notes: Despite some serious topics in this chapter, it's kind of silly. You know, gotta have some fluff to balance out the angst. Also catch me diving into this world more. I had a bomb ass discussion about it on the Kacchako Discord, which was super exciting. But yeah, in between this so-called mystery (it's...not...), I'm just here to build some delicious tension between our two mains. Poor Deku. He's out here seeing and knowing all this shit, but his partner and friend/rival are oblivious. He's such a trooper.
Day 2: Fall
Seeing as how her apartment was literally burnt toast, Uraraka spent most of the next two days at work, but she slept at Bakugou's. The one bright side of this whole mess was that Deku's place hadn't been torched, which they figured meant that Uraraka was the one targeted. To be honest, Uraraka didn't think Bakugou believed that. He was so suspicious about everything - to the point where he walked her to the police transportation stations and also did perimeter checks around his place. She knew he wanted her to be safe, but he didn't have to do so much. She'd offered to sleep at the department only once. He had reacted so poorly that she hadn't brought it up again.
His pride was so fickle at times, not that she'd never brought it up. The one time she had a few months after she had first met him, he'd acted like his brain had short-circuited and he hadn't talked to her for weeks. She still wasn't sure if she had offended him or his pride had been too damaged to confront her.
"How's staying with Kacchan?" Deku asked from behind his computer.
Uraraka narrowed her eyes at the very careful tone Deku used when asking her that question. "It's fine. He's more of a neat freak than I expected."
"Ha, yeah, he's always been very particular about that," Deku mused thoughtfully. A frown twitched onto his lips as he typed something into her computer. They'd been trying to connect any past crimes with the ones they'd been dealing with. A few had matched, but the dates were troublesome. "Werewolves are known to be messy. I think he's obsessive about cleanliness simply to discredit the stereotype."
"It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't clean and spray everything right after I leave," Uraraka grumbled under her breath.
Deku suddenly started to cough, the fit so strong that she sat up in concern, but he waved a dismissive hand at her and managed to choke out, "I'm fine." After another minute of coughing, he came to a stop, leaning over in his chair to catch his breath. When he sat back up, he held his water bottle up. "Water went down the wrong way."
"Mmhm." Uraraka eyed him suspiciously but didn't argue with him. That coughing fit came at a very auspicious time. His cheeks were probably red from the physical exertion, but it looked like he was blushing as he leaned forward and focused very intensely on whatever was on his laptop screen.
The rest of the day crept by slowly. More often than not, they were like this, which made the investigation all the more frustrating. Aizawa kept a line open with the fire department so any information about the arson case could get passed onto her, but even that had been at a standstill. It had been done with magic, but they already knew that. She had a suspicion that they knew more than they were telling Aizawa, but neither one of them could be certain. There had been something off about that fire, just as there was something wrong about the murders she and Deku had been looking into for months.
Both had been made to look like one thing, but were something else entirely. The murders were framed to look like a werewolf had committed them when they knew that they weren't. All the spells Uraraka had cast over the crime scenes had pointed at an elf, which was making everyone nervous, especially the bigwigs. The fire had been made to look like a magic spell gone awry, but there had been something familiar about them that she struggled to place, like she'd seen it before. She didn't mess with fire spells that often for the reasons that they were volatile and had a habit of turning on the caster if not particularly skilled.
With no new information pouring in - no tips, no clues, nothing - there was very little that she or Deku could do but wait until something else happened or they made another connection. Deku was pretty good at piecing together puzzles, especially when combined with her magic, but even he was hitting a wall. Both of them knew the clock was running down though and it made them anxious. Like it or not, in two days, if they hadn't magically caught the culprit, another murder would happen the night of the full moon.
She hoped Bakugou was okay. The tension about werewolves had grown in the city when the fact about the dates had been leaked to the press. Aizawa was still furious over that. He ran a tight ship. She could still remember the harsh reaming that he had given everyone in the bullpen. He'd been so mad that he looked ready to go rabid and tear someone to bits with his bare hands. He hadn't, but the image hadn't been a pleasant one.
With their shift over and nothing to be done, Deku sighed and slumped in his chair. "I need to do something different tomorrow. I can't just sit here and wait for the next murder to drop in our laps."
"Or deal with the tip line any longer," Uraraka grumbled. Tip lines were helpful, but they could be a remarkable waste of time too. Even though both Aizawa and Deku had made statements to newspapers that the murders were not being committed by a werewolf, people still kept calling in to make accusations on their werewolf neighbors or the one that worked at a butcher shop and the like.
