"Domino?" Bakugo blinked groggily at Sunny through her phone screen. He rubbed his sleepy eyes with the back of his hand and yawned.
She had woken him up, and he had shouted at her for a while about it, but she didn't care. She just needed to see his face right now.
"Yeah, Domino," She repeated, rolling onto her front in bed and cocooning herself in the plush, hotel duvet.
Bakugo continued to rub his eyes, frowning heavily, "S'pose it works." He grumbled finally, widening his eyes a few times to wake himself up before settling back into the pillows of his own bed, one arm raised behind him.
Sunny pursed her lips. She really wished she was with him right now, she would fit so nicely under that arm – she could snuggle up against him, be protected by him and his warmth and never have to look at the outside world again.
"Midnight suggested it," She quickly replied before her silence made him ask questions.
Not long after she found herself on the ground outside in that dingy alleyway, she had quickly retreated to her hotel room and taken the hottest shower she could. She scrubbed her body until her skin was raw and then she brushed her teeth until her gums split and she could taste the copper of her own blood.
After that, she slunk under the covers of the hotel bed and called Bakugo. It had taken four or five attempts but eventually he accepted the invitation for a video chat and a very angry, yet sleepy blond popped up onto her screen.
He hadn't seemed to pick up that anything was wrong, but that wasn't surprising seeing as he was struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Well," He began with another yawn, making Sunny yawn back at him, "I like it."
"Shoto suggested it too."
Bakugo immediately dropped his hand that had been absentmindedly scratching the top of his head, "I hate it."
"Pfft," Sunny mustered a smile at the ugly expression on his pretty face. She paused for a moment, "I'm looking forward to our date." She said suddenly, catching his grumpy expression faulter and slide into a smug grin.
"Oh?" His eyes glistened playfully.
"Will you hold my hand?" She asked, nestling into the pillows so all Bakugo could see were her large eyes and fluffy ears poking out the top of her slightly damp hair.
Bakugo couldn't hide his grin, but he bit the inside of his cheek to tone it down, "If you're lucky," He teased, "And if you're a really good girl, I'll kiss you as well."
"Yeah?" Sunny's ears flopped up and down playfully, "On the beach?"
Bakugo shrugged with a smirk, "I was thinking on the lips, but sure, whatever."
He revelled in the way her eyes sparkled back at him, she chirped quietly, feet swinging up under the duvet behind her.
"At sunset?" She pressed, hiding her grin in her pillow.
Bakugo rolled his eyes, "You mean I have to be with you all day?"
"Katsuki!"
"Fine!" He barked back, but he didn't mean it, his smirk gave that away, "On the beach, at sunset, I'll kiss you… You big wet flannel."
Sunny trilled and chirped excitedly, pulling her pillow under her with her free arm to hug it tightly to her.
"What's that on you neck?"
And just like that, Sunny's elevated mood went poof, and she suddenly re-entered reality.
"My neck?" She queried, raising her free hand to her skin. She stretched her neck out in the reflection of herself on the video call. "Oh, that must have been Midnight today… I'm not sure what happened there…" She replied. She tried not to flinch at her own words, and she hid her face by busying herself with readjusting the duvet.
She didn't want to lie to him, she really didn't. But what good would telling him the truth be? He would get angry and shouty, tell her to leave and return home, or worse – he might make her talk about it.
She wasn't prepared for that. Not yet. She was still processing it herself.
Several months ago, a confrontation like that wouldn't have made her batter an eye, but now… Now she had people relying on her, she relied on other people. For some reason, everything was different, she had responsibilities now and obligations and people cared about her and she cared about other people. She didn't want to worry anyone over something that she could deal with herself. There was no need to get anyone involved…
Several months ago, she didn't have anyone else to worry about or think about. But now she did, now she did have to think about other people, and she wasn't sure what to do.
But she definitely was not going to tell Bakugo. She didn't want him to know.
She would talk to Eraserhead about it when she was home. But not now. Not yet.
Bakugo was glaring through his screen at her, but all he said was, "Looks painful." And then he yawned again, seemingly satisfied.
Sunny could have swallowed her own tongue. It felt like she had rocks in her stomach.
"It's okay…" She replied quietly, stifling her own yawn.
"Did you see the news?" Bakugo then asked, changing the subject entirely.
Sunny blinked at him, "The news?"
"Yeah. They've got Stain. He's in custody."
Sunny's jaw nearly hit the mattress.
He… He's been caught?
"How? Who caught him?"
