Midoriya stared at the fire, paranoia gripping at her core. It somehow managed to keep her warm, the burgeoning fear of someone following them. She wondered if it was someone from the school. If they had taken to following her to avenge Ms. Imada and Tsubasa's death. The thought made her want to scream and pull at her hair.
She looked at Bakugou, who she was sure wasn't asleep. His back was to her, his chest rising and falling slowly. She could hear his breathing, a calm, steady one that calmed her. He was tense, she could see that much from where she sat, but he wasn't trying to stress her with the notion that he was tense. She'd try to do the same for him.
She thought about how hard it must be for him. He obviously realized a lot of things before her, and he also seemed to be handling it a lot better than her. She didn't know how he continued to fight despite the circumstance, to still find a reason to survive when everything seemed to be going to shit.
She pulled her knees closer to her chest, ignoring the tears welling in her eyes. She gripped at the cold metal around her neck. Had it been a mistake to get her mother's necklace? Did they follow them back? Were they going to do something to her and Bakugou?
Her heart started to race, her questions jumbling together and becoming incoherent. The room started to spin and her vision became very blurry. She palmed at her chest as if trying to claw out of her lungs. She couldn't breathe. Nothing felt right. Everything felt hectic, chaotic, out of place.
She felt something warm on her side. A hand caressed her cheek, wiping away the tears that had fallen. The world went from a blurry orange to pitch black, and then she smelled caramel. Without hesitation, she gripped at his shirt, hands trembling as the sobs escaped. She squeezed her eyes shut, digging her head into his neck. He held her tighter in her embrace, petting her head and whispering reassurance in her ear. She questioned if it was really Bakugou for a moment. If he was actually trying to console her in a time of need. Even with the thought passing in her mind she didn't let go. Panicking or not, she liked being in his embrace.
Bakugou didn't let her go. Even when she fell asleep, her soft snores taking over the room, he didn't let go. He continued to pet the top of her head throughout the night as if it would help her sleep. He even managed to doze off himself, her small form still in his arms.
He hated it when she cried. She had always been a crybaby, getting emotional over the littlest things. Back then he'd make fun of her for it, for being so weak, but now… now he couldn't help but pity her. Midoriya was so kind hearted, so fragile. She was never built for a world that relied on hurting others, dead or alive, to survive. Still, he never thought she'd have a panic attack. Through thick and thin of his bullying, she never once cried to that extent. At least not from what he'd seen, so to see her so withdrawn from reality and panicking so intensely, all he could do was offer her his warmth.
When morning came around he was surprised to see her out of his arms and by the fireplace. She was leaning over the pot, pouring rice into the bowl with a serious expression on her face. When she was done, she put the pot over the fire and watched it cook. He was mesmerized by the sight of her pale cheeks lightly tinted red, and her nose, and her glassy eyes…
He reached across and felt her forehead.
"Jesus Deku, you're fucking burning up!" he exclaimed, moving her from the fire. She let out a weak cough, appearing weak within seconds. He ignored the urge to check her for bite marks. If she was bitten he would know.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, her voice hoarse. She didn't fight him as he laid her down on the couch, covering her with a blanket. She closed her eyes, fighting sleep.
"I'm fine," she whispered, trying to sit up. He wouldn't let her, taking her spot by the fire to watch the rice.
"Lay down," he commanded, "You would be the one to get fucking sick in an Apocalypse." He aggressively stirred the rice with beans. He heard Midoriya moan behind him. He looked at her, a numb pain in his heart from how helpless she looked. He thought about leaving that day to go for their parents, but Midoriya was in no condition to travel. It was fine, they needed a rest day anyway. And besides, he needed to get extra gas for the car. He could go without her, get the gas, then be back by sun down.
