Chapter 45
.::Bonding Time::.
"So Anjou will be arriving today, right?"
Ashido was practically bouncing with excitement in her chair as she and Eijirou sat at the kitchen table, eating a late breakfast. Kuroe just nodded as he carried his own empty bowl to the sink, replying, "Yeah. She was already supposed to come over this weekend before everything went down. She should be here around five or six."
"Yes!" Ashido let out an excited whoop while Eijirou just quietly munched on his cereal. This marked their third day here, and so far the adventure had been... kinda boring, actually. After the initial adrenaline rush of running away, and then getting a ride from a former vigilante about to become a Pro Hero, nothing really happened. They'd ended up spending all day yesterday just playing some games Kuroe owned.
Honestly, the more time that passed, the more he realized just how bad of an idea this was. They had run off from a hero's watch, ridden with a total stranger to somewhere they didn't know, and now they were staying with a guy neither of them actually knew. They didn't even have their phones, just the disposable one Anjou had given Ashido. If this turned out to be a trap or something, they were probably screwed.
Why did he insist on coming along? Like Ashido said, this had nothing to do with him, and now his life would be screwed. It had been the single most impulsive decision he'd ever made, and now that they'd actually gone through with it he couldn't help but regret it. This wasn't just some random adventure he could stop whenever he got tired. Even if he changed his mind and went back home, he'd still get in a ton of trouble for running away in the first place.
This was an actual, life-changing decision that had actual consequences no matter how it ended.
"Earth to Kirishima?" He startled when he heard his name, turning to see Kuroe looking at him from by the kitchen sink. "You done zoning out? You've been staring at your cereal for like two minutes."
"Uh, y-yeah," he said, swallowing. "Sorry, just got lost in thought, I guess." Next to him he noticed Ashido looked kinda worried and frowning at him heavily. Eijirou did his best to ignore her look, just quickly shoveled more spoonfuls of cereal into his mouth to avoid having to say anything else. Once he finished eating he stood up and carried his bowl to the sink, where Kuroe took it and started rinsing it out.
While he did he noticed Ashido still watching him with a frown, making his stomach churn. He knew she'd jump on him any second, and he really didn't want to talk about, well, everything. Talking about his worries wouldn't do any good right now; he couldn't just go back to his regular life anymore. All it would do was worry her and make her feel guilty, and she didn't need that.
From the corner of his eye he saw Kuroe eying him thoughtfully while placing the bowls into the dishwasher. "Hey kid, think you'd be up for an errand?" he asked casually, and the question startled Eijirou.
"Huh?"
"I'm running low on some stuff," Kuroe explained with a shrug. "I've got a big deadline tonight, so it'd be helpful if you could grab it for me."
"Wait, you want me to go into public?" Eijirou asked, eyes wide. "But—but there are people looking for me, aren't there!?"
"Kid, we've got plenty of stuff we can use to cover you up," Kuroe snorted, rolling his eyes. "It's cold enough to get away with covering your mouth with a scarf. You can wear fake glasses or an eyepatch if you really want to be careful."
"Ooh, could I go too?" Ashido asked eagerly.
"No," he responded flatly, making her sink in her chair with a dejected groan. "I told you when you got here I don't have the right stuff to cover you up, and it's too soon for you to go out anyway. We can disguise Kirishima way more easily. So, what do you say?" he asked, turning to look at Eijirou. "Wanna do it?"
He frowned, still feeling anxious at the idea of going out in public. But at the same time, he couldn't deny that he felt a little stir-crazy. Being stuck inside all day had already sucked in his own apartment, and having it happen in a completely unfamiliar place turned out to be even worse.
That was how half an hour later found Eijirou walking down the street with his chin tucked into an overly thick red scarf and hands shoved into the pockets of his oversized coat. The knitted hat and ear flaps turned out to be useful for more than just covering his hair; the cold chill to the air had his teeth chattering. Not many people seemed eager to walk around today, the sidewalks mostly empty.
He felt no small amount of relief when he reached the convenience store Kuroe mentioned and could escape the bitter chill. The store didn't have its heating turned up all the way, so he felt comfortable keeping the scarf over his mouth while he pulled out the list Kuroe had given him. Most of it was simple stuff, like batteries, toilet paper, bandages, shampoo...
It was while getting the last thing that he found himself pausing. In the same aisle as all the hair care products were packages of hair dye, the boxes showing models sporting a rainbow of hair colors. He found his gaze drawn to one showing a woman sporting bright red hair, and found himself biting his lip.