Bakugo seemed to miss her alarmed tone through his drowsy state, "Dunno, didn't watch it for that long," He yawned again, "I think I saw something about Endeavour and another bunch of nobodies," He shrugged again, "Hey – why have you paused the call?"
Sunny hadn't meant to pause the call, she had just minimised the app to google the news. However, as she skimmed over the information about Stain, she was glad the call had frozen on her end so Bakugo couldn't see the silent gasp and wide-eyed stare she bore as she read.
Her breath hitched in her throat when she scrolled further down, more shaken by a sub-headline towards the bottom of the new site, completely over-shadowed by the news of Stain. There had been another Nomu attack, although on a far grander scale than the U.S.J, that had caused chaos and vast damage in Hosu. Multiple lesser known heroes had been seriously injured, and the pictures from the scene caused Sunny to completely tune out Bakugo's ranting through her phone.
However, what shook her up the most was that this attack had taken place just a few hours ago, meaning that Shigaraki had paid her a visit almost immediately after condemning a city to slaughter.
What the fuck am I doing? Is all she could think to herself.
Thursday
Sunny thanked her lucky stars that her costume was halter neck. If Midnight had seen the suspect looking bruises across her throat, she would have been able to identify those sausage-shaped angry marks in a heartbeat.
"Soooo~, where are we going?" Sunny trotted alongside Midnight, trying to keep up with her long strides as they headed away from the undercover police car they had just exited.
Halfway through whip training, barely twenty minutes prior, Midnight had received a rather urgent sounding call and before Sunny realised what was happening, she was being thrown head first into the back of a car and driven off.
"I've received a call that some villains are holding civilian's hostage in a hospital," Midnight told her as she began pushing through the thick crowd of people that seemed to have appeared. Sunny squeezed through in her wake, eyes boggling as onlookers whispered and cried out excitedly for Midnight.
Sunny tried to hide her frown. Now did not seem like an appropriate time for jeering and cheering, showcasing or flexing. But as she followed Midnight by ducking under the police tape, the area opened out and completely cleared of civilians. Sunny eyes followed a helicopter overhead with 'News' written on the side.
"Ms Midnight," A Police Officer appeared suddenly, making Sunny jump and glare.
The officer ignored Sunny and held his attention on Midnight, informing her that there was twelve hostages and three villains inside the hospital. Everyone else supposedly had gotten out, although not entirely unscathed, and the villains inside were threatening to kill the rest of the hostages.
Stains name was mentioned, and Sunny's ears pricked and flattened when the officer informed Midnight they were some of Stain's ideology supporters.
"You need to stay here," Midnight swung to Sunny, not taking notice of the girl's sheepish expression, "Don't move. Keep your feet planted right here. Do you understand?"
Sunny nodded dumbly, and just watched as Midnight strutted into the hospital with the intention of diffusing the situation without hurting any of the civilians inside.
The young woman's eyes trailed around the cite momentarily, trying to tune out the noise from the crowd behind her. In front of her, however, were more people who she assumed were civilians judging by their injuries and normal clothing, most of them were sat around, having wounds treated or talking to police officers. More heroes littered the area, following alongside Midnight as she entered the building as well as loitering around and helping injured citizens.
Sunny's eyes then floated towards the towering hospital, at least 10 stories and over a hundred feet high, this busy, city centre hospital was quite an ambitious target. Her pumpkin hues didn't leave the hospital for a good fifteen minutes, barely blinking as they trailed around the building, trying to follow Midnight in the route she might take.
It was then someone shouted, "Look! There they are!"
There was cheering from the crowd behind Sunny as Midnight and another few heroes she didn't recognise exited the building with the civilians in tow. Two men – one short and chubby and one tall and skinny – were wrapped up in thick metal restraints and held by one particularly burly looking hero in a neon orange suit.
Midnight was waving jovially at the crowd behind Sunny, blushing and fussing slightly for them.
"What's wrong with you?" She suddenly asked, re-joining Sunny and noticing the blank expression on the younger woman's face. Sunny's eyes still hadn't left the building.
"You're missing a villain." She stated flatly, eyes trained on something on the eighth floor.
"He wasn't there," Midnight shrugged with a huff, "He must have escaped." She then pouted, "Aren't you going to congratulate me?"
"No." Sunny replied flatly. A vein popped in Midnight's forehead, and she opened her mouth to reply but Sunny beat her to it, "Because you left a bad guy in there." Just as the words left her mouth there was a deafening explosion. Midnight startled and span around as the crowd of civilians behind them began to scream and panic.
