Hi everyone! I know the last chapter wasn't the best, but I had to write it to get to this chapter!
Hopefully you enjoy this one a lot more than the last one!
Chapter 19:
"Don't tell me to calm down! My sister was kidnapped!" Akari snarled, her eyes flashing as she glared at one of the HPSC goons.
The soda machine of one of the food stands near them started rattling, signaling to Akari that her temper was starting to get the best of her. She turned away from the man to close her eyes and take a deep breath.
After she had heard her sisters scream, she had flown as quick as she possibly could, but missed them by seconds. The only ones that remained were few Class 3A students that were fighting a Nomu that looked like it had been deep fried.
Between Hawks and her, they were able to subdue the creature just in time for the rest of the pros to show up. One of the students, Midoriya who went by hero name Deku, had told her that a flying Nomu had taken off with Noriko and one of their classmates had gone after them.
Before she could ask for a way to contact the kid, this man from HPSC had come up to her to start questioning her. She didn't want to answer pointless questions when her baby sister was in danger, but he was persistent.
Akari looked around the grounds, trying to find Hawks to help her out of this situation, but he was nowhere to be seen. She had lost him in the crowd once the area and creature were secured.
"Inkfinity, we need to file an official report about tonight's events. We need to get a better understanding as to why your sister was taken." The man continued in a cold, uncaring tone, completely oblivious to her inner turmoil.
"What do you mean a better understanding as to why?" She turned to glare at him, almost daring him to continue.
"It's interesting that the Nomu didn't cause unnecessary damage to the grounds, nor did it really attack civilians aside from the little girl that was within close proximity of it. Then a second Nomu shows up and specifically goes after your sister, takes her, and disappears. That's not normal behavior for them."
"Clearly she was targeted, and your main focus should be to go after that goddamn thing and bring me back Noriko." She snarled, all her patience going out the window.
She wasn't one to lose her cool like this, but she knew who controlled those creatures. She couldn't help but feel responsible because how is it that she has an encounter with two of the biggest players of the Paranormal Army, and now her sister was taken.
"I think we can wait to file a report until after Noriko Imai is found and brought back." Hawks usually friendly voice was anything but when it rang from behind her.
"I don't see how any of this is your business, Hawks." The man in the suit shot back, glaring at the pro-hero.
"Inkfinity works for me, and both her sisters are under Endeavor's care. HPSC assigned them to us, making them our business. Therefore, I will be handling this case."
Hawks glowered at the man, looking intimidating, something Akari had yet to witness. She had to admit to herself, in the back of her mind, that it made Hawks all the more attractive to her. Shaking her head to rid herself of those thoughts, she turned to look at the man once more.
"You heard my boss, now get the hell out of my way." She stalked passed the suit, bumping into his shoulder on purpose.
Akari scanned the area as she power-walked, trying to find signs of the messy green hair that belonged to Deku. He mentioned that Noriko was struggling after using her quirk to create then control a blast, and if she hadn't reached out to Akari by now, that meant she probably passed out. That had been her greatest fear because it was unknown how long she would be out for.
"Akari!" She stopped walking but didn't stop looking.
"Whatever it is Hawks, I don't want to hear it, I'm going after these bastards and getting Nori back."
A hand latched on her arm, dragging her away from the crowd, towards the back of a few booths, where there was more privacy. Akari tried to get out of his hold, but he was too strong, so she settled on turning to face him with a fierce glare.
"I get that you're freaking out right now, but you need to keep your cool." He said seriously, looking down at her. "First, you need to call Yaeko and let her know what's going on. The last thing you want is for her to hear this from the news."
She inhaled sharply when she realized she hadn't even thought to reach out to her older sister. She felt her breathing speed up at the thought of how Yaeko was going to react. She had enough to worry about with the Kobayashi's, this would probably set her over the edge.
"Oh my god." Akari breathed out. "She's gonna freak out. She's gonna wanna come and she's in no condition to help. She's gonna hurt herself if she tries."
She felt her breathing speed up even more, so she stepped away from Hawks try and get herself together. Her chest started to feel heavier, so she brought a hand up to rub the spot that hurt the most.
