BONDED IN A BIND

"To achieve successful teamwork, the most important thing is helping each other, especially in a bind. When one party is weak, the other steps up to fill in and vice versa. Covering up for each other's weakness is the core of an effective collaboration" - Killer Whale Hero: Gang Orca during the remedial lessons after the Provisional License Exams in 20XX

Miu Busujima

"I hate your plans!" Half lie. His plans actually amaze me, but I still hate how risky it is.

"They're so dumb and dangerous!" Half truth. Yes, it's dumb, but it's also quite genius. Still completely dangerous, though.

"What if Sora and I weren't fast enough to dodge that fuc- freaking explosion?!" There's no way we couldn't have dodged that, but I still want to make him feel guilty.

"I thought you wanted to work with us?! Then, why would you try to kill us?! Is that how people in the future work together?!" I continued, but Deku doesn't seem to be absorbing anything that's coming out of my mouth.

When I looked at his face, I realized why. It was so red!

His eyes also tell me everything he was thinking. It was frantically looking everywhere. Everywhere but me. Still, this didn't bother me at all.

I wouldn't say this is the first time I've seen this reaction when people see my transformed form for the first time. I'm well aware of how, uhm, scandalizing seeing a naked woman is.

Let me clarify though. Yes, I might not be wearing any piece of clothing, but I'm still very much covered with this membrane that my body somehow produces. It's the same color as my olive skin while being as thick and tough as leather. Also, as hot, making it so hard to transform in the day. This being the main reason why I'd appreciate it if we could be at our hideout before the sun rises!

A little bit antsy for this delay in our travel caused by Deku and Dynamight, I shouted, "Deku! I'm talking to you! Look at me!"

And he did, surveying me in this form with curious eyes. Suddenly I felt exposed and a cold shiver ran through my spine. Why is his gaze making me flustered?! This can't be!

Thankfully, my totally normal complexioned, totally blank poker face was again hidden by my god-sent face mask. Too bad my massive ears can't be hidden by my short hair though. It was glowing red like a traffic light, begging him to stop looking at me like that.

Sora: Docks. You?

My sister's message snapped me out of my embarrassing thoughts. So, I instantly used my throat to reply in our unique way of communicating.

Me: Caught.

Sora: Should I come back?

Me: N. Wait for me there.

Sora: Ok.

"You!"

"Me?" Deku squeaked.

"Follow me. My sister's waiting for us at the docks," I grumbled as I turned and flew in the direction of said docks.

"Did we win?!" he said, overjoyed, while following me. "Are we gonna be working together now?"

"Wait, idiots! The island is only this close to the mainland?! Just minutes away?!"

Oops! I totally forgot he was here.

"Hey, vamp! Answer me!" Dynamight continues in his demanding voice as he also follows me too.

I rolled my eyes at the grumpy blondie, but I still answered. "It's actually not close at all. We're just that fast," I replied proudly.

Then, I noticed that Dynamight was keeping himself airborne with explosions. Very noisy explosions. "Uhm, Deku? Can you carry him the rest of the way? His meta ability is too loud. We need to be stealthy, you know?"

"Sure," he immediately answers back. "Kacchan, you heard her."

Kacchan grumbles, but thankfully, he follows and lets Deku hold onto both of his arms as he dangles down.

In seconds, we caught sight of the shore, some lights glittering beyond it from the market where people are crowding the small streets. I imagine they're all either delivering or receiving deliveries from the ships in the docks, preparing to open shops for the very early shoppers.

That's not where I went though. I veered to the left, toward the more secluded area where the private boats are moored. When I spotted what I was looking for, I landed as quietly as I could and the two behind me followed.

At the very end of the creaky wooden platform, entirely covered with a black tarp, a boat is anchored away from all the others. I stalked towards it and lifted the cover a bit, showing the label at its side, plastered in a beautiful cursive with bold red paint.

"Isamu?" Deku whispers behind me, reading the label out loud.

"Yep. Glad to know people in the future can still read."

"Who- Uhm- What-"

"But not speak in coherent sentences apparently." Sora's cool voice comes from under the tarp, inside the boat. She peeks her head out, ears back to normal, visor and face mask gone. "I changed back because you took too long," she says.

"Really? Thanks for telling me. I wouldn't have noticed," I chaffed, but all I got was a glare, if you could even call it that. It was more like a look of disinterest and toleration.

"I know, I know. I'm not blind even if I'm part bat," I tried to redeem myself. Of course I immediately noticed that her ears were back to normal when she peeked out, so I assumed that the rest of her was.

The back-to-normal Sora lifts the tarp to let us all in the old boat. She throws a glance at the two men behind me and asks, "Seems like we will be working with these suicidal heroes after all?"