Anarchy followed.
Day seemed to turn into night as thick smoke bloomed and flooded the sky in a matter of seconds from a series of explosions that went off around the hospital. Officers and heroes alike were running around, and Midnight momentarily disappeared from Sunny's side as she began shouting orders at people; commanding officers to keep back the crowd and whisk away the injured hostages and other civilians that had been caught up in the attack previously.
Sunny's eyes suddenly swung towards a nearby police car where two officers stood in shock, hanging out their car doors.
"Get out the car!" She yelled at them, barely heard over the noise that was rising up around them. She caught the attention of one of them, "Get out the fucking car!"
The officer looked shocked, but quickly pulled himself from the vehicle, calling to his partner. Just as they retreated, scrambling under foot, another explosion went off as the fire spread down the hospital, sending a metal support spinning from the building and landing straight over the top of the police vehicle.
That's when she heard it. Cutting through the chaos and screams around her as fire flooded through the hospital. But it was unmistakable, hitting her in the gut and making her grab her ears.
A baby crying.
"Midnight!" Sunny looked around wildly, creamy hair flinging all over the place, "Midnight!"
She couldn't see her teacher amongst all the other proper-adults and heroes running around. She cried out again, she cried out that there was a baby in the building. But no one was listening.
"There's a baby!"
It was all she could hear, this baby's wails above all else.
That's when her feet started moving, barely touching the ground beneath her as it got hotter and hotter the closer she came to the building.
"Sugawara!" She heard someone call – Midnight – but Sunny wasn't listening.
In one, swift movement, she leapt onto a nearby ambulance with ease that sat just in front of the hospital. With the aim of using the vehicle roof as a springboard to propel her further, she landed atop it in a low crouch, knees pulled up to her chest and arms locked into an 'X' across herself. She let out a cry when the muscles in her legs pulled and strained under the sudden overexertion of her launching herself, both muscles in her calves immediately spasmed. She forced her body to push further, clearing the air and propelling herself with much effort towards the sixth floor.
Her arms reached out, grabbing at a window ledge, and sinking her reinforced gauntlets into the concreate. Using the leverage, she was able to flip herself around so her feet went straight through the glass. She landed soundlessly on the tips of her toes in a crouch position. She didn't have time to process the burning of the soles of her feet through the thin material of her leotard because she was already on the move, but beads of sweat prickled her skin, budding along her hair line and at the back of her neck.
She ignored the licks from flames as she passed, moving so quickly she ploughed straight through the blaze, blowing most of it out her way and creating a path.
Her eyes were already searching for her next move; superhuman sight and hearing honing in on the slightest changes in her environment. She could only predict the next movements of living things, but using other aspects of her quirk she could pick up on even the smallest of motions around her, especially when she was concentrating like this. She needed to go up as the crying was still sounding above her, and she quickly found a piece of ceiling on the verge of collapsing. She circled it, waiting for the right moment as the wooden, reinforced planks began to fall. The ceiling split and creaked, and just as it opened, she moved forward, using the falling materials as a ramp as it fell to step up to the next floor.
"Ah!~" She cried out with a wail, stepping straight through a splintered, metal spike that protruded from the floor but remained hidden until she forced it up with her pressure.
But she didn't stop, she ran straight ahead to wear she could see an elevator shaft.
The shining metal was burning hot under her fingertips, and she was acutely aware of the fire around her closing in. The soot caught in her throat and stung her nose, but still she shoved her claws into the slit of the elevator doors and heaved the metal a part.
As soon as she did, she was almost knocked straight back with the gust of hot air pushing its way through the gap she'd just created, and the sudden gush of oxygen fuelled the flames around her, making them rise higher and reach for her.
It only took her a moment to survey the elevator shaft. The lifts had immediately grounded when the evacuation had begun, but she couldn't see much past a few floors down as black smoke rose through the shaft.
She pulled her halter neck upwards in an attempt to over her nose and mouth to mask some of the soot. She took a few steps back to gather her footing before running and leaping forward, using her gauntlets once again to secure grip where there was none.
If she'd had time to process the heat around her on the floor she'd just come from, she would have called it 'fucking hot', but in comparison, this elevator shaft was 'fucking unbearable'.
Why am I doing this?
She hesitated for naught but a moment, but it seemed so long as everything she was doing slipped through her mind.
Shigaraki's offer pushed forward from the depths of her brain and she grit her teeth.
