Chapter 7 - What I Said Before

"Gear up team... Dragon?" Aizawa said taking a second look at the word and rolling his eyes. "You've been requested for a patrol from Fat Gum's agency." Kirishima started pumping his fist.

"Awesome! I hoped I'd get to work with him more!" You looked at your partner quizzically. "You're going to love him [y/n]. I did a work study with him last year."

"Your patrol will start after classes tomorrow and run until 7 p.m. Don't be late," Aizawa said blandly.

***

You arrived at Fat Gum's office around 3 p.m. the next day. You didn't know what you expected to see in a pro office, but a long table topped with dozens of different cakes was not your first thought. A wall of bookshelves stuffed with case files and boxes lined the side wall, as half a dozen desks filled the center of the room. The door to a restroom was on the far wall from the entrance, sandwiched between rows of lockers meant for hero costumes - and maybe lunchboxes?

"Red Riot!" Fat Gum boomed, standing from a large yellow swivel chair. Fat Gum was a giant man, his body a near perfect circle. His quirk, Fat Absorption, allowed him to capture villains with his body or absorb the impact from attacks. He needed to eat a lot to keep his 'form'.

FAT GUM—QUIRK: FAT ABSORPTION. HIS BODY FAT HAS THE ABILITY TO ADHERE TO ANY OBJECTS THAT ENTER IN CONTACT WITH IT, CAUSING THEM TO SINK INTO HIS BODY AFTERWARD. THIS FAT PROVIDES A HIGH DEGREE OF PROTECTION, MAKING FAT GUM VERY RESISTANT TO BLADES AND BULLETS.

Kirishima was forced to jump to give the man a high five. "And you must be..."

"This is Cinder! You'll love her," Kirishima said, a large smile shining across his face. You felt your cheeks go pink.

"Oh, are we going by hero names?" you questioned, still blushing, before taking Fat Gum's outstretched hand for a shake.

"You're a hero here. You might as well be called a hero's name," Fat Gum replied. His presence was instantly calming, even when contrasted with his large size. "I'd like you two to run our afternoon patrol for the next week or so. One of my sidekicks, Zipper, his wife just had a baby, so he'll be out for a while."

"Sweet! What's our area?" Kirishima asked, clearly excited to begin.

***

It was the fourth day of patrolling. You dressed in your hero attire as you scanned parks and alleys, parking lots and store fronts.

Although how am I expected to look at anything when Kiri's abs are staring me in the face all day.

Kirishima's hero costume consisted of long black pants and a long-sleeved dark jacket, which left his chest completely exposed. A thin mask covered his nose and chin, and dense gear-like pads protected his shoulders.

You'd walked up and down the streets of your region three times before heading back to the agency for the evening. "Seems like such a quiet area," you remarked to Kirishima.

"Yeah. It can get a little dicier at night, but I'm guessing that's why they gave this shift to trainees. We'll probably just help a few more little old ladies cross the street."

"But that can be manly too." You gave him a playful elbow to the side. He looked up, grinning.

"Yeah! You're right! It's super manly!" You chuckled as you walked. Kirishima was extremely easy to talk to. The conversation never really dried up or became awkward. It was nice and comfortable.

"Hey Kiri?" He hummed as he turned to face you. "Thanks."

"For what?" he asked, a bit confused.

"For being exactly the right person for me to be partnered with. I was really nervous, but I feel like I can just be myself around you. It's...it's really nice." You glanced down at your hands before you could cringe at your embarrassing honesty.

"I really like being around you t--" The lightness in his voice trailed off. You looked up, your eyes following where Kirishima's head was pointed, and saw them too. Down an alleyway, not five blocks from the agency, a person was on the ground being kicked by three larger men.

"Stop!" Kirishima said with more authority than you thought possible. "We are heroes. Step away from that man and put your hands on the wall behind you." Of course, they didn't listen and started to bolt toward the back of the alley.

"[y/-- Cinder!" he called as he charged after them. You pressed the com in your pocket three times to initiate the distress call that would be sent back to the office with your coordinates.

Dammit, Kiri don't just run away from me into an unknown location.