I turned around to face the men she was talking about and smirked under my mask, "Nope. It's not yet decided."

"What?!" the two heroes whisper-shouted at the same time.

"Keep quiet. The patrollers might find us," Sora whispers, pulling the two inside before putting the tarp back in its place to hide us. "And Miu is correct. We have not reached the 'destination' yet, you see?"

Deku and Dynamight almost complained, but a stranger's voice cut them short. "Hello? Is someone there?"

Nope. No one is here. And by 'no one' I mean four meta humans that you would very much love to put in a cell right now.

"Hello?"

Hello to you too. Nice meeting you, but please move along and never return.

Sounds of wet boots on creaky wooden planks can be heard as this person patrols the area. I tried to keep track of his movements and location with my echolocation, but I couldn't concentrate because; one, I'm being squeezed by the wall and three bodies, two of which are near strangers of the opposite sex with, uhm, very muscular bodies. Two, I'm the only one who's naked. And three, I can feel my ears slowly shrinking and my fingers going back to normal; shortening and undoing the fusion with my wings.

My time limit is up! I'm gonna change back any second now! The membrane covering me everywhere will soon disappear!

I started panicking and pushed people away from me.

"Miu, stop moving!" my sister hissed at me.

"Is something wrong?" Deku asks in that soft, worried voice.

"Vamp-"

"I'm changing back. Move away if you don't want a naked woman pressed unto you."

Suddenly, it was like I was the only person on the boat. It was so spacious! Then, I realized, I was the only person left inside.

"Wear clothes. The patrol is gone," Sora calls out from the outside.

Oh, so they went out. Makes sense.

"Hand me the package as soon as you're done. And, uhm, bring out clothes that are not torn blankets for these two."

I saluted even though I knew she couldn't see me. "Yes, ma'am!"

In a few seconds, I was outside with all of them, back to my original form, fully-clothed, and face bared. At one glance, you'd think I was a normal human because my bat wings were out of sight. In truth they were just forced inside a huge bag with the back of it cut open to let my wings in. It hurts a little, but it's manageable compared to what I imagine would happen if patrols or extra angry normal citizens were to learn that I had them.

"Thanks for patiently waiting, my loyal subjects. Please line up for your provisions. For Sora, one huge modified bag to hide your wings in, just like mine. For the two tag-alongs, shirts that aren't torn blankets," I announced as I handed them everything. They all took it without comment and wore them.

When everyone looked as normal as "normal" humans, we discussed how to make our way to the destination.

"Why are you hiding your wings? How will you fly?" Deku asks quietly.

"Well, it is because they... stand out too much. Besides, we will be walking through the thick of town, so no need for wings, just legs," Sora explains.

"Exactly," I continued for her. "We'll only fly once we reach the outskirts to make sure no one would see us. So, you guys should keep your meta abilities under wraps 'til we're alone again. And hoods up. Your eyes and hair stand out just as much as our wings."

They nod and follow. Hoods up and wings hidden, us four meta-humans made our way to the market among the "normal" humans. We tried our best to blend in. Still, we decided to take the alleyways and less dense areas to avoid as much exposure as possible, all according to Sora's plan.

But, since the heavens seem to enjoy testing our abilities and patience, we couldn't really reach the outskirts without a bit of hassle. The day we have things finally go our way will be the day that miracles start to happen. Which will most probably be never!

Izuku Midoriya

"Damn it!" I heard Miu cursing under her breath. Beside her, Sora stiffens and raises a hand to stop us from going further down the tight alley.

"What is it? Did you find something with your echolocation?" I asked. Maybe it's nothing. My Danger Sense isn't acting up after all.

"Out of all the places they could've hung out at, they really chose the only road that we couldn't avoid, huh?" Miu thinks out loud.

"Should we wait for them to leave? They do not seem to have any plans of moving, though," Sora whispered back, somehow still acting calm and collected.

Wait, so there is something? Then, why didn't my Danger Sense pick it up? It must be nothing, right?

"Oy! What are you two bats mumbling about?" Kacchan hisses at them, snapping them back to reality.

Miu sends a quick glare to him, but she still answers, "Just some troublesome drunks. Anyway, let's just go and don't be… weird."

We continued walking down the long, dark, and tight alley. Then, even when we reached the end of it, my Danger Sense remained silent, so it really must be nothing. The girls must have just overreacted.

Eventually, I learned who the twins found with their echolocation. I heard them first before I saw them; a rowdy group of men who just seemed to be hanging out after a drink at one of the pubs around the port. Still, they must be harmless if my Danger Sense didn't find them dangerous enough, right?