Deku smiled sheepishly. "I set mine up so they have to go through an automated machine first. If they're calling about a werewolf in regards to the case, they're to hang up."
Uraraka snorted. "That's so petty."
"I had someone from evidence tell me that I shouldn't let Kacchan near you," Deku said, rolling his eyes. That did surprise her. She had kind of hoped that the same prejudice against werewolves didn't extend to the force, seeing as how they had a few on it, but apparently there could still be hypocrites as cops all the same. It was disappointing. "As if I can control you or tell you who should or shouldn't be around."
"Bakugou wouldn't hurt me," Uraraka insisted. She was half in mind to find out who that cop in evidence was and march down there to give them a piece of her mind. Deku would try not to tell her in an attempt to keep things civil, but she'd get it out of him in the end. Likely he had already told them off, but still. What right did anyone have to dictate how she lived her life or who she spent her time with?
Deku shrugged his shoulders. "I know that. Kacchan would lock himself up before hurting you." When Uraraka gave him a confused look, he hastily added, "I mean, you know, because he hates it when people stereotype werewolves as violent creatures that always give in to their animalistic impulses."
"He gets into loads of fights," Uraraka pointed out.
"That's definitely more his personality than what he is," Deku said with a laugh. She wasn't wrong. Both of them had stopped him from getting into fights with people. She had stopped the two of them fighting on more than one occasion. Bakugou was a naturally antagonistic person. She'd never associated that with him being a werewolf. He could've been a fairy or a high elf and he would've been the same. "Ah, c'mon, let's get out of here. I'll walk you to Kacchan's place."
Uraraka huffed as she got up from her chair. "I can take care of myself, you know."
"I know that," Deku replied cheekily as he slid his arms into his jacket. "I also know that Kacchan will rip me a new one if I don't."
"So what you're telling me is that you're more afraid of him than me," Uraraka said as she put hers on.
Deku placed his laptop in his messenger bag and pulled the strap over his head. "That's exactly it."
She was going to have to remedy that. Sure, Bakugou was a lot scarier, but she thought that she was pretty tough too. Granted, she knew that she didn't look scary. On top of those sharp canines and glaring red eyes, Bakugou had built up a fearsome reputation while she… Well, she wasn't even threatening by witch standards. There was more mystery surrounding witches and their covens outside of the city. Here, she was treated more like an unusual commodity.
It turned out that Deku didn't actually know where Bakugou lived since he had moved in the past year. Uraraka knew better than to question that. Out of all their mutual friends, Deku had known Bakugou the longest, but they weren't close like most childhood friends. At first, she had thought that they hated each other - or at least Bakugou hated Deku - but it wasn't the case. She didn't know how to describe it. Mutual respect and understanding next to a not-always-friendly rivalry and stubbornness. It was easier to concoct a lust potion than figure out what they were.
"Well, this is it," Uraraka said, waving at the nice high-rise building.
Deku raised his eyebrows. "Oh, he's really doing good for himself. I'm proud."
"What does he do for a living exactly?" Uraraka asked warily. She'd known him for two years and had come to realize since staying with him that she didn't know, which was weird. Surely she had asked him before. Had he just not told her? When she looked back on it, she realized that he'd evaded the question every time. It couldn't be that big of a deal. He was a private person, but he also liked to brag. He had a...healthy-sized ego.
"Oh, a little bit of this, a little bit of that," Deku replied mysteriously.
Uraraka frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you should ask him," Deku said with a laugh.
She didn't know why he couldn't just tell her now, but she figured that it was because it was Bakugou's business. What if it was something illegal? No, she didn't think it was that. It would make Deku uncomfortable. Besides, too many people thought that werewolves were crooks; Bakugou wouldn't do something that fed into that negative stereotype. Whatever it was, she decided to ask him today.
After telling Deku goodbye and parting ways, Uraraka stepped into the building. The man at the front desk knew to let her in by now and they waved at each other pleasantly. The ride up the elevator was somewhat hypnotic, lulling her into a peaceful mood. This building was much nicer than hers. Well, it was infinitely nicer than hers, considering that her building had been turned into a burnt pile of debris. Still, she couldn't deny being surprised at how nice this place was. It was expensive. The rent had to be almost double of what hers had been.
At first, Uraraka had thought that Bakugou wasn't home. She used the spare key that he'd given her to get inside and immediately headed for the bathroom so that she could wash her face.