He took care of Midoriya until it was about noon. He made sure the fireplace had enough wood to keep the room warm, and he made sure to keep a cool rag on Midoriya's forehead to keep her cool. She was vaguely awake, occasionally asking him questions as he continued to move around the room. Right when he started to pack his bag to leave, she seemed to fall asleep. He was relieved. Sleep could help her recover quicker. She didn't seem to be sick, and her temperature didn't indicate she had a high grade fever. Some sleep might be what she needed, and by tomorrow they could be leaving to head for their parents. That hope encouraged him to start packing what they'd gathered for their travels. It wasn't much, all they had could fit in both of their bags. They couldn't travel too heavy, it would slow them down. He could get gas from the station, but he wasn't sure if it would be enough to get his neighbor's truck to the camp. They might have to walk some. Did they have good shoes?
Shaking his head from the distraction, he picked himself up and put on his backpack. He looked one more time at Midoriya. Her cheeks were still flushed, and he could hear the congestion in her breathing, but she didn't look worse. He pulled the blanket to her chin, making sure she was tucked in well and protected from the cold before exiting the house. He was immediately caught off guard by the chill. He pulled his jacket tighter around himself. He'd have to get back quick. He didn't know how long the fire was gonna go for, or how long that thin blanket above Midoriya would keep the cold out.
The nearest gas station was three miles away. It would take him about an hour at least to get there. That bothered him, his tuition telling him to stay, but his head telling him to go. If he got the gas by the time Midoriya woke up then they'd be on their way to their parents with at least half the trip by vehicle. That could cut getting there in half, with only a few days of walking. The town their parents were in was pretty far out, and rural. He had never been there, so he didn't know the area like he did his childhood neighborhood.
He decided that speed walking would be his best bet and that avoiding infected unless absolutely necessary would be the fastest route. He'd need the rest of his energy to carry the gas canister back completely full. The thought of there being no gas occurred, but he would let that consume his thoughts. Gas was the last thing people thought about in a crisis, he'd be sure to find it.
There weren't as many infected as when the disease broke out. They seem to be dispersing themselves outside of the city. When he and Midoriya were escaping the school, they both noticed how the infected were in groups. Now that they were spread out it created fewer gaps for Bakugou to slip through and more of a need to take them down.
To his luck, he didn't have to kill many. Only two of three crossed his path last second and would have definitely taken a bite out of him if he hadn't struck first. The smell of rotten decay still got to him, and after each infected was handled he had to take a moment to let nausea pass. This made his trip longer than it needed to be, and it made him more anxious to get back home.
By the time he got to the gas station, the sun was just past what looked like two in the afternoon. He had a few hours of daylight left, which also meant he only had about thirty minutes at the gas station. He'd grab whatever was inside, a gas canister, and some gasoline before heading back. It sounded a lot easier than it was going to be.
When he approached the gas station the first thing he noticed was the putrid smell of gas. It burnt his nose and made his eyes water to the point where he had to wipe his eyes with his sleeves. He covered his nose as he crossed the toxic area, careful to keep his eyes squinted to avoid tearing up.
There were also a lot of abandoned cars. Car doors were open, exposing the empty inside of the car. The gas tanks of some cars were open too. Some cars still had the gas pump in them, others empty with the gas pump hanging just outside the car. Other cars lined up behind the car to get gas, creating a maze that was difficult for Bakugou to get through.
He slipped through and jumped over some other cars, finally making it to the gas station door. Once he was inside, he uncovered his nose and blinked a few times. The convenience store was lit just enough for him to look at the shelves. There wasn't much. Unlike the other convenience store he and Midoriya had taken from, this one didn't have mostly stocked shelves. Plastic and paper littered the floor, as well as some old, stale, and moldy food that hadn't managed to get into the thief's mouth. There were no medical supplies left or bags of chips and candy. There were two chocolate bars and one water bottle in the very back corner of the store. He took both and reached for the last remaining gas canister in the whole store.
Before he went out to get from a pump–or from a car if he had to, there were plenty full of gas–he decided to look behind the register. Surprisingly, there was a set of keys in one of the draws. When he pressed the unlock button he heard a beep from behind the store. He noted it before looking back at the cars.