"Red, huh," he said softly to himself, absently tugging at a loose strand of hair poking out by his ears. Ashido had mentioned that he had red hair in her memories of that other dimension. It seemed so weird and random at first, even if he was trying to be some "new self" or whatever, but then he'd realized that had to be a reference to Crimson Riot. It added up, along with all her sudden references to "manliness," which had been a major part of Crimson Riot's image.
That had been the other thing that had made him first think that maybe she wasn't crazy besides the whole Red Riot thing. He admired Crimson Riot a lot, but it wasn't like he shouted it from the rooftops or anything. Plenty of people liked heroes without trying to copy them like that.
"You dyed it red when we got into UA as a promise you're a manly man!"
His mouth thinned, and after a few seconds he grabbed the box and added it to the basket. Kuroe had given him enough money to get some stuff for himself too, and they had a few hours before Anjou would arrive. As he turned and started to walk away he almost bumped into another boy also looking at dye. He jumped back with a surprised yelp, the other boy startling and spinning to face him.
"Oh, sorry dude! I didn't see you there!"
"That's okay," the boy said. "I, uh, didn't see you either, so..." He trailed off awkwardly, and Eijirou had to try not to stare at the eyepatch over his left eye. The kid looked like he'd seen better days, given the ragged state of his clothing and his dirty-looking black hair. Eijirou knew not to judge people by their looks alone, but he looked like he might actually be homeless, the thought making his stomach churn uncomfortably.
"Yuki-san, did you find it yet?" someone called, and they both turned to see a blond boy at the end of the aisle with a faintly impatient look on his face.
"I'm just trying to figure out the brand," the black-haired boy—Yuki, apparently—said, turning back to the dye. "I... don't really know which one to use." The blond boy rolled his eyes as he strolled over, grabbing one of the boxes.
"Here, this one should be good enough," he said, and then after a glance at Eijirou's basket snatched up a different box of red dye and held it out. "And if that dye's supposed to be for you, you should use this brand instead."
"Wait, what?" Eijirou asked, a bit startled to be addressed by a stranger.
"This brand has some bleach mixed in," the boy explained. "The one you grabbed is for people with lighter hair colors. That strand of hair sticking out is black, so it won't work unless you plan to bleach it first."
"O-oh, I see... Thanks, man." Eijirou nodded, taking the box offered and putting the original one back. "It's, uh, kinda an impulse thing, so I don't know much about hair dye."
"I figured as much." The blond smiled politely and nodded at him, turning to the other boy. "Come on Yuki, Lee's probably waiting for us at the checkout."
"Right." Yuki nodded and headed down the aisle, the blond following but not before casting Eijirou a final look over his shoulder.
"Tell Kuroe-san that Kaitou says hi," he called lightly, and Eijirou nearly dropped the basket. What the—how—!? The blond paused at his clearly stunned look, a faint smirk appearing as he turned to face him more fully. "That's one of his coats, I recognize it from the stain on the right sleeve." Eijirou glanced down and sure enough, it did have an old stain near the wrist, mostly faded but still visible. "I suppose we might be seeing each other around in the future, so I hope we can get along."
"Uh... Sure? M-me too I guess." Eijirou nodded awkwardly, and the blond—or, Kaitou, maybe?—just nodded back with a smile before following Yuki. Eijirou stared after him for a moment before turning around to go find the rest of the stuff on the list. As he began searching for soap he couldn't help but wonder just how the guy knew Kuroe, and why he thought they'd see more of each other.
Fact: Bakugou Katsuki's explosions came from his sweat, which had nitroglycerin-like properties. The more sweat he built up, the stronger the resulting explosions. However, despite that, he could only ignite explosions around his palms. He couldn't generate them around the soles of his feet, his legs, his shoulder, or around his tear ducts. The explosions also centered directly around his hands; he couldn't detonate a remote explosion, or trigger them simply by staring and willing an object to explode.
If he could, the door with the biohazard sign would have been reduced to less than ash long ago.
Izuku fidgeted awkwardly as his friend glared at the door, corners of his lips curled downwards with obvious loathing. "What the hell are those bastards even hiding down there?" he growled under his breath.
"I don't know, but I can't exactly ask," Izuku replied lowly, shooting a discreet glance over his shoulder where Shinsou talked to Magne with Sushi resting on his shoulders. In keeping with Shigaraki's rules for letting Shinsou walk around the base, they needed to have an adult following them at all times and today the magnetic-Quirk user had volunteered. Right now she was laughing at something Shinsou typed on his phone, suitably distracted from Bakugou's harsh glaring.
