The next couple of days followed any other normal day. Patrols were boring, Sakaki hated sticking to normal routes. She was not one who enjoyed being put on for show to the people. Fan service was not her strong suit. She did not enjoy people, she did not enjoy them watching her or bothering her. There was a reason she was an unranked hero, and why she had no desire to be one. But being out with Bakugou on patrols for the public to watch and follow along was no fun. It was impossible to be invisible when she was standing among a high ranked hero and one the public loved, even if she could not understand why.
But civilians were not the only ones to notice, those in the shadows had as well. That was annoying, Sakaki used her element of surprise to her advantage. She was not physically strong like a lot of hero's. But she was stronger than she looked, which often helped a lot in fights. Her quirk being able to incapacitate others was her other strength. But that had a lot of drawbacks too. And was the primary reason she liked to work alone. The gasses she could produce were not controllable once released. She could affect friend and foe alike. And the fact her own gasses made her drunk meant she had to keep her mask on herself or risk the consequences.
"You should have a gas mask on you when we work together," Sakaki said randomly one day as the two of them were walking back to the agency after having taken down some criminal who had tried to rob a subway train. Sakaki had refused to use her own quirk while Bakugou was around and she found it annoying.
"Huh? Why the fuck would I do that?" The blonde had barked out.
"Because I can not use my quirk around you without risk of it affecting you," she pointed out as if it was common sense and the blonde was a moron.
"So what? You don't have to worry about it," the blonde said back. Of course Bakugou would act as if he was completely impenetrable.
"Dumb ass you can not do anything about an invisible gas. You can not just blow my quirk away with an explosion. And prolonged exposure will be dangerous. My gasses are poisonous after all," she said simply. Though she wasn't sure if that information actually went through the blondes thick head and that he was able to comprehend it.
"What do you mean prolonged exposure is dangerous?" He asked as he looked over at her as if she was a moron.
"It's as I said. My poisonous gasses will cause issues if you are exposed to it too much. I'm not completely immune either so I can't just keep giving you my mask either," she said simply.
"What do you mean poisonous gas? Isn't your quirk just similar to Midnights had been?" The look on Bakugou's face was either confusion or constipation. She was going to assume confusion.
"No. There's actually a lot of difference between what her quirk was and what mine is. To help with that memory of yours my quirk is called toxic aeration. The gas my body creates is always poisonous. It's just that I can slightly alter the potency of the poison. That is what makes the difference between the gas killing someone or not. Think of it similar to carbon monoxide. The gas affects the blood's ability to carry oxygen to the brain and the person passes out. If I turn it up too high I can actually suffocate the person inhaling the poison," she explained a little bit better for Bakugou since he apparently could not remember how her quirk worked from their time in UA. Then again she wasn't exactly sure Bakugou could remember the two of them had been in the same class.
"Huh? I never knew it was poisonous. How the hell do you use your quirk around others?" He asked.
"I try not to. It's why Mirko allowed me to work alone. Those who work with me need a mask like my own. Though I do have pheromone blocking as an added option to help ensure alpha criminals can not try to boss me around," or send her into heat if things were unlucky for her. But she was not going to voice that part out loud.
"Well that's annoying," Bakugou growled softly. Which had Sakaki chewing on the inside of her cheek. She knew all too well it was annoying, she had heard it all her life. Classmates paired up with her, sidekicks from every agency she has ever worked at. It was one of the bigger drawbacks of her quirk. Anyone working with her really needed to be equipped with a mask that would protect them from her gas. Like Bakugou, few wanted to do that all the time.
"Yep. But nothing I can do about it unless you will let me patrol alone," she said simply with a shrug of her shoulders and trying to act as if his words did not bother her.
She watched as Bakugou scrunched up his nose as if he smelled something bad. It seemed he did not like that request. And he didn't. The thought of letting her walk around the streets alone looking for villains did not sit well with him. The urge to keep her close, to keep her beside him would prevent him from being able to just let her work alone. Or honestly with anyone other than Kirishima. But that was not something Bakugou wanted to think about nor try to understand.
So instead Bakugou ground his teeth and kept his mouth shut as even he knew opening his mouth would probably result in him saying something that would offend or piss her off. Keeping his mouth shut was best for them both. Though his lack of a reply still irritated her, and he could see the irritation on her face as her lips pressed into a firm line and he may have seen an eye twitch. And yet Sakaki managed to also bite her tongue as well. Neither of them wished to start arguing in front of civilians on the streets as the two made their way back to the agency. At least the two of them could keep their tempers in check till they were away from anyone who could pull out a cell phone with a camera and cause them issues.