Wait, that wasn't right. All the gas pumps were outside of the car's fuel tank now, hanging limply onto the cement and secreting gasoline all around the cars. His heart raced, his eyes scanning the area.
He wasn't alone.
He felt stupid. He had been confident enough to assume that the stalkers didn't know where they lived. He had checked time and time again during the night, looking for shadows of unrecognizable faces in the dark. Waiting for any one of them to mess up and reveal themselves to him, but there had been no instances. They had always kept their distance, and he had taken that as them not being there. He had taken that as them being safe.
He was so stupid!
His mind was scattered, thought after thought trying to make itself known into fear blossomed in his chest. His first concern was Midoriya. His second, finding a way to get to her without getting himself killed. The latter seemed like it was going to be a lot more difficult than it needed to.
There were three things he was sure of. Obviously, they were after him. They wouldn't have walked so far just to watch him. They didn't want to be seen, which would be difficult for him because they knew where he was, but he didn't know where they were. Lastly, there was more than one. Because removing that many fuel tanks from the cars without being seen by him weren't possible alone.
His best guess was they were hiding behind the cars. There were ample around, all squashed and condensed so close together that it provided the perfect hiding place. He didn't know how many there were, but that can easily change. All he had to do was look at their feet.
Crouching to the ground behind the register, Bakugou inched around the counter until he could see under the cars. He could see two pairs of shoes, one pair of brown shoes similar to the ones he wore at school, and the other a pair of black boots. They were each on their own corner of the gas station, remaining still and patient, waiting for something. That left Bakugou unnerved.
Then the back door unlocked. Within a second, he was on the ground, gripping at the back of his head. He heard a prolonged sigh. When Bakugou's vision focused. His eyes were consumed by white. He could barely note his attacker's face, the bottom half covered with a black mask and the top half shaded by their hair.
"That was easier than I thought it was gonna be," he said. "To think you'd leave so soon by yourself." Bakugou scowled, finding some courage built within him. It angered him that his attacker assumed he was weak, but he'd use that to his advantage.
"What the fuck do you want asshole?" he yelled, letting his hands fall to his waist. In the holster tied around his shoulder and chest was his gun, fully loaded with the safety on. The attacker didn't seem to notice Bakugou's movement. Instead, his eyes stared outside.
"I wonder if Tomura got the girl yet?" he wondered out loud. Bakugou's vision turned red, fury erupting all within him. He had to get back to the house quickly, but between the albino freak and his two cronies, there was little chance that was happening anytime soon. He had to think of a plan quick.
"What do you want?" Bakugou repeated, slowly rising to his feet. The albino looked at him, his expression nothing short of indifference.
"I don't want anything," he said, slowly rolling his neck and shoulders before lunging at Bakugou. "I just like the chase."
Bakugou managed to dodge the attack. Jumping over the register counter, he pulled the gun from his back pocket. Without hesitation, he released three bullets, each bullet missing the attacker by a hair. He cursed under his breath, taking cover behind one of the aisle shelves as a kick was sent in his direction. It was no good, he was shaking too much to have clear aim.
Bakugou put the gun away and took out the knife that he kept in his jeans. The albino was creeping around the corner, enjoying Bakugou's attempt at running away. Bakugou was never a runner though. He never turned down a good fight. When the albino tried to reach for his neck, he swung his knife in the albino's direction, managing to slice through all of his right pinky and some of his ring finger. The attacker yelled in pain, finally showing emotion as he gripped his hand. His pinky lay in between the two of them, limp and bleeding.
"You fucker!" he yelled, reaching for his pinky. Without hesitation, Bakugou took the hilt of his knife and smacked it against the albino's head. He fell limp. Bakugou sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
The others were still outside, but now they were letting themselves be known. He could see a girl just about his age with blonde hair, and a man with black hair and piercing blue eyes. The two were no longer behind the cars, but instead in the street, a smirk laid upon their faces. Bakugou was confused at first, but then he noticed the lighter in the black-haired man's hands and the thin trail of gasoline the two had made from them to the cars. It didn't take much for Bakugou to realize what they were going to do.