A gloved hand wrapped around that hand, stilling her movements. Another grabbed onto her hip, turning her back towards the blonde man. When she was facing him, his hand left her hip to cup her face and turn it up towards him.
"Akari, breathe slower. Deep breath in, hold it, just like that, now slowly let it out through your mouth."
His voice was so soft and soothing, she couldn't help but listen and follow his instructions. Within a few seconds she felt her heartbeat slow down and felt more in control of herself.
"Thank you, Hawks." She whispered, closing her eyes, and let her forehead fall onto his chest.
Part of her knew that the moment they were having was extremely intimate and highly inappropriate since he was her boss. But right now, she couldn't find it in her to care. Since they worked out their issues, they have fallen into an easy routine and friendship. It was easy to rely on him, and they made a great team.
"I already told you, when it's just us, you can call me Keigo." He whispered into her hair, brushing a soft kiss on her head.
"Gotta get used to that." She murmured into his chest, lifting her head to make eye contact with him.
It was like time stopped, both of them looking into each other's eyes, Keigo's eyes flickering between her blue eyes and her lips. Akari knew she should break away, put some distance between them, but she was so beyond caring.
So, when he lowered his head, she lifted hers to meet him. Their lips brushed once, twice, making a shock current zip between them. Akari felt light headed, wanting to fully press her lips against his, but before they could, a commotion brought them back to their senses.
"I need to speak with Inkfinity! It's important!" A familiar voice yelled out.
"Midoriya!" She gasped, pushing Keigo away and rushing out to see the disgruntled teenager arguing with the same man in the suit as before.
"If there is anything you know about the incident that occurred, you need to tell me." The man tried to press Midoriya, which would have been amusing hadn't Akari been so disoriented.
She was still a little dazed from what had occurred between Keigo and her, but right now was not the time to dwell on that. In all honesty, she was a little upset with herself for letting a man distract her from her priorities. Not just any man either, one of the HPSC best agents, even if he had broken away from them.
The man kept pushing Midoriya to speak with him, spiking annoyance in her again. It was comical how the man was trying to seem intimidating when he was half a foot shorter than the teenager, who looked annoyed. A cute young girl with pink cheeks was standing slightly behind him, glaring at the man so fiercely, it contradicted her cute looks.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know your name was Inkfinity." Akari drawled, putting a hand on her hip.
"Inkfinity, thank god." Deku sighed, moving around the man to come closer to her.
"Deku! Did you get in contact with your friend?! Did he find Nori?" She looked up at him.
"No, his phone keeps going to voicemail. But earlier tonight Noriko mentioned something about the matching tattoos you two have." Midoriya lowered his voice, his eyes flickering over to Hawks over her shoulder.
"Yes, but I can't track her without her activating it. If I activate mine, she would only be able to sense and find me." Akari explained, brushing the loose strands of hair that had fallen out of her standard French braid.
"But Kacchan knows about it, and if he can't answer the phone, he could activate it for her. She said she didn't necessarily have to be the one to do it, right?"
"That's right, if he manages to pierce the skin of the tattoo, then it'll activate." Akari felt her hopes rise now that she knew that the student that went after her sister knew about her tattoo.
"Noriko can use her quirk in the same way as you?" Hawks asked genuinely curious.
"No, I mixed her blood in the formula for the ink I use to tattoo. Because of that, I made a connection between us by manipulating the molecules in our blood." Akari answered, keeping her voice down so that the HPSC goon wouldn't overhear. "It's a little trick between the three of us that we use to keep tabs on each other."
"You can do that with anyone or just your sisters?"
"Anyone, so long as I mix some of their blood with my formula. Why?"
*Meanwhile*
Bakugo was breathing hard, his heart beating crazy in his chest as he pushed himself to go faster. There was no way he could fall behind now, because if he did, they wouldn't find her again.
He grit his teeth, ignoring the ache in his arms, focusing on Noriko's limp form in the Nomu's grasp. The only reason he had been able to track her was thanks to the trial of blood they had left behind from her struggles against the creature. He had caught up to them just as she had lost consciousness.
