The latch could be heard clicking into place. Kairi sprung towards the door and clasped her fingers around the curve of the metal handle. Hands pulled up on it, but it didn't make any move of budging. She turned left, and then right. Feet planted against the ground as she pulled harder. Her heart paced quicker as the tension built in her, pushing her emotion through her esophagus. Gasping, her throat squeezed. Desperate terror spilled in.
"Are we locked in?" Shoto asked, calmly coming up behind her.
"It must be the security system in place!" she yelled, jumping back from it. "They're locking the place up!"
"That explosion – that's weird that it happened right when we arrived..." he muttered thoughtfully. Her heart halted and iced her spine. Her stomach dropped as she remembered with sickness – she hadn't told him. Fingers tangled together, fidgeting again. She swayed in her step, keeping her gaze from him.
"It's not that weird..." she whispered. He arched a brow.
"It isn't?"
"Not when I... told... Bakugo to come here..." Slowly, his eyes expanded. Lines around his jaw could be seen tensing. His shoulders rose with his deep, patient breath.
"Are you mad, Kairi?" he said quietly. She winced, feeling the harsh jab of his words.
"I.. I mean... maybe?" He huffed and stalked towards the other side of the room, looking around at the line of cabinets that sat at the back. He frowned at the complicated long names that indicated some kind of scientific chemicals behind them. Another cabinet was labeled with Safety Equipment.
"You can't stand Bakugo. Was your desire to be right so strong that you asked him to come?" The tone of his voice was brutal, but disappointed. Chilled by her own brokenness, Kairi shrunk. She whimpered and trace patterns with her feet on the floor, wringing her hands together.
"It just felt wrong. And I had to do something! If you weren't with me, I knew Bakugo would be offended at the idea of his quirk being stolen. You're right I can't stand him at all, but I knew he could help get the job done. And I knew you would want to do things by the book-"
"There's a reason things are done by the book, Kairi!" he snapped, watching her flinch at the slice of his words. "There's a protocol! A protocol that you, as a hero in training, are expected to follow!"
"But considering that no one was immediate danger, the police would let it sit! It would take time to be investigated! I know how this works! Even more urgent cases aren't solved this quickly and I couldn't let anyone else have my quirk!" The stew of her grief was beginning to boil and bubble over. Her body filled with the shaking misery and she trembled. Shoto's shaking shoulders betrayed him, catching her feelings. He crossed his arms in front of him, creating the illusion of still being upset. Instead, a heavy grief sickened him, and he felt the sense in her answer. Her words didn't sway him, but he could feel what she meant. Guiltily, he looked to the side, trying to avoid seeing her shuddering figure.
She sobbed now, pouring out herself into her hands. It cut straight through her. She had fucked up and she knew it. The protocol still felt wrong, but this was definitely not the way to approach it. And getting Bakugo involved... what was she thinking? She really was being selfish. Letting fear of her own quirk and what it could do... it got the best of her. So much it brought them this far and they would about to get in the worst trouble. The school expected better of both of them, and they failed them. Failure dragged her down, sinking into herself. She felt it. The way she failed her father. The way her teachers would look down on her. And Shoto's face... the way he had looked at her now. He would continue to look at her that way. Those feelings for him, they shattered and bled. It was becoming hard to stand and Kairi fell onto her knees. Shoto grimaced, pacing in his step as her intense feelings were becoming too much for him to handle.
"Kairi," he said softly, still blinking as he turned to look at her. He sighed and walked towards him. "Kairi, listen." The boy lowered himself before her and touched her wrist. Her veins sang at his touch, but she ripped herself away. "This is a conversation we can have later. We have to get out of here first." She sobbed heavily, still unable to hear him. He sighed.
That was the moment when a loud buzzer sounded in the room, and a bright red light flicked up. The both of them looked up, Kairi wiping at her eyes. A bright sign rested next to the light, a small digital screen counting down from 60.
"'Toxic Gas Test in Progress. Please Remain In Observation Room?!'" Shoto read, voice growing louder with each word. Her body clamped together with dread.
"A toxic gas testing chamber?!" Kairi squeaked. "What do they do here?!" Shoto didn't pause to answer, and was gripping her wrist firmly, pulling her to her feet. His eyes went to the small door on the end, a sign reading "OBSERVATION ROOM." With his other hand, he tugged on the metal handle, jerking at it with no luck. He growled and shot a blast of against it, hoping to break the door handle. However, the handle only remained encased in the globe of ice he shot at it. Kairi tore away from him and ran to the safety equipment cabinet. Nails dragged at the edge of it, but it didn't move. Her agitated gaze noted the silver circle that held a place for a key.
"Twenty seconds," Shoto read.