Only to stumble upon Bakugou coming out of the bathroom half-naked.
The noise that slipped out of Uraraka's mouth was a half squeal/half scream. She didn't manage any words as she staggered backward whereas Bakugou shouted, "What the fuck!" She hit the back of the couch and tumbled, falling over it in a very unceremonious manner. Lying upside down on the couch with her feet in the air and her long jacket flung over her face, she felt completely disoriented, but that still couldn't distract her from the fact that she had seen Bakugou in a state of undress that she'd never seen before.
"Fuck, Uraraka, can't you fucking knock first?" Bakugou barked furiously.
Uraraka didn't move except to press her hands over her face so that there were two layers shielding her. She couldn't remember a time when her face had been so red before in her life. "I'm-I'm sorry. I didn't know you were home." Her clumsiness had definitely worked against her and she had found herself in quite a few awkward situations, but this had to take the cake.
"Gods, you're such a clumsy mess," Bakugou grumbled.
"I'm not that bad…" Pulling her legs over the couch, Uraraka had to awkwardly roll off onto the floor, her coat flipping over her. After shoving it over her head and back in place, she found herself crouched down with her hands on the cushions. All in all, it had been one of her least graceful actions. She was capable of powerful magic of all kinds and even flying to a certain extent, but she flopped backward on the couch because she walked in on Bakugou only wearing a towel.
The redness of her cheeks didn't have the chance to fade away when she lifted her gaze to land on Bakugou again. He was striding back into the room, shaking his head and he buttoned his black jeans. She thought that his cheeks were a little flushed too, but that could've simply been from coming out of a hot shower. It was almost close to the full moon. She knew that he got feverish the morning of sometimes.
She was definitely not staring at his well-defined chest, the muscles taut and strong, or the white scars that littered his otherwise perfect skin. He wasn't as, well… He wasn't as hairy as she'd thought he would be, but then the only time she had seen a werewolf without clothes was when they were transformed and not anywhere near human-like. Right now, Bakugou was still very much a man.
A half-naked, muscular, surly, handsome man.
"Are you just gonna hide behind my couch all day?" Bakugou demanded.
"I was thinking about it," Uraraka shot back even as she stood up and straightened her clothes.
Bakugou eyed her and stepped into his kitchen to rifle through his fridge. "Any news?"
"No," Uraraka sighed, following him so that she could sit down at his little kitchenette. "I think the fire department knows more than they're telling us, but there's not much we can do."
She shrugged out of her jacket and threw it over the back of the chair. He set a goblet in front of her and poured her a dark red wine that looked like blood. If he had been a vampire, she might've questioned it, but contrary to popular belief, werewolves didn't have a taste for blood unless they were transformed. For himself, he snagged a beer and popped the cap off using his nails. To have that kind of physical strength…
"Sorry again, I should've been paying more attention," Uraraka said, idly swirling her finger around the rim of the glass. "I've been so distracted." Her eyes flickered to his and he held her gaze. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but he was tenser than normal. It was easier to read his body language without clothes to hide him, not to mention the way his tail was flicking irritably. "Did you… Do you need me to find somewhere else to stay?"
"Because you walked in on me?" Bakugou questioned.
"No, because…" Uraraka bit her lip. "You know, the full moon is in two nights."
Bakugou took a long drag of his beer. "You can stay."
"I don't want to-"
"It's not an inconvenience," Bakugou interrupted her, calmer than she'd anticipated. There was surprisingly no heat in his voice, but there was a firm edge to it that left no room for arguing. "I won't be here. I go somewhere...safer for transformations - more secluded - outside of the city."
Uraraka sipped on the wine and frowned. It was delicious, but her mind was elsewhere. "If my place hadn't turned into a barbeque, I could make some wolfsbane for you."
"I hate the hangover that comes the morning after," Bakugou told her. "I always feel foggy for a day or two."
"Don't like being docile, do you?" Uraraka teased lightly, trying to force the dark cloud out of her head. If she focused on it, she'd never get out. Better to be proactive.
Bakugou snorted. "I'm a wolf, not a puppy."
To hell if he wasn't right about that. At any other moment, Uraraka might've teased him about being cute, even reach out to scratch him behind the ears, but the room still felt charged with a strange energy that she couldn't shake. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he still hadn't put a damn shirt on. It was cold outside, but the apartment felt uncomfortably warm. Was everything going to go up in flames? If one thing in her life could not be complicated, that would be great.