You lit your left hand, making sure your right was free before running to the injured man on the ground and checking his pulse. He was breathing, but unevenly. He had a nasty gash on his forearm, and you suspected he'd be covered in bruises by morning, possibly with some internal bleeding. Just a distress call wouldn't be enough. You pulled out your phone and dialed for an ambulance. You gave your location and told emergency services to bring the police as well. With any luck, you'd be handing over three criminals.

CRACK! That didn't sound good.

Your head snapped toward the corner where Kirishima had disappeared. Dammit!

You checked the man's breathing one more time. You whipped off his shoe and removed his sock, using the absorbent fabric to stop the arm gash from bleeding. It would have to do for now. You took your mask off and placed it to his face so he could get more oxygen before getting to your feet and following your partner.

Kirishima was in his hardened form in front of a large metal dumpster which had a deep crack running down its right side. The three men created a barrier around him. Out of the corner of his eye, Kirishima saw your dark form approach and took a deep breath.

One of the men raised his hand and a sudden hum sounded from his sleeve.

Bees.

Can't they see stingers will have no effect on his hardened body?

But the emerging swarm wasn't headed toward Kirishima. They were headed toward you.

Fuck! He must have heard me come around the corner. So much for getting the jump on them.

"Call them back!" you ordered. The man didn't drop his hand, only smiled as the bees drew closer. You asked for it.

With that, you unleashed the smokescreen you had been building up. The bees diverted from the smoke, which had also created enough of a haze to temporarily blind your foes. From within the cloud of smoke you saw Kirishima's red hair zigzag back and forth as if he were dodging. You let the smoke clear just enough to see he was sparring with the tallest of the three men, who was getting taller by the second.

Your eyes widened as the man lengthened his limbs, keeping a distance between his torso and Kirishima's iron fists. You pulled in all the smoke - the bees were down anyway - and unleashed your whip-like tendrils towards the assailants, grabbing onto their legs and around their torsos. You pulled back with all your strength and they toppled over, the elongated man falling hard.

The tall man and the beekeeper were down. Kirishima gave a quick hit to each of their heads, enough to daze them until back-up arrived. But the third writhed and twisted, finally managing to slide free of your ropes, and turned - are you fucking kidding me - into a giant snake.

You refused to let the other two men out of their bindings and hadn't built up enough additional smoke to make something to contain the giant reptile. As the snake turned toward you, fangs sharp and glistening, you saw a flash of red leap onto its back as if riding a bull at a rodeo. The snake jerked and snapped at Kirishima, but he hardened against the fangs and the lashing tail. He punched toward the back of the snake's head and it began to slow. Kirishima's fight had given you enough time to pull in more smoke.

"Red Riot, take a deep breath!" you called as you sent an ashy wall of smoke toward Kirishima and the snake. You pushed the fumes into the beast's eyes and throat, begging it to stop thrashing.

Within a flash, the snake turned back into a man. Kirishima fell to the ground, no longer gripping the thick tail. The snake man coughed and wheezed on the pavement before you ended his suffering, pulling your smoke back, and instead re-wrapped him in similar bindings to those still holding his villainous friends. He didn't revert to the snake form, but Kirishima knocked him out for good measure.

With all three men unconscious, you finally looked up and smiled at Kirishima. He grinned back at you, his chest heaving and his skin returning to its non-hardened state. You took in a long deep breath as the police rounded the corner of the alley with Fat Gum in the lead. He looked at the three downed bodies and then at you and Kirishima.

***

The police handcuffed the three men and you let your smoke scatter.

"How's the injured man?" you gasped, realizing there was still someone in need. You had been so caught up in the fight. You started to run toward the fallen man, but Fat Gum stopped you, his large hand blocking your path.

"He's fine. He's in the ambulance that you called and will be treated for his injuries." You let out another deep breath. "That was some fast thinking, to prioritize the victim, call for back-up, and still take down three suspects. I would say this was a resounding success, Team Dragon." He gave you a wink.

"You know the team name?" you said with an embarrassed chuckle, pushing your hood up to get some fresh air on the back of your neck.