They had come to the hallway with the unknown door while wandering randomly around the base. Originally they'd been planning to discreetly scope out escape routes and anything that might be useful towards escaping, or just something for Sushi to play with. Izuku had led them here thinking it'd be useful to specifically point out the door to Aizawa's cell, even if the others couldn't visit him yet. It hadn't taken long for Bakugou to gravitate towards the biohazard door instead though.
They still had no idea what was down there, and they had no idea on how to find out. Based on Mr. Compress's commentary Izuku should know it, so him asking would be a dead giveaway he was having an "episode." Right now would be the worst possible time for them to make that assumption, because this "episode" wouldn't wear off naturally because it wasn't an actual episode. He did ask Seiko, but she had simply refused to explain because that would be "boring" so that was out. Meanwhile, if the others asked, the villains probably wouldn't answer—
"Hey, Ferrofreak!" Kacchan suddenly called, startling Izuku out of his thoughts. He'd turned to scowl at Magne, jabbing a finger at the door. "What's behind this stupid door?"
Magne huffed and crossed her arms. "Kid, why are you asking me?" she asked.
"Not like there's anyone else around here, right?" Bakugou retorted.
"Last I checked, Izuku knows too," Magne said, and it took all of Izuku's self control not to freeze on the spot and show his horror. Dang it Kacchan! They couldn't risk being found out now! If Izuku got locked away, they'd never be able to escape!
"He refuses to tell us," Shinsou's phone suddenly said. "He says it's more fun for us to figure it out by ourselves." Magne frowned at that.
"Really?" she asked, and Izuku bobbed his head.
"Y-yeah! I just, there's not a lot to do here, you know? So I figured it'd be kinda fun to have some mysteries for them to solve, I guess?" ...Okay, that sounded weak even to his own ears, and he did not blame Magne for the doubtful look. So he sighed and took a chance. "Okay, fine, I'm just not sure I want to tell them yet. Baby steps and all that, right?"
That seemed to go over better with Magne, who nodded. "Alright, that makes more sense. I don't know what's down there either, so I'll take your word for it." It took a lot of control not to visibly react to that. Magne didn't know what was down there either?
"Hold on, then who DOES know?" Kacchan demanded, and Magne shrugged.
"No clue, kid. All I know is Aiko marked that place off-limits, and no one goes down there. Not even Shigaraki. Last guy to sneak down there came out missing eyebrows and no idea what happened to them." Well that was ominous, but it also helped to know that not many people would be able to call out Izuku on not knowing what was down there.
Which... probably wouldn't come up much anyway, but still.
At that moment a distant explosion sounded, making them all freeze. Judging by the way everyone else's heads swiveled towards the biohazard sign, clearly they all had the same thought: 'What the heck's down there!?' After a few seconds though another explosion sounded and they quickly realized that it wasn't coming from the basement, the noise definitely from somewhere behind them.
Magne's face quickly schooled into something more serious as she turned around. "Playtime's over, kids," she said gruffly. "Go back to your rooms, I'm gonna check it out." She didn't wait for a response before stalking off, leaving the trio to exchange considering looks. Izuku didn't need to ask to know the other two had made up their minds: they were NOT going back to Shinsou's cell.
"Okay, we've got two options," Bakugou said. "We can either go check out what the hell's behind that fucking door, or go meet that Eraser guy."
"Door," Shinsou typed onto the phone.
"Alright, that's one vote for the door," Bakugou said with a nod. "I'm fine with either choice. Deku, you know this place better than us. Which one do we go with?"
Izuku bit his lip as he considered it. "Either one's gonna get us in a lot of trouble," he pointed out.
"Are you saying we should just go back to the rooms?" Bakugou scoffed.
"No, this is a good opportunity!" Izuku denied quickly. "We're not likely to get another one like this for a while! But I think we need to figure out which one will get us in the least amount of trouble. And also, Sushi." He nodded at the cat still curled up on Shinsou's shoulders, getting a nod of respect back from the vigilante.
"I am not sharing Sushi," he typed, and that had Izuku pausing because, really?
Bakugou looked equally unimpressed with the reasoning. "That's why you voted for the door!?"
"The door has no one interested in stealing Sushi. Probably."
"We don't know that for sure," Izuku said, resisting the urge to groan. "Gah, forget it, we're just wasting time! We don't know how long Magne will be gone, or if someone else will be sent to check on us."
"He's right you know."
It took a LOT of self control not to scream in alarm at the voice suddenly right beside them. They all whirled to see Aiko standing there, a cheerful smile on her face as she raised a hand in greeting. "Yo."