"I know!" she screamed. His eyes lit as an idea came over him. He flew back over to where she was still crouched in front of the cabinet. He slid onto his knees in front of her, and flung his left arm around her. Right hand swung around and quickly drew a panel of ice around them, encasing them an odd-shaped enclosure. At its sealing, a choir of several vents hummed as they blasted out whatever toxic substance was being fed into the room.
"What the hell is going on?" Kairi asked. "Okay yeah – clearly, Bakugo broke in and that was bad, but are they really trying to kill us?"
"You might have been right about something very wrong going on..." Shoto admitted, dropping his arm from but still remaining incredibly close. The tightness of the strange igloo he had just crafted left little room for them to move around, so he was forced to remain close to her. However, it still left Kairi's cheeks to flourish with pink and her skin to boil pleasantly. Her center flew rummaged about behind her chest. She gulped, skin crawling with anticipation and nervousness of... something.
"Y-yeah..." she stumbled, swallowing harshly. "I meant I felt it but... even so couldn't they just... arrest us?"
"Maybe Bakugo really did something?"
"They haven't tried to come down this way so maybe they don't know where we are?"
"But they turned on the gas, and I'm sure they have the cameras on."
"But we're protected by your quirk." The air began to nip at her heated skin. She pulled her legs in closer to her chest.
"I don't know how long this will last. We won't be able to stay in here too long or else we'll begin to slip into hypothermia. If I try to warm us with my fire, I risk letting in the gas." A force ripped at her ribs, plunging terror and uncertainty through her. They were trapped?
"We have nowhere to go?" Her voice cracked. His eyes, both warm despite their varying colors, looked down on her gently. Her heart flared with excited heat. While the outside of her was chilling by the minute, her insides were vibrant.
"I'm going to keep you safe, Kairi. No matter what it takes." The breath that left her was painfully chilled, a white puff escaping her mouth as it conflicted with the cold air. Her phone sang and she shifted awkwardly to fish it from her sweatshirt pocket. Her air hovered over it, becoming more visible as their cocoon grew colder.
Where the hell are you? – Bakugo
We're stuck. The security system went off and we're stuck in the toxic gas room. A gas has been turned on. – Kairi
You're WHAT? Hoshino, you idiot, how the hell could you get stuck there? Of all places? – Bakugo
Where are you? – Kairi
Currently trying to get these goons off my back! – Bakugo. Then, as if proof, the room thundered as a result of a nearby boom. Then, the sound of splintering forced her head up.
"Shit," Shoto breathed, seeing the same thing that had frozen Kairi. A portion of the ice around them, was visibly thinner than the rest. As a result, it fractured and began to weave its spindly line through the thin section. Just before Shoto could raise an arm to add to it and strengthen its integrity, another distant blast disturbed the ice again, and the weak section collapsed into them. Kairi screamed and turned instinctively into Shoto. He pulled her in, shielding her from the haze that poured into their once safe haven. They both breathed. Kairi took in a heavy breath against Shoto's shirt, letting his scent fill her and trying hard to remember how soothing he was. She told herself, she was safe with him. No matter what was happening, everything would be okay with him beside her, but there was no way to trick her logic this time. She knew that whatever this gas was, it was going to be a quick process. Whatever it did, whatever it was composed of... And even then, as she tried to trick herself it would be fine... Her muscles slipped away. A weight dropped on her and kept pushing, bearing til it was too much and she just released, sinking into the call of the atmosphere around her. Surrendering, it became gentle and easy, weaving over and carrying her away. Feeling light and free of every stress she had endured, she yawned, deciding she wanted to just close her eyes for a minute, and take a nap. She shut her eyes.
Shoto was slowly rolling his phone over in his hands. He huffed angrily, feeling Kairi bob against his shoulder. Lethargic fingers struggled to move over his screen, searching for a name. Like her though, he was finding the lightness alluring and fell into it, swept away by the embracing touch. A pleasant feeling rose in him, a rising urge to take a rest. Fighting against the strength of his eyelids, the power of the gas won out and pulled him down. He gave in. Angered guilt screamed to get out, but exhaustion was pulling him down, and the comfort of Kairi's warmth beside him only sweetened the offer of sleep. Gritting his teeth, he surrendered to defeat and slipped away.
When they awoke, they both called out. Wrists throbbed and their necks and spines ached with stiffness. Shoto woke up first, blinking several times and finding his vision sill mildly blurry. He shook himself, finding a lack of mobility and a heaviness in his posture. Shoulders shrugged, pulling his arms forward – except something blocked them, and he couldn't raise them from their position. Shoto looked over to either side, seeing metal clamps tightly holding each wrist against a shiny metal table. Eyes scanned over the rest of his body, seeing that his feet were also being held in place, but a bar secured them. His back was pressed against firmly against the table, the source of his spinal stiffness. He growled lowly, and then concern whipped his head to his left.
