Rejected Stones

Finding Strength

Finding Strength

Achilles glared at him and answered, "Fool, prate not to me about covenants. There can be no covenants between men and lions, wolves and lambs can never be of one mind, but hate each other out and out an through. Therefore there can be no understanding between you and me, nor may there be any covenants between us, till one or other shall fall."

-Homer, the Illiad

Cold air filled Bakugo's lungs, and his breath misted before him. Snow was falling slowly out of the low clouds in the night sky. The air was soft and silent, save for the soft crunch of combat boots on the rooftop.

"In position," he growled into his mic as Uraraka crouched beside him behind an air conditioner.

"What do you see?" Nezu's voice demanded.

"Two guards visible," Bakugo answered, looking down at the courtyard below through the binoculars he'd been issued. It was a large area, set up like a traditional japanese mansion. At one time, the Shie Hasaikai must have been wealthy. Well. Not for much longer.

"I've got four more inside the building," Uraraka whispered, looking into her infrared scope. "They're playing a game of some sort I think; they're all sitting around a table."

"Very well. Hagakure, move in," Nezu ordered.

"Ok. Man, I am glad Mei made me this suit out of my own hair! I'd be freezing here otherwise," Hagakure commented.

"Cut the chatter! Those thugs hear you and invisibility won't save you from all the lead they'll put in the air," Aizawa ordered.

Hagakure hushed, and Bakugo shifted restlessly, watching down below for signs of a disturbance, but nothing happened.

"Want a look?" Uraraka whispered, offering Bakugo the infrared scope.

"No, you watch. Let me know if something's up," Bakugo told her. "I trust you."

"Ok." Uraraka moved closer to him, huddling up against Bakugo to ward off the cold. He rested an arm around her, enjoying her closeness. It had been a wild ride over the past couple of weeks since Feel Good Inc. Aside from that first night, they'd been able to find time to spend alone together. Hari had been too distraught to do more than cursory bed checks, and the medication she was on made it hard for her to wake up in the middle of the night. They'd had to be cautious, they'd had to be careful, but Bakugo didn't think any of the others really knew what they were up to. Which was fine by him.

"She's in the building," Uraraka said quietly. "Get ready."

Bakugo pulled his arm away, but Uraraka leaned in and kissed him on the cheek quickly. "Luck."

"Don't need it. I've got you," Bakugo answered, his eyes fixed on the guards below. One was smoking, the other talking quietly. They didn't seem to know something was up.

"The mahjong players are down," Hagakure said quietly. "Midnight's gas bomb worked perfectly, Mei. Going to the ones outside."

"I hate this stealth shit," Bakugo grumbled as they looked on.

"It's our best hope for getting Izuku back safely, and rescuing Eri too," Uraraka said gently, but then she nodded. "I wish I could just run in and bust some heads too. To think of what they're doing to that little girl..."

"Just don't go killing anyone before I do," Bakugo said with a shrug. "I don't want your kill count getting that much higher than mine."

"I'm not going to just start killing people, you maniac," Uraraka teased, but then gasped. "They see her!"