"W-what the—wh-when did—wh-where—how?!" Izuku couldn't even form a coherent sentence, too stunned by her sudden appearance, while Sushi released an unhappy hiss.
"Fucking hell, where the fuck did you come from!?" Kacchan blurted for him, jabbing an accusing finger. "Did you just fuckin' teleport or something!?"
Weirdly enough Aiko seemed to light up at the string of curses instead of act reasonably offended, beaming at him brightly. "Nah, I'm just really quiet."
"Who are you?" Shinsou's phone asked, the vigilante edging to stand behind Izuku. He tensed as Aiko's attention zeroed in on him, her head tilting to the side.
"Are you trying to use Izuku as a human shield?" she asked, and they all stiffened.
"...Right, names!" Izuku said, clapping his hands. Aiko sounded more curious than angry, but he'd rather not risk her getting mad so it was time to distract her. "Guys, this is Aiko-nee, who I've told you about. Aiko-nee, this is Kacchan—I mean, Bakugou," he nodded to Bakugou, who eyed Aiko warily, and then gestured to Shinsou, "And this is Hijack!"
Aiko's attention quickly focused back on him and she smiled. "Thank you for the introductions, Izukun. Though I don't actually need them since I already know who's who," she added with a light laugh and the other two teens tensed up once more, suggesting they didn't know her. Still, she smiled at them and added, "It's nice to finally see you two though! I would've introduced myself earlier, but someone didn't tell me about you guys being here."
She slanted a pointed look at Izuku, which he ignored with a gulp. Fortunately Shinsou changed the topic, his phone speaking up. "You forgot Sushi."
"Oh, right, sorry," Izuku quickly apologized, and nodded at Sushi. "That's Sushi. Kurogiri and Shigaraki gave her to us on Wednesday, though Hijack spends the most time with her so far." At this point Sushi hopped off Shinsou's shoulders to saunter over to Aiko, prompting the woman to drop to a crouch. She scratched Sushi's ear lightly and got a pleased purr in response, while Shinsou made a muffled sound of betrayal.
"Sushi, huh?" she hummed, smiling as the kitten bumped her head into Aiko's palm. "Lemme guess, Kurogiri named her?"
"What, does the Mistfucker have bad naming sense or something?" Bakugou asked sarcastically and she snorted.
"He names every cat Sushi until someone else renames it. It's kind of a running joke around here at this point. But still, you've had a cat for a full day and never told me?" She gave a wistful sort of sigh, rolling her shoulders as she added, "I know you're getting more independent, but I still like to hear updates about your life, Izuku..."
"Um, w-what're you doing here, anyway?" Izuku asked, changing the topic.
"Do you know what those explosions were?" Shinsou's phone sounded not even a second after he finished, having probably been typing that already.
"That would be Slycer in the kitchen," Aiko replied with a wry smirk, and Izuku recoiled. He didn't know the villain named Slycer well, but the man's cooking skills—or lack thereof—had been legendary. Apparently that... thing Toga made his first week here had nothing on that guy's cooking, partially because Slycer almost never finished before something would go wrong. Izuku had overheard Twice whining about having to buy replacement kitchen equipment last week. And the few times he did manage to complete something without destroying the kitchen...
Maybe there was a bit of muscle memory involved, because Izuku's stomach instantly churned at the thought of Slycer cooking. What kind of cooking was so bad that it ingrained an automatic reaction in someone's body like this!?
"And as for your other question," Aiko continued, "I dropped by because I had to grab some stuff for my job. I was catching up with the others in the bar when, well, that happened," she shrugged. "Then Magne came running to make sure we weren't under attack, and when everyone realized you'd been left alone I volunteered to check on you instead. Which is very good for you, seeing as you guys are apparently up to something," she added cheerfully.
Oh. Oh, crap. Izuku had to fight down the panic, because he had no idea what she'd heard or how long she'd been there. "How much did you hear?" Kacchan demanded warily.
"Just the last bit where you guys mentioned voting for a door," she replied, and that really didn't clear up Izuku's anxiety.
"We were wondering—what's down there?" he blurted, pointing to the door as he rambled. "It's just, Mr. Compress says you'd kill us if we went down there, and then Magne said a guy went down and came back with no eyebrows or memories...? But Magne doesn't know what's down there either, just that it's off limits, and the biohazard sign is kinda freaking us out so—"
"Breathe, Deku!" Bakugou cut in irritably, and Izuku promptly stopped rambling to take a deep breath. Aiko just watched him with no small amount of amusement, crossing her arms with a faint smirk.