They were so far out, almost at the outskirts of the city, that he was sure that no one was going to find them unless they sent out an SOS. He didn't want to take his phone out because then he would only be using one hand to propel himself forward. With the speed the Nomu was using to fly across the city, he'd most definitely lose sight of them if he did so.
"Dammit, short stack, wake up!" he snapped under his breath.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, the Nomu started to slow down. Bakugo readied himself to attack, but then he noticed where the creature was heading towards. It was an old, abandoned warehouse. It was pretty big, and God only knew what was waiting inside.
He couldn't go in halfcocked, no matter how skilled he was. It took an entire team to take down a Nomu, so he wouldn't be able to go up against a group of them plus whatever villains were inside. Especially if Noriko didn't wake up, then he'd be weighed down by her dead weight.
Having no choice but to approach with caution. He waited until the Nomu landed, throwing Noriko over its shoulder, as it made its way inside. Once the cost was clear, Bakugo landed on a ledge with large windows overlooking the inside.
Peeking in carefully, he saw a dark figure standing somewhere in the middle of the warehouse. At first, Bakugo didn't recognize him, until the moonlight flashed over his white hair.
Of course, that burnt piece of shit is behind all this, Bakugo thought clenching his teeth.
The Nomu walked over to the only chair in the place, which just so happened to be in front of the Blue-Flame user. Noriko's body was dropped unceremoniously into it, her head lolling to the side, and that was when he noticed her labored breathing.
"I said to bring her to me alive, not barely breathing, you stupid shit!" Dabi's raspy voice growled.
The Nomu made some weird noise in response, only to be engulfed in blue flames. It took longer than it probably should have, but the creature was completely disintegrated within a couple minutes. Disgusted, Bakugo looked away to scan the inside of the warehouse and his surroundings.
"Stupid monster." Dabi tsked, stepping closer to Noriko, his hand still holding a blue flame.
Fighting the urge to break in and attack, Bakugo sat back and watched as the villain held the flame close to Noriko's face. A few seconds of holding the flame so close to her, Dabi's shifted between shock, to amazement until finally it settled on a demented smile.
"And here I thought your sister was amazing." He laughed maniacally. "But if she's fire resistant like you, then she would truly be perfect."
He trailed a single finger down her cheek, wanting to see if her skin would blister and burn. To his pure joy, it didn't, her cheek barely took on a pink hue, so he pressed his entire hand onto her cheek.
Noriko mut have felt uncomfortable from the heat, despite not burning, because she frowned and turned her face away slightly. Of course, Dabi didn't let her, his hand clutching her chin tightly, wanting to see how long she could withstand the heat of his fire.
"Hot." She mumbled, her eyelids fluttering, a hand coming up to try and swat his away.
Dabi's loud laugh echoed throughout the empty warehouse, his eyes wide with a crazed look. He watched as she regained consciousness, her breathing becoming heavier as she woke.
"What the fuck?" Her eyes finally fully opened, locking onto the man who was holding her chin tightly. "Get off of me!" She snarled, bringing her leg up to kick the man hard in the chest.
The force of the kick sent Dabi flying back and made the chair she was sitting on skid back a few inches. She scrambled to get out of her seat, putting the chair between them, clutching her side when she felt the flash of pain from her possibly broken ribs.
Her eyes darted around the warehouse, trying to figure out where the hell she was and remember what happened. She vaguely remembered being snatched from the air by a flying Nomu, but not much else afterwards.
A dark chuckle came from the man she kicked, gaining her full attention. Looking at him more closely, she recognized him, making dread fill her entire body.
"Where the hell am I?" she ground out, not even bothering to ask him who he was.
She'd be stupid to not know the third most wanted villain in all of Japan. Instead, she tried to catalogue her injuries, and if she would be able to use her quirk. As it was, it was a miracle she woke up so soon, at least she assumed she did. It was still dark out, which either meant it had only been a couple hours at most, or she had been knocked out an entire day.
Regardless of how long it had been, she needed backup to get out of this situation. From the pain in her ribs and her labored breathing, she was in no condition to take on such a dangerous villain on her own. Pretending she was trying to sooth the pain in her injuries, she began inching her hand towards the tattoo on her shoulder.