The tension between the two could almost be cut with a knife by the time the two of the hero's walked into the agency. Silently they both made their way towards Bakugou and Kirishima's office. Sakaki's face lit up when she spotted the redhead sitting at his desk when the two walked in. Usually he was not yet in when the two got back from patrol.
"Hey Ei," Sakaki called out in a warm greeting as she waved at the man as his head picked up to look at them.
"Hey Bakubro, Sakaki, how was patrol?" he asked with an arched brow as he took in their dirty and disheveled appearance.
"Some dumb ass extra decided to hold up a train and rob the dumb extras riding it," Bakugou grumbled as he made his way over to his own desk to take a seat and start at his own paperwork. He may have a damage report to write after their morning battle.
"Ah but I am sure you two dealt with the villain," Kirishima was praising the blonde with his tone. And as expected Bakugou clearly enjoyed it as he stuck his chest out a little. Kind of reminded her of a gloating little dog with a fresh bone.
"Fuckin course I did," Sakaki could not help but roll her eyes as Bakugou took all the glory for the take down although she had been a rather good help. After all, it wasn't like Bakugou could fire off any sort of explosion in a tight train cart with civilians all around. Their hand to hand combat has been what saved the day.
But Sakaki knew better than to try and correct the blonde. That would only rekindle their earlier irritation and they would surely start a real fight she was not careful. So instead she walked over to Kirishima's desk and sat herself down on the edge of the desk on the opposite side of Kirishima.
She kept her mouth shut as she sat there and just listened to Kirishima stroking Bakugou's ego. The red head really knew what to say to make the blonde happy. Then again that was something Kirishima had always seemed good at and not even just with Bakugou. She used to think he just kissed people's asses. But it's honestly just part of that sunshine personality, he wanted to people please. And if praising them an ungodly amount was the way then he would do it. Though she was sure Bakugou's ego did not need that kind of consistent praise.
Listening to the two friends talk she could not help but reach up and fiddle with the top of her skin tight uniform. It sat snug along the bottom of her neck. And today it felt annoying. Scratchy and itchy on her skin. Even though it was the same uniform, same material, same everything that she had been wearing for years. Yet today it was slightly annoying. And apparently her fidgeting had not gone unnoticed.
"Is something wrong Sakaki?" It had been Kirishima who noticed and voiced his concern first.
"Nothin. Just wondering if I washed this suit in some different laundry detergent. It's been bothering me the last few days," she admits as she tugs at the collar a little on her top. The material felt itchy and uncomfortable against her skin. The normally soft material was making her skin feel raw and like she had been wearing a suit made out of sand paper and not her normal soft, stretchy, and breathable hero costume.
Her focus was on her uncomfortable suit and not on the look the two men shared as they looked at each other before looking back at her. Both men seemed to be sharing a similar concern.
"Hey Sakaki wouldn't that be like a typical sign of an omega going into heat? Even though you did that just a few weeks ago?" Kirishima was careful as he voiced the thoughts that both men had.
"Typically yes. But there should be other signs as well. A higher temperature will always be present as well especially after a few days like this. More so it's my body wanting to enter another heat but it's too early. My new suppressants usually help with these minor issues. But I am not usually around so many alphas all day everyday and it messes with me a little. But it's fine, don't worry about it. I may just need to use another type of costume I have for these kinds of days," She said simply not at all as worried as both men even as she found herself itching at her neck lightly.
"Your suppressants from high school really messed with your body that badly?" Kirishima asked with a still look of concern on his face.
"Yeah. I never listened to the doc's. I went all three years at UA with only one heat while I was a student. Omega suppressants are not meant to be used for such a long time. The side effects are now pretty permanent. I have to use very specific suppressants now and even then they are a much lower dose than I would like and as such they do stop working after a while," She admits as a slight blush dusts her cheeks. It felt a little odd talking about such personal things with the two men. But their curiosity seemed genuine or at least Kirishima's curiosity was genuine. Bakugou on the other hand she was not sure about as she glanced over at him and was a little unsure of what he was thinking as he attempted to look like he was working and not silently listening in. That is till his eyes glanced up and met her gaze which just earned her a snort from the man.
"Why not just get off the suppressants all together?" Bakugou asked before he looked down at the paperwork he was filling out about the damage he had done that morning during the battle with the extra trying to rob the train.