Kairi tossed her head, stretching her neck. She winced at the pressure that ached her hips. Her panda sweatshirt was covered in dark streaks of filth. Loose waves still fell unkempt in her hair. She blew aside a few loose strands and then immediately regretted looking in the direction of a large bright fluorescent hanging over them. Like Shoto, hands were held against her identical table via metal clamps. Panic rose and tousled her spirit. She kicked and whimpered at the feel of the feel of the bar across her legs. Breaths shortened, growing louder and harsher each second. Mania gripped her and she rocked her body, fear desperately reaching for the clasp that would unleash her from this. The table whined as she shook, screaming.
"What... Wh... WHAT?!" was all she could yell. She whipped her head around as much as she could, searching around the rom. Bland and white, the pale room was simple, like the other rooms in the building... or wherever they were if they weren't still in the building. Basic cabinets lined the wall with tags and notices she couldn't read through her fogged vision. It was bright, thanks very much to the fluorescent lights around the room. In the corner was a large sink with a poster illustrating proper hygiene. Between the two tables the student were strapped to, a metal trolley rested with various unknown instruments, but they looked menacing and sharp.
"Kairi," Shoto said calmly at first. His voice muffled and distant, she continued to thrash, crying out.
"LET ME OUT!" she screamed.
"Kairi!" he shouted again. "Stop! You're going to hurt yourself..."
"No! No, what's going on!? What's this, why... what are they going... LET US OUT!"
"I WOULD ADVISE YOU STOP THRASHING!" came a boisterous voice from... somewhere. The ceiling, it seemed. It was striking enough to stop her violent shaking and reduce her terror to trembles. Inside, however, her gut was flying around and ricocheting across every part of her and unable to rest. She curled her fingers and scratched against the metal table. Teeth nodded on the edge of her lip.
"What is this? Who are you?" Shoto shouted at the ceiling.
"I made a mistake, okay?" Kairi said, gulping on her shuddering words. "I'm sorry. I'll say it a million times, I'm sorry, I screwed up! I made a faulty decision based on pride and arrogance and... and my stupid... feelings..."
"Apologize to me later," he said calmly. "When we get out of here." He wriggled his hands under the clasps. His eyebrows furrowed and he tried as best he could to look down at them. Fingers flexed and drew back in. "What?"
"What?"
"I can't... my quirk..."
"Give me just a moment and I will be there to explain everything," came the voice again. Though it sounded angry before, it seemed gentle and soothing this time. Kairi's rage pulsed.
"NO! YOU TELL US NOW!" But silence met with her. Her panic was being lulling by the anger that flooded inside her.
"This doesn't make sense. I should be able to use my quirk, even if I'm restrained," Shoto muttered. The girl arched her body as much as she could, looking over at him. Like her, he was covered in dark streaks, hair shaded by dirt. The sleeve of his shirt had been ripped loose from its seam.
"You can't use your quirk?"
"No... What happened to Bakugo? Wasn't he exploding the building or something?" Kairi shook her body, hoping the feel the pressure of her phone in her pocket, but there was nothing.
"Do you have your phone on you?" Shoto wriggled his hips.
"I... don't think I can feel it in my pocket." The stirrings of emotions spilled over and she wailed. Loudly. In the most sniveling and unattractive chorus of coughs and sobs. Shoto winced, turning his eyes away. Her core tensed. The heft of guilt pulled and split through her center. Her heart bled through her grief. This was the most awful thing she had ever done, and it had locked her and Shoto away. She couldn't stand it. Her best friend. Someone so important to her.
"I told you... I tried to tell you... my quirk... it makes a mess of everything! I screw things up and this time... I fucking did it! For real this time, Shoto!"
"I told you, apologize later!" he snapped. "I followed you, didn't I? Even knowing how bad of an idea it was?"
"Then why did you come with?"
"What if I hadn't?" he said. "You would be in here alone right now. Think about what sort of mess you would be in then."
"But at least it would have been my decision and my consequence alone! You wouldn't have had to suffer!"
"You're wrong – I would have suffered. I would have wondered where you were, what happened to you. Things your father is probably thinking right now." Fuck. My father. "And now you're thinking about that, I can tell. I knew you were never just going to ask questions and be satisfied and leave. I didn't want you to be alone. I know you don't like to be alone in even the smallest of anxious situations. Something like this..." he shook his head. "I'm going to be honest. I was worried for you. I'm sorry if I overstepped bounds but I was... I was so worried for you."
I was worried around you. She shouldn't be ready to combust into laughter, glad to hear such words. She should be panicking, she should be scared and screaming to get out. Yet all she wanted to do was laugh, and her smile showed that. That fluttering would not stop. She soared. She was light. She was dizzy. She was euphoric.
The door cried when it opened and the both of them shot up (as much as they could) and craned their necks to get a look at their gasp. Kairi stopped the squeak that threatened to leave her. Shoto swore under his breath.
It was the man with the greying hair and kind, young eyes.