He ran to the back of the store just as soon as the lighter touched the ground. He didn't make it outside before the fire reached the gasoline tank, or before the explosion that took out most of the building. He was flung against the wall, debris falling on top of him as he struggled to keep consciousness. He duly noted how the albino teen was taken by the other two, and how the fire seemed to be inching scarily close to him before his vision went completely black.
Midoriya was scared shitless. She didn't know what was happening, where Bakugou was, or why there were strangers in the house. She still didn't feel good. She had a headache and a stomach ache, and the stress was only making it worse.
They had her hands tied around her back and a gag in her mouth. There were masks on their face, so she couldn't tell who any of them looked like. However, she knew the boy passed out with the white hair was in her apartment. She remembered his figure. The others she'd never seen before. One had blonde hair and sadistic eyes. Midoriya could easily tell the girl was smiling hard behind her mask by the way the apple of her cheeks looked and by the way her eyes seemed to smile just as hard. Another had black hair and piercing blue eyes, along with burn marks around his eyes and arms. He was a lot calmer than the girl. He was nowhere near smiling but instead looked bored with his eyes half shut and his head tilted down towards the ground.
The last one was creepy. He was only a few years older than her, possibly a third year in high school. He had blueish-white hair and scabs around his red eyes. He was staring at her, occasionally scratching his neck. Midoriya flinched every time she heard the sound, tears collecting in her eyes.
"You said the other one's dead?" he asked, turning his head slightly towards the black-haired man, but his eyes remained on her.
"Hmm," the older guy said. "You don't survive an explosion like that." Midoriya wanted to scream. She looked towards the door as if Bakugou would walk right through it at her command. She didn't understand. He was the stronger of the two. How was she the one still alive?
"Huh?" the girl said, lifting Midoriya's chin slightly with her knife. "She's hyperventilating. I like it. Shigi can I cut her?"
"Don't call me that," the guy with scabby eyes–or Shigi she assumed–said. He pushed the blonde away, ignoring her pout in disappointment, and caressed Midoriya's cheek. She tried to turn away, shivering so hard it gave her cramps. The guy forced her to look at him, fingertips digging into her skin painfully. She let you a yelp. "Don't look so afraid. I'm not going to do anything to you yet."
"When are we leaving?" the black-haired man asked, not bothering to look up. He was the only one who didn't seem infatuated with her. He kept to himself in the corner by the fireplace, intrigued by the flames next to him. She had watched him stick his hand in as if it was nothing. It was horrifying.
"When the sun comes up," Shigi said, not letting go of Midoriya's chin. She squeezed her eyes shut, which seemed to be a bad idea. Her cheek suddenly stung, and she was laying on the floor. She felt like throwing up. "Look at me." She couldn't. "Look." She did, tears obscuring her vision as she looked at the pale man. "I don't like dolls. My sister had a collection of them. They were old, vintage porcelain dolls, and they had these dead eyes that always scared me. She'd always hide a doll somewhere to scare me, and I hated it. I hated her…" He paused, his eyes crinkling in what she can only assume was a smile. He took Midoriya's gag off, looking as if expecting her to respond.
"W-What do you want?" she stuttered, tears sliding down her face. He sighed, wiping one of the tears away. It only made her cry harder.
"Stop crying. It's flushing your cheeks," he said. "Porcelain dolls are fair skinned with cherry cheeks and big doe eyes. They're tiny, really tiny because they're supposed to resemble a child. Every time I see one I want to smash it to pieces so small it can never be fixed."
"I-I don't u-understand," she managed to get out. His eyes crinkled in annoyance, then he put on the most creepy smile she'd ever seen in her life.
"I hate my sister," he clarified. "And I hate porcelain dolls. You look like a porcelain doll, and I hate that."