"Do you really want to know?" she asked almost conspiratorially, and all three of them tensed before bobbing their heads eagerly. "Alright then. Leave Sushi and let's go." She strolled to the door and pulled it open, gesturing for them to follow before descending the stairs. The trio stood in shock for a moment and exchanged wary looks before following, Shinsou reluctantly closing the door on a curiously-mewling Sushi.
Izuku... didn't really want to go downstairs. He felt pretty sure there wouldn't be Noumu down there, but he had no idea what else to expect. Some kind of lab obviously, but other than that? He had no idea. Between Magne's story, the sign and the fact that Sushi couldn't come though, he felt like this would be hazardous to their health. Walking into this blindly could be one of the worst ideas they'd had in a while.
But the alternative was risking Aiko finding out about Aizawa-sensei.
Above everything else, Izuku had to keep Aiko from finding out he was there. The fact she had his goggles suggested some sort of history between them, and given she worked with villains... It probably wasn't just friendly admiration. He had no idea if Aiko knew he was there yet, because Kacchan had definitely said "Eraser" after Magne left, and if she'd heard that...
No. He needed to make sure she didn't find out.
"Hey, Bakugou," Aiko called after she reached the bottom. "Catch." The blond startled as she tossed something his way, catching it with a scowl.
"The fuck? Is this some kind of suit?" Izuku peered closer and sure enough, it looked like a clear plastic package with a folded up hazmat suit inside? Minus the helmet, but it still looked like one.
"Your sweat's made of a nitroglycerine compound," she told him plainly. "You're a walking safety hazard in this place even if you don't use it. Izuku, Hijack, you two can just stick to gloves and safety glasses." That had them exchanging more wide-eyed looks, gears turning in Izuku's head.
"Is it a chemistry lab?" Izuku blurted. At that point Aiko whirled to face them, and—were the stars in her eyes sparkling?
"Yessss!" she breathed in an excited hiss, and yep, the stars were definitely twinkling. "I set up my lab down here ages ago! You have no idea how amazing and versatile chemistry can be, especially Quirk chemistry!"
"Quirk chemistry?" he repeated, voice oddly close to a squeak, and she bobbed her head excitedly.
"Yes! Like Katsuki-chan's sweat! Did you know there are compounds and solutions that can neutralize it—actually no, of course you do, but there are also solutions that can make it more volatile! Or give the explosion different properties and effects! And that's just one example! So many Quirks function based off a unique chemical reaction. Most fire Quirks, for example, can be neutralized with the Endeavor Kill Formula!"
"The Endeavor Kill Formula!?" Izuku repeated in growing horror while Shinsou made a choking sound next to him.
"Ah, just a homemade thing I whipped up when I was a teen," Aiko replied dismissively. "I never actually used it on him or anything, don't worry. I haven't killed a hero yet! ...Somehow," she added under her breath, and Izuku felt a part of his soul just die. It just withered and died while she clapped her hands and continued brightly, "Anyways! Chemistry is just so versatile and fascinating, you can do so much with it! With the right knowledge, Quirks don't matter! Everyone's equal! And even if their Quirks don't have a chemical counter, you can just throw acid at them instead! Or find the right mix of chemicals to make them flammable!"
As she rambled on passionately she seemed oblivious to the air of dread which had descended over them. Izuku now immensely regretted coming down here, but it was too late to back down now. As she turned to lead them into the actual lab, beginning to spout off basic safety rules, the trio exchanged matching grimaces before reluctantly trudging after her. He knew without asking that all of them had the same thought:
Aiko was dangerous.
So update on my foot: yep, it's broken. I broke the fifth metatarsal, the bone in your foot connecting to the little toe. I've been literally living on the couch since Friday. I have a follow-up exam next Monday, so fingers crossed it's healing in a way where I won't have to get pins in it.
A more fun piece of news: I drew Oracle/Kas! You can find him over on my Tumblr. It also includes some little bits of info about him. Next up, I'm gonna work on Anjou, Saki/Lady of the Night or Mail. Might start with Anjou just because she won't need a full-body reference...
Not much else to say except I have been waiting a LONG time to reveal Aiko's chemistry passion. She is a mad scientist and loves Quirk chemistry. Her specialty is countering/neutralizing Quirks, but she can also augment them and also loves making a LOT of dangerous stuff. If she weren't a villain, Nedzu would probably snatch her up to work at UA's support department. This chapter and the next are both pretty quiet, so I'll probably do another update this week.
Question for next time: What would be the most chaotic point for a canon character to suddenly switch into Ignite so far? (Besides Shigaraki. Shigaraki just wins by default with these questions.)