"Uh-uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you, little mouse." Dabi warned, raising his hand again, the flame burning brighter and bigger than before.
"You're stupid Nomu crushed me mid-flight. Unless you have a doctor waiting around to tend to my injuries, I'm just trying to ease my own pain." She snapped back, a nervous sweat already trailing down her back.
"I already know all about your sister's quirk and her special tattoos. I have no doubt that the reason you have one is because it's connected to Akari somehow."
Bakugo, who was quietly making his way around, looking for an opening, froze upon hearing what Dabi had just said. He had tried to send a message to Deku to let him know where they were, but he had no signal from where they were. It was weird considering they weren't too far out that it should be a problem.
If he had to guess, that burnt piece of shit probably set up signal blockers to make sure he would have Noriko all to himself without interruptions. He had only been slightly bothered by that, but then he had remembered Noriko's tattoo and figured she'd be able to activate it when she woke up. That or he would be able to try and activate it if he got close enough to her.
But now hearing that this stupid villain knew about it, he felt frustrated. The fact that he even knew this much about them was unsettling, because it meant that he had done his homework.
Shivers ran down Bakugo's body at the thought. Deku and Icy Hot had said that all files on the sisters were classified, that not even Endeavor had access to them, and he was the number 1 hero.
Despite not knowing he was there; Noriko was having the same thoughts as Bakugo. It made her uneasy.
"How do you know so much about my sister?" Noriko asked, still glaring at the villain, watching his every mood closely.
"I know everything about you three." His smile was evil, his eyes trailing over her, examining her.
"Impossible. If the pros couldn't get their hands on our history, what can a villain on the run possibly know." She straightened despite the pain in her body, unwilling to show any weakness.
"You'd be surprised at Skeptic hacking abilities. It was how we got access to everything about your family, and how I know you hate the Hero Commission just as much, if not more than the rest of us."
"Don't lump me in with the rest of the likes of you. I don't doubt you did all that damage to yourself because of your sick and twisted need to be better than daddy dearest."
Within seconds Dabi was standing centimeters away from her, his eyes blazing with barely restrained fury. Despite being caught off guard, Noriko forced herself to stay still.
"Watch your mouth, little mouse." He snarled quietly in her face, the heavy scent of smoke heavy in her nose.
"Take a mint or back the fuck up, you wannabe Endeavor Jr"
Noriko flew back from the force of the backhand, landing roughly on her back. She bit her tongue hard to keep from groaning in pain. Hearing his footsteps coming closer, she cracked open an eye to look up at him as he loomed over her, hand covered in his signature blue flames.
"Did I hit a nerve there?" Noriko chuckled, letting her head fall back on the ground, knowing that if she tried to get up, he'd probably just kick her back down. "As much as you try to be better than him, you're nothing but an extra crispy failed version of the Number 1 hero."
"You little bitch!"
Dabi roared, diving down at her, hand outstretched to try and burn her. She was quicker though, catching his hand in her own and extinguishing the flames with her quirk.
"Don't underestimate me just because I'm younger and hotter than you." She hissed getting in his face before using her other hand to blast molecules at his chest, throwing him back a couple feet.
Immediately, Noriko started coughing and wheezing, trying to get oxygen back into her lungs. It was too soon to use her quirk again, but she'd be damned if she didn't try defending herself.
She rolled onto her stomach, trying to force air into her lungs, while looking for way out. Something in her peripherals caught her attention, her eyes locking on eye ones. Up on the second story of the warehouse, was Bakugo looking down at her from the corner of one of the huge windows.
His eyes were dark, his expression the most pissed she's ever seen him. She wondered how long he's been here and how he found her. But that didn't matter right now, what mattered was that he was here, and he was going to help her.
She pushed up on shaky arms, cocking her head to indicate the shoulder she had her tattoo on. He nodded his head in understanding and held up 3 fingers then pointed to his wrist.
Three minutes until what? Noriko thought, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
He fisted his hand and then opened it suddenly to indicate an explosion. Her expression cleared up, understanding that he was going to come in guns blazing.
