. The kids looked to their older brother, still somewhat untrusting of his new friends. Senji looked back toward him as well, smiling. He nodded that it was okay.

"Alright, give me just a sec," Senji backed away from the three others, pulling her overshirt off and tossing it to Rody. She knelt down, and unfurled two huge feathery wings. The bright sunlight refracted through the somewhat opaque form, casting rainbows of light onto the dirt. The kids stared up at her wings with bright eyes, Lala reaching out to touch them. Senji blushed for a moment, recalling a similar interaction from her own past.

"Okay. Roro, was it? You climb on and hold on tight. Lala, you can fly front and center."

Roro climbed onto her back, and she stood up with a little bit of difficulty. Rody helped steady her, then picked up his little sister to hand her over. He looked somewhat uneasy, but Senji flashed him a determined grin.

"Just a short flight, then we'll be back," she assured him. Then she spread her wings wide, and took off with a huge rush of wind.

Rody watched from below as she rose up into the sky, until her wings blended with the blue above and she disappeared toward the larger city area. Pino chirped in his ear, softly, confirming that his heart was fluttering madly in his chest. He had seen her in all kinds of states already. Spinning through the battlefield, with monstrous force and crude weapons made from those same scales. The scales that glittered in the moonlight, and refracted the sun's rays into a myriad of colors. Her arm, and her broken tail. And those big, beautiful wings.

"Hoping the sun'll make you go blind?"

Rody turned toward the voice that addressed him, with a tacit tone. He spotted the blonde from earlier, watching the skies just like he had been a moment ago. The other boy glanced at Rody, without moving, then clicked his tongue and returned to his work. Senji returned after a while, and spent the rest of the day playing with the little ones while the boys assembled the replacement furniture and shuffled about.

Later that evening, Bakugo set about making food, forcing Rody out of his own kitchen. They all ate in various locations, with two of the boys sitting on plastic chairs outside. Izuku sat on the recliner, eating quickly and talking excitedly. Rody sat on the couch beside Senji and his younger siblings, who were enamored with her phone for the moment.

"Rody, you should have seen it!," Roro turned toward his big brother, chatting excitedly. Lala stayed glued to the video playing off Senji's phone, talking more quietly with her.

"She busted in like those movies, and beat up the bad guys! It was so cool!"

"Oh yeah?," Rody answered, somewhat distractedly. Roro pouted at his lackluster reaction, while his sister dozed lightly in Senji's lap.

"Sorry, I'm still a little tired. Looks like Lala's ready for bed, too," he pointed at the little girl, who snapped to and shook her head vigorously.

"No way, I'm still wide awake!," she protested. Roro wasn't ready to go, either, and looked to Izuku with pleading eyes. Senji's classmate fumbled hard at that, and she laughed a little.

"Hey, come 'ere," Senji tapped Roro's shoulder, and whispered something to the two children. Their eyes lit up, and they rushed over to Izuku taking a hand each and pulling him along.

"Come tell us some hero stories!," they begged. Rody started to admonish them, but Senji's tail thumped against his leg and he stopped. He looked over at her, as she tried and failed to hide a somewhat mischievous grin.

"Hey, what'd you tell them?," Rody asked. Senji glanced toward him, and erupted into a fit of laughter at his mildly concerned look.

"He'll be fine," she said, wiping tears from her eyes. "We watch a kid sometimes after school, named Eri. He's a sucker for the puppy-dog eyes."

"You two seem pretty close," Rody commented, changing the atmosphere every so subtly.