She wanted to be here.
What would Katsuki do?
Sunny looked above her. Visibility was poor, and she could only see a few feet in front of her. She hesitated, crouching in on herself as another explosion went off somewhere below her, sending boiling hot air up and around her in the shaft. She could feel the material of her suit begin to scold her as it melted into her skin. Not that it mattered, she was already littered with scars.
And that reminded her.
She was here to make sure what happened to her never happened to anyone else. The sound of the baby's tears above her came back, and she squinted up through the smoke. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as the soot irritated her sensitive eyes, creating tree root like patterns across her face through the ash that had already settled.
What would Eraserhead do?
"Keep going!" She tucked her legs up under her, pressing her knees to her chest. With a grunt and a cry she leapt up, spinning herself to latch onto the shaft wall on the other side. Her claws gripped, and immediately she positioned her legs up under herself to pounce again. Just as she pushed herself off the elevator wall another explosion echoed around her, closer this time, and the orange flames kissed her back as they came booming up the tight encasement of the shaft.
What would Midoriya do?
Another leap, and her hand slipped, her feet struggled with footing on the hot walls. The thin leotard material around her soles had melted away into the padded flesh of her foot and it was unbearable to hold them there.
What would Midnight do?
She scrambled on the wall, shoving her gauntlet back into the metal before propelling herself again.
She didn't want to be a villain. That was too easy. She could so easily run away from all of this and go back into hiding, go back to her life before the U.S.J, her life before all of this.
But despite that, she didn't want the easy option. She wanted to be there, right now, in that fucking elevator burning her fucking tits off as the smell of burning hair from her head and tail filled her nostrils and her eyes burned so badly, she thought they were going to fall straight out of their sockets.
She wanted to be there because that baby was crying and she could help it.
Another leap, and the sound was coming from just above her now, and she swung herself to balance against the back of the elevator shaft doors on the ninth floor. With a heave she pulled the doors apart, spilling into the relatively cooler level and plastering herself across the vinyl floor.
She haled herself up, spinning around wildly to search for the noise. Her legs were already moving again, ears spinning and eyes following along the walls.
She followed the sound into a room, torn open by one of the explosions. Flames filled the room, blazing high into the open air above where the ceiling was missing. From what Sunny could see, the entire corner of the building had been completely blasted off.
The smoke-stained sky swirled above her, only broken by the chopping sound of a helicopter circling. The beating of its propellers shifted the flames as it drew closer, headlights searching the side of the building and blasting Sunny with a killer white light.
She shielded herself, stumbling numbly, dazzled.
And then she tripped over something.
She landed on her butt heavily, scrambling up when the floor beneath her groaned and threatened to give way. Her eyes searched wildly, bugging out when she realised she's stumbled over a human arm.
She immediately fell to her knees in front of the brunette woman, the woman's eyes met Sunny's with a wash of dark blue.
She was alive.
"Y-You're okay now," Sunny shouted, arms reaching out to the woman, "I've got you; I'll get you-"
She was broken off by the ceiling above breaking, timbers and supports came crashing around them, and Sunny quickly positioned herself below one before it collapsed on top of the woman.
Sunny cried – legitimately cried. Her knees buckled and her legs shook, but with a heave she hoisted the beam off her back.
"Please, can you move?" Sunny crawled towards the woman, barely able to stand.
The calm expression on the woman's face was unsettling for Sunny, and the brunette just smiled up at her softly.
Wordlessly, the woman shifted, raising herself just enough to show Sunny what she was protecting under her own body.
A baby.
A noisy, howling but so very alive baby.
"Please…" The woman finally spoke. Sunny was only able to hear her thanks to her acute hearing, but she still watched her chapped lips carefully as they moved.
"My husband is down there, please… Please get her to him."
Sunny's eyes fell to the pink bundle held loosely in the woman's arms and she shook her head furiously.
"No! I'll get you both out!" Just as she said the words the floor beneath them began to heave. Sunny looked at the woman laying on her stomach. She was completely crushed from the waist down.
"You can't pull me out," The woman smiled, "We will all fall."
Sunny could see this was true. The young mother was caught up in a collapsed outer wall. If Sunny could muster up the strength to raise the rubble, the entire side would give way. Sunny licked her dry lips, tasting salt and soot, her large eyes searched around wildly for answers.
"You're young to be a hero," The woman continued coolly, still smiling softly up at Sunny.
"I-I'm a student," Sunny's eyes were still searching wildly.