"I could but my body does not know how to exactly be an omega any more. My cycles are already incredibly inconsistent, being left to itself my body may go haywire," She admits as she softly swings her legs off the edge of Kirishima's desk.
"Well you have been itching all week you better do something about that," Bakugou grumbled. After all it was him who had to watch and deal with her scratching all patrol long.
"Would getting a bonded mate help?" Kirishima seemed hesitant as he asked his question. And he had a reason to. He could see Sakaki's shoulders tense, her metaphoric hackles raising at the question.
"It could. There's still no guarantee but there is a chance I would then sync up with the alpha. But I have no desire to bond to anyone any time soon. I am a hero not a broodmare after all," She said, unable to look over at either man. Instead she looked around the room, not enjoying the quickly growing tension in the air. Instead she looked over at the clock and noticed the time.
"Hey Kirishima, you're late for your patrol. Your sidekick has probably been waiting for you," She quickly said as she noticed the time on the clock that hung on the wall. She could hear Kirishima curse softly to himself. Looking back at him she giggled softly as she watched the large man start to scramble. At least he was in his hero costume already but his shoulder pads were sitting on the floor by his desk. Jumping to his feet he was scrambling to slide the large gear like pads up his arms.
"Sorry guys. I am so late," Kirishima whined before he was waving and rushing out of the room without saying much more to them. Or maybe he was but it was a jumbled mess of mumbles and Sakaki could not make anything out as Kirishima ran from the room. Though it only took a few seconds of Kirishima being gone and she already missed his presence in the heavily quiet room.
"Why do you hate alpha's?" The question was not as rough as she would have expected. But the fact he asked it still caught her off guard.
"Huh I don't hate alpha's," She said as she gaped at him. Did he really think she hated alpha's? She did not think she did. Sure she found them annoying. Most were assholes in her eyes. They loved to use their powers to bully others, especially omega's who were often unable to resist a strong alpha's words or pheromones.
"Of course you fucking do. You're nothing but a bitch whenever you have to deal with one," Bakugou yells at her his own short temper getting the best of him.
"I ain't a bitch. I just won't roll over and submit. Maybe you alpha's should learn some decent manners and not be assholes," She growled at him with her own top lip curling back to show off her small fangs. Okay maybe in some ways she could see how her quick aggression could be seen as hating alpha's. With that Bakugou was quick to jump to his feet.
"I am not an asshole," Apparently her general use of the word alpha went over the blonde's head and he took it as her calling him personally an asshole. Bakugou knew he could be an asshole, and he had been one when he was a kid. But he had worked hard to become as decent of a person as he was.
The ever so slight lingering of sugar or caramel on her tongue from his scent was quickly turning sour. The usually soft caramel undertone was burned, it had her nose scrunching up at the reek. Her mouth closed as much as possible to keep the stench and burnt taste of shit off her tongue.
"Oh yeah? You walk around like your king shit of turd island. Like we should all bow down to you. Sorry to burst your bubble Katsuki but you are an asshole," she growled at him even as he closed the distance between her to lear over her with a deep snarl rumbling his chest. Her own scent smells like rotting strawberries. Had she not been so emotional and upset she would have felt bad for everyone in the agency that would probably be stuck smelling their fight for hours after.
Bakugou was trying so very hard to not just snap at the woman before him. He tried to remember the breathing exercises he had learned as a teen when he saw a therapist. But fuck it was very hard for him to not just explode. His jaw hurt by how hard he was clenching it. His teeth were starting to creek under the pressure. Without another word he turned away from the dark haired woman. He silently stomped out of the room. The door to the office nearly ripped off the hinges when he wrenched the door open. The fact it remained in one piece was surprising.
Sakaki would never of thought she would see the day that Bakugou Katsuki actually walked away from a fight. Had she maybe over stepped? A small bit of guilt chewed at the back of her mind. But her still fuming temper did not allow her to just drop the attitude and anger. Instead she was pissed he just walked away from her. Once she calmed down she would better understand why he did that and be thankful. She was just looking for a fight now in her current state.
Jumping off the desk she was growling softly to herself. Her temper not yet calming down. Unlike Bakugou she did not head towards the gym to blow off steam. Instead she headed towards the locker rooms. Her skin was crawling. She needed a shower and to get into different clothes before she started to itch her skin off of her own body. Then she would return and work on paperwork in peace till her work day came to an end.