"A tough-skinned boy and a smoky siren? It's an awesome team name." He clapped you on the back as Kirishima came closer.

"You okay Red Riot?" you asked looking at the boy's form, not overly worried. He seemed more alive than ever.

"Are you kidding? That was nuts! You whipped out your smoke and took 'em down like whizzz, swaaah. And they went down like BAM! And then I rode a snake. A SNAKE!" You laughed at his exhilaration.

In a flash he picked you up, his arms wrapping around you in a tight embrace as he spun in a circle, beaming. You floated a few inches off the ground smiling down at him and didn't push away. You hugged his shoulders back lightly, before he realized what he had just done. He quickly placed you down and stepped back, his face the color of his hair, but you didn't break eye contact.

Fat Gum coughed. Both your faces shot up. "I think we should get back to the agency to fill in any paperwork," he said, jerking a thumb back toward the main road.

"Right!" you both chimed in a bit too quickly and followed the large man.

"Um, Fat Gum sir..." He looked down at you, "Do we know what those three wanted from the injured man? Was it money or his phone?"

"I don't know Cinder. I didn't get to speak to him. He was already in the ambulance when I got to the scene. But I'll be sure to ask the police if we can see his statement once this has all been taken care of." He gave you another reassuring pat on the back. "That reminds me...here." He handed you your mask.

"Thank you sir," you said taking it in your hands. You took a good long look at it. This mask helped save someone. You had helped save someone. You smiled softly at the piece of dark material.

***

"Hey [y/n]!" You glanced up at Kirishima, suddenly realizing you were already back in the office. Kirishima had cleaned up first. The red hair that was always spiked was now wet and falling across his eyes. He had also unfortunately changed back into his street clothes. "You okay?" he asked when your eyes didn't quite meet his.

"I'm fine," you said, waving the question away. "My body just kind of reacted, you know? When I saw your back against that dumpster, all my hesitation was gone, and I only wanted to win." Your voice rose toward the end, feeling much more confident.

"Ha! You sound like Bakugou...but without all the swearing." You chuckled.

"Yeah, and I'm better looking." You gave a joking smile, but you saw Kirishima redden again slightly. You took the beat to grab your street clothes and head into the restroom to change.

***

You were back out on the street headed toward the train station with Kirishima. The streets were emptying, with only a few people in business suits coming home late from work and those returning from restaurants and shops. The sun had set and a blanket of stars glistened in the sky.

"You wanna grab food before we head back to the dorms?" you asked and pointed toward a small shop, still open, selling yakitori. Kirishima's eyes brightened, and you both went in and grabbed a few skewers of beef and chicken. Holding your delicious smelling bounty, you walked to a park the pair of you had passed a dozen times on your patrols and sat on a grassy spot under a tall sakura tree. A few pink petals floated down from above and dusted the grass like confetti.

"These are great," you said while you watched Kirishima practically inhale the meat. "Do you want my extra one?" You held out a stick covered in salty beef.

"Those are yours. You need to eat too [y/n]." He waved your offer away. You wafted the skewer under his nose. You could practically see his sharky teeth glistening with saliva.

"But I'm willing to share with my partner," you cooed. He hesitated, but then held his hand out. You gladly passed the stick over. It was gone in three bites.

"Why don't you always wear your hair like this Kiri? It's cute," you said and ran your fingers through his hair before thinking. He stiffened. You started to lower your hand when you noticed a scar above his right eye.

"How d'you get this?" you asked softly, trailing your fingers across the skin. He tenderly grabbed your hand from his brow and set his own in its place.

"It was the first time I got my quirk," he said, not making eye contact. "My eye was itchy and at the moment I went to scratch it, my hardening activated. It's not a cool quirk like yours, but it's gotten me this far."

"Hey!" you said, forcing him to look at you. "You rode a goddamn snake today while it tried to throw you, swat you and bite you all at the same time and you don't have a scratch. I'd say it's pretty damn cool." That glowing smile you associated with Kirishima appeared back on his face.

"And Kiri, I meant what I said before. Thank you for being an amazing partner." You put your head on his shoulder as you both stared into the starry sky.