A deep chuckle from the crazed man behind her made her freeze. She glanced over her shoulder, nervous that he had noticed Bakugo. Instead, the man was pushing himself to his feet, laughing hysterically.
"I knew there was something special about you, No-ri-ko-Chan." He sounded out her name, smiling widely at her. "Just makes me wonder more about Akari." His eyes glazed over.
The staples holding the skin around his mouth pulled tightly, making her frown at the ugly sight. She finished pushing herself up, unable to hide the pain any longer.
"You leave my sister out of this." She snapped, coughing violently.
Definitely broke a couple ribs, she thought darkly, her hand pressed tightly to her side.
"Or what?" He laughed maniacally again. "She's one of a kind, and I want her. I want all three of you. Think about it, you three and the rest of the Paranormal Army against the pros and the hero commission. We would tear them down together!" He threw his arms out, eyes crazed.
"I think the fumes from your fire and the smell of rotten and burned flesh finally got to you. "
"Think about it Noriko-chan. You'd get your revenge because who else would understand you three like we do? Endeavor destroyed me the same way the Hero Commission destroyed you three. And to show you our good faith, I brough something for you."
Dabi pulled out something from his coat pocket before tossing it at her. She caught it easily with the hand not pressed against her side, eyeing him wearily before glancing down at the object in her hand.
It was a USB drive.
"The fuck am I supposed to do with this?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Look it over when you get a chance, so you know I'm serious."
Noriko frowned, looking down at the USB drive in her hand. "You're going to let me go?"
"The plan was never to take you by force. It's unnecessary when our goals are the same. I'm confident I'll see you again, little mouse."
It was quiet for a moment as Noriko contemplated her next move, still struggling to regulate her breathing. She wasn't sure what the best answer would be here. She could go with her instinct to tell him to fuck off, but that might piss him off and he might actually kill her for not agreeing. But if she agreed, then she was accepting to possibly joining him.
Luckily, her three minutes were up. Explosions started sounding at a distance from them, causing both to turn to look in that direction. His face fell into one of annoyance.
"Looks like they found me." Noriko breathed, still looking in the direction where the explosions were getting closer.
"As annoying as that is, I'm sure we'll see each other again, little mouse." He smirked at her, putting his hands in his pockets. "There's a message in there with a meeting time and place. Anyone of the three of you, come meet me when you've made your decision. Though I do hope it is Akari that graces me with her presence." He chuckled, turning his back on her.
"Doubt it." Noriko croaked out.
"I'm confident that what's on that drive will change your mind." He looked over his shoulder, shooting her a wave before bright blue flames shot out to create a wall between them.
And just like that she was alone. Noriko let out a shaky breath, finally letting her guard down and letting the violent coughs wrack through her entire body. She was hyperventilating because she couldn't get enough air into her lungs.
"Noriko!" She felt a strong-arm wrap around her, and she couldn't help but collapse against the strong body it belonged to.
"Took… you… long enough… hot shot." She wheezed out, trying to focus on the burnt sugar scent coming off his body.
"Took you long enough to wake up, idiot." He snapped softly. "Enjoyed your nap, did you?" His other hand trailed over her shoulder to find her tattoo.
Bakugo was barely holding it together. It was a miracle he didn't blast his way in there after Dabi had hit her. The logical side of him knew that if he did, then Dabi would fight his way out and could possibly have back up somewhere they couldn't see.
His best shot was to make it seem like the heroes had found them. Thankfully his idea had worked. Now his main concern was the injured girl he was holding up. She was extremely pale, the bags under her eyes sticking out drastically.
"It… was… lovely." She tried lifting her hand to where his was, but he swatted it away. "Pierce… the skin."
"What?" He looked down at the girl in his arms.
"To activate it." She breathed out, coughing violently. "Pierce… the tattoo." She wheezed.
As much as he hated the thought of hurting her, he did as she instructed. He dug his nail into her shoulder, trying to ignore her wince. Once he saw the drop of blood, he eased up the pressure, watching as the tattoo absorbed the drop of blood and glowed a bright red.
"Shouldn't be… long… now." Noriko managed before she completely passed out again.