"Does my hero have a name?"
Sunny's eyes swung to the woman, "Domino."
The brunette's smile widened, "Domino…" She repeated softly, "Please, save my baby." Her eyelids fluttered. She was losing consciousness, but she still mustered up the energy to push the baby bundle towards Sunny.
Sunny couldn't imagine the pain this woman must be in, but she was still holding on for her baby. Slowly, Sunny wrapped her arms around the baby. It continued to cry and wail loudly, breathing in too much smoke.
She needed to get it out of here, she needed to calm it down, she needed to-
Her flaming hues swung to the woman, mouth open in question, but her eyes bulged when she saw the woman had stilled, face down against the floor.
Immediately Sunny pulled the bundle closer to her chest, ears flattening as the skeleton of the room around her began to groan and heave. She stumbled to her feet, trying to be as still as possible as she hurried into the main body of the building as the outer room finally gave way beneath her feet.
She staggered to find her footing, sparing a glance back through the threshold of the door where nothing but empty air now hung where the room once stood.
Sunny stared for longer than she should have, but the baby coughing in her arms pulled her attention back. Then, she began to panic all over again, shakily rocking the baby in her arms to try and calm it.
An idea flittered through her mind, and Sunny began to purr. It was strained, and she'd never tried to purr an emotion which wasn't an absolute projection of her current feelings. But it was worth a shot, and soon the baby stilled in her arms, lulled to sleep by her soothing purr.
Sunny's own breathing was falling rigid. And she continued to spin in circles as the floor around her fell away.
What now?
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
Sunny stilled, feeling a presence behind her that she hadn't realised was there. She had been so busy thinking, panicking and purring, she hadn't sensed a person sneak up behind her.
Slowly, she turned, coming face to face with a man covered in spitting, orange flames.
For a moment she was totally startled and horrified at the figure before her, but slowly what was going on registered, and this villains quirk became apparent.
"I guess you're responsible for all this fire," She called out, shuffling on her feet when the hot floor got too much for her, "And there was me thinking it was because I dropped my mix tape."
The man's head fell back with a laugh, "Aren't you a funny one?" His voice was unbearable. It was the vocal equivalent of nails down a blackboard. It was like he'd eaten an entire pot of pins. "But 1999 called, they want their jokes back."
Sunny scrunched her nose up when he took a step towards her, "Don't come any closer, please." She stated firmly, "I'm not allowed to fight anyone, apparently I need a license for that!"
The man continued to cackle and advance towards Sunny. She made to take another step back, but when her foot fell short behind her she staggered, realising she was backing up into the fallen room and nothing but splintered beams and rubble lay on the ground 9 stories below.
Sunny looked left and right, catching the man as he advanced further, "I told you to not come any closer!" She shouted, growing angry, her purr faltering but not effecting the babe in her arms.
A roar bubbled up in her throat as she was literally backed up into a corner. The walls were closing in and the panic swirling within her rose up into the back of her throat, threatening with a splitting roar that was quickly becoming overwhelming.
She growled warningly, making the burning man hesitate in his advance.
He then cackled again, making a mocking 'ps ps ps' sound, "Here, kitty, kitty!" He threw his head back again, missing Sunny's face as it contorted menacingly.
He wasn't looking when her ferocity boiled over, but the flames were bellowed clean off his body when she finally roared. Staggering forward she advanced, mouth open wide and teeth fully extended, the sound exiting her throat was heard on the ground by the helpless bystanders.
Midnight's blood ran cold as she heard the bloodcurdling roar, and a number of civilians around her fell to their knees in submission as the sound echoed around the building.
Sunny was scared, so fucking scared. She was never scared, but she was terrified for the sleeping, helpless life in her arms. She was scared of what Eraserhead was going to say. She was scared that Bakugo would be disappointed in her. She didn't know what to do and she was overwhelmed with terror.
The burning man fell to the floor, skin charred and black as the flames momentarily left him. Sunny didn't stick around to see if they came back, she was already hurling herself over his paralyzed form and towards the large windows at the front of the building.
The glass had already been blown out by the heat, and Sunny took one final glance down at the still sleeping child in her arms. It had slept threw her roar and still held a blissed-out expression as she pulled her purr out once more, escalating it as she let it was over her too.
"Cat's always land on their feet, right?" She smiled softly down at the bundle in her arms, before tearing her eyes away just as she leapt through the broken window and into the empty air, nearly a hundred feet above the ground.
Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed! It honestly means so much xxxxx