Sanguine

One

Once, when Kyouka Jirou was eight years old, she experienced what she would describe whenever the incident was brought up as 'the worst pain she'd ever felt in her entire life'.

She'd been hit by a car while riding her bicycle from a childhood friend's house. Because the driver had slowed down significantly upon seeing her, the accident turned out a lot better than it probably could've. However, with her beloved bike twisted beyond use and several fractures located throughout her body that caused her immense pain, Kyouka couldn't remember feeling any worse than she did back then.

Having a promising future as a Pro Hero ahead of her, she knew that there would be instances when she'd end up injured. It was unavoidable and appeared in the news often enough for her to grasp the possibility. Hell, even after having her Provisional Hero License for only two years, she'd sustained a scar or two that she actively tried to hide. Her self-consciousness often took over, even though she'd gotten the marks for performing heroic acts.

But this – nothing, absolutely nothing, could've prepared Kyouka for the pure agony that she felt all the way down to the very ends of her toes. It was the only thing telling her that she wasn't paralyzed in the way she thought she was, and that notion should've been a relief, yet she couldn't bring herself to move. Her chest felt taut and throbbed with a dull ache as she uselessly attempted to bottle it in, all of the unbridled fury and bitterness that had begun to multiply in strength the longer Kyouka was conscious. She could only grit her teeth as she felt the angry tears slide down her cheeks against her will, her hands clutching blindly at the plain hospital bedding, while she wondered how everything could've possibly gone down the shitter as fast as it did.

***

Three weeks earlier

"Oi, Jirou!"

Kyouka glanced up from her phone at the sound of her name, the device plopping into her lap when her hands just grabbed the item Kaminari had tossed in her direction. It was a plastic case for a retro racing game called Rage the Road 2. She studied the cover with a quirked brow. It showcased a scantily-dressed girl waving a shredded checkered flag and a few racecars with flames shooting from their tailpipes.

Her mouth turned down in a slight frown. Did he actually want her to play it? She liked video games well enough, as she and Kaminari had spent quite a few weekends in the common space duking it out through fighting games. However, racing games weren't really her forte and she didn't want to tarnish the winning streak she had going.

"Um, you really wanna play this?" she asked from her spot on one of the sofas, silently hoping that she didn't sound as worried as she felt. "What about the one from last time, what was it called? Bots of Fury, or something..."

Kaminari had been watching her with a hint of a smirk while he set up the vintage gaming system he'd lugged all the way down from his bedroom. Kirishima sat cross-legged in front of the television, his fingers flying across his phone screen while he texted away and appeared completely oblivious to his surroundings. For the moment, everyone else had either gone home for the weekend or was busy with something else.

"It was Cyborgs of Fury, for your information, and I figured we could play this instead since we have more than two players. Yo, Bakugou!" Kaminari called over to where Bakugou stood in the kitchen, the smell of savory beef cooking on the stovetop finding its way over to the three of them. "Come play with us, man – bet you can't beat me at this game!"