Sora stops, then she turns to face all of us. "Deku, Dynamight, stay hidden. We will distract them. I am sure they are harmless, but we can not risk anything. When you see an opening, slip your way through undetected. Once on the other side, hide. Miu and I will look for you after-"

Kacchan cuts her off. "Hold up! Are you seriously making us hide and cower from those punks?"

"Yes."

"Why?!"

"Because you are a time bomb."

"You vamp-"

"Hey, hey. Don't fight now!" Miu places herself between Sora and Kacchan. "We already have enough problems. Don't go making new ones!"

I tried to help by pulling Kacchan back, but I couldn't help myself from thinking the same way as him. "But, Kacchan is right, why should we be the ones hiding? Why can't we distract them and you girls-"

"I'll just stop you right there," Miu lays a finger on my lips, effectively stopping me from saying anything else. I tried hiding the fact that it heated me up on the inside, but the heat seems to have found its way up to my cheeks and ears. Thankfully, the alley was dimly lit so my embarrassment was hidden.

Especially because Miu continued like it was nothing, "This is the best way. With us, they'll let their guards down. Hopefully. Besides, you guys are from the future and also far too eager to have a fight, you might just ruin our chances of getting out of this safely if you let your mouth or patience slip."

When she says it like that, I can't argue, especially knowing Kacchan.

"Any objections?" Sora asks. Kacchan huffs and I stay silent. "Good. Miu, come on. I really want to go home already."

They fixed their bags to make sure their wings were still safely hidden, then stepped out onto the wider road, exposing themselves. The men shifted their focus to the newcomers and instantly, their chattering stopped.

"Hey! Look who we have here! Are you lost?" A huge man half slurs, half shouts out.

"We might be. Do you mind pointing us to the direction of the market?" Sora says, a demure smile on her face. I didn't know her face could do that. Honestly, I almost didn't recognize her.

"That vamp can sure act nice," Kacchan mumbles.

I nodded at him, quietly observing how everything would unfold out there, on the street.

The men shared a few smiles, then started approaching Miu and Sora. "Why don't we accompany you there?"

"Really? Thank you!" Miu says, an even more believable depiction of kindness. But, I could still see how her fingers were tightening on the straps of the backpack and how her smile was actually faltering.

"Yeah! We don't mind, especially for pretty little ladies such as you two. Come, follow us," one of the more well-dressed men in the group says.

Danger Sense is still silent. These people might be genuinely trying to help, nothing but a little rowdy and, well, touchy. One of them placed a hand on Miu's shoulder and another stroked Sora's long hair.

Why is this irritating me?

The twins, with the group of men, made their way to the opposite direction from where Kacchan and I needed to go, so I decided to take the chance.

"Kacchan, let's go."

"You don't need to tell me, nerd."

I spared another glance at them before walking out quietly and crossing the road. We almost made it out on the other side, but before we could hide, I heard something that made me freeze in my tracks.

"Why don't we help you with your bags? Those look quite heavy for tiny, fragile girls like you."

Oh no.

"N-no, thank you." I could hear the sudden fear in Miu's voice, so I glanced back and saw the men trying to take the bags from the twins. This is bad.

"No, no. I insist! Boys, take their bags."

That's when I felt it. That familiar warning I receive whenever there is incoming danger, the one I've been hyper aware of since leaving the island; a sharp stabbing sensation in my head.

Danger Sense.

"We're really fine-"

I stepped toward them; ready to- I don't know- do something. However, someone beat me to it.

"Oy! They said no. Are you deaf or dumb or both?" Kacchan said nonchalantly, walking towards the men, hands in his pockets, looking so arrogant yet careless. Like he usually does.

Then, I noticed that said pockets were sizzling.

He wasn't hiding his hands in his pockets to be arrogant. He was hiding them to keep himself from attacking, I realized.

"The fuck?" A man furiously shouted. Beside him, Miu shook her head at us, signalling us to back off as discreetly as she could.

"Hey, punk! What did you just say to me?!" the same man shouted, now shaking with anger.

"Ha! You really must be deaf then," Kacchan scoffed and stepped forward. "Maybe I should just blow your ears off since they don't have any use-"

"Kacchan!" I stopped him before he could bring his hands out of his pockets, keeping my eyes on Miu and her trembling arm tightly held by the huge man.

For some reason, Kacchan stopped his advance. Miu might have thought it was because of me because she mouthed "Thank you" at me then started to turn back, whispering at the furious man, "Don't mind them. Just lead the way to the market. Please."

Did she think I stopped Kacchan from attacking so they could go their way?

Well, she's wrong.

Anger bubbling out of me, I shouted, "Hey! Let our teammates go! Now!"

**~A/N [07/08/2021]~** I did quite a lot of editing in this chapter, so it changed from when I initially uploaded it days ago. Hope you could read the edited version! XX