~~~
Kira had another nightmare that night. She woke with a slight start, the image of Dabi and Toga slowly fading from memory.
"Finally." Bakugou's voice. "About time you woke up. I was about to leave your ass here."
Kira rubs her eyes, and then her neck, rolling out the cramp from sleeping at an awkward angle on the sofa. "You're here?"
"Course I am." Bakugou stands in front of the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. "Seems to me that the Light Bringer of this reality might have been after our guy."
"What? Really?"
Bakugou turns his body slightly, grunting his reply, before spinning to analyse the papers once more. Kira stands up slowly, her back aching from her sleeping position. She stretches and steps beside Bakugou, as he points to a certain news article hidden underneath. It has a huge red circle around the face of the villain, wearing a similar face covering to the one they encountered in the store.
"Does it say who he is?"
"No." Bakugou shakes his head slightly, peeling off the paper with a swift tug and handing it to her. "Read it yourself."
He shoves it to her so she has no choice but to take it. She sighs softly - he must be pretty mad about her persistence yesterday. If someone was prying into her life like that, she would be pissed off too. Perhaps she should apologise about her poking around, especially around such a sore subject. On the other hand, she is immensely proud of him for even opening up to her in the first place. Though, if she uttered a word about it to anyone, he might just kill her.
"Villain Strikes Again," she mutters, reading the title and then the text below. "Masked Villain Spotted Robbing Theater Royale, Police and Pro Heroes Unable to Capture Due to His Challenging Quirk." She looks up from the paper as Bakugou vanishes into the kitchen. She decides to follow. "So, unlike on our reality, this villain might actually be able to control his Quirk?"
"Uh huh," Bakugou grunts, opening one of the cupboards. "And now we know where to find him."
"The theater," she says, peering down at the article once more, in case she missed anything. "Just how exactly are we supposed to catch him if he's in there?"
Bakugou stops searching and faces her. "Isn't it obvious?" He scoffs. "I'm gonna break in there and force him to send me back. If he doesn't, I'll kill him."
"Sure," Kira responds sarcastically. "Then his cold, dead corpse can send us back."
Bakugou glares at her before opening a different cupboard.
"Besides, have you seen the state-of-the-art security around that place?" Kira adds. "Even you won't be able to break in there."
"Fine!" He snaps, slamming the cupboard shut. "Got any bright ideas then, you idiot?"
Kira pauses, staring down at the article of finely dressed citizens. "We might have to look the part," she explains, flipping over the paper and showing her classmate.
Bakugou narrows his eyes at the image of couples dressed in ridiculously formal clothing and shakes his head. "No way. I'm not wearing that crap."
Kira drops her hands by her side, her expression turning serious. "I don't think you have a choice if you wanna get back home."
Bakugou looks as though he's about to explode. "And I take it we have to go together?" He gestures moving his hand from his chest to hers lazily. "Dammit! It's not gonna work!"
"We do have to find a way to get our outfits," Kira mutters, her finger on her chin thoughtfully.
"We'll just take them."
"Huh?"
"Steal them from the other extras going," Bakugou says simply. "We need their tickets too."
Kira scoffs, stepping forwards and placing the article on the counter. "How can you be so nonchalant? Stealing? That's not very heroic of you."
"I don't have to keep reminding you that this isn't our world, do I?"
Kira's mocking smile drops. "I wanna get back just as badly as you do."
"Then act like it."
Bakugou opens another cupboard, pulling out a dusty cup and rinsing it off in the sink. Kira's only mildly surprised that there's still running water. After all, this is Light Bringer's house. Bakugou fills the glass before chugging the whole lot in an instant. It seems sometime during the night, he'd decided to discard his overshirt, leaving him in a black shirt and black joggers - a telltale outfit of his, Kira's noticed.
Kira risks another step forward but falters, noticing Bakugou's hands gripping the counter with such force, she's worried it may snap in two. She shouldn't have pushed him yesterday.
"I'm sorry, Bakugou," she mumbles, looking down at her shoes shamefully.
"Huh?" He tilts his head but doesn't turn. "What the hell are you apologising for, you idiot?"
He sounds tired. She wonders if he even slept at all last night. "For pushing you. It's none of my business."
"Damn straight it's none of your business." He turns slowly, his expression twisted in irritation.
Kira nods, expecting this reaction. "I'm a hypocrite, really," she tells him. "Everyone deals with things differently. Even you."
She feels his heated glare on her and she doesn't dare look up to meet it. His silence unnerved her though - she would prefer it if he cursed and shouted at her.
"We should go," he says instead and Kira looks up sharply. "I wanna scope out the theater before we do anything."
"Good idea." She nods. "We can see when the next showing is."
~
The walk to the theater is quiet. Perhaps Kira should have waited until they got back to their reality before apologising - they need to be on the same team here. To be honest, she's worried about Bakugou leaving her here in this creepy reality.
When they round the last corner, Kira skips over the road and checks out the huge board revealing upcoming shows and times. "Oh, look." She points to one. "There's a showing in about a few hours."
"Perfect timing," Bakugou mutters.
She turns to him. "Shouldn't we wait for a later viewing?" She wonders. "You're the one who said the darkness would be the perfect cover."
"I know what I said," he retorts quickly. He hesitates, as if he's thinking deeply, examining the board of the timings. "He'll be here," he says finally.
"Are you sure? How do you know?"
"It's simple, you idiot," he sighs his reply. "The villain knows how to use his Quirk in this world. The pro heroes will be expecting him to make an appearance at night. Choosing to show up during the day is ballsy but the pro heroes won't be ready."
Kira nods slowly. Usually, she's the one to make the plans when she's in teams, as has been proven time and again during their training at UA. Perhaps being in an alternate reality has rattled her nerves. "I'm surprised that the theater is even still open," she says, stepping back and inspecting the building. "Based on the article you found, Light Bringer was hunting this guy for quite a while."
"This theater is a highlight of entertainment," Bakugou replies. "At least it is in our world. If the same rules apply here, then temporarily closing it down will just be bad for business."
"Yeah, but isn't it dangerous?" She wonders. "It's a villain!"
Bakugou looks at her. "He hasn't killed anyone."
"That doesn't justify his actions."
"Course not!" Bakugou barks. "Besides, if they shut down the theater, then the villain will just move somewhere else to rob and then the pro heroes will be back to square one."
"You think the owner of the theater knows about being bait for the villain?" Kira asks, raising a brow curiously.
"Who cares?" Bakugou shoves his hands into his pockets and strolls across the road carelessly, keeping his head down.
Kira jogs to catch up. "So, the villain manages to sneak in somehow, or perhaps just buys a ticket and walks in that way, seeing as how nobody knows what he looks like."
"Probably." Bakugou goes down an alley a few streets away.
Kira follows behind. "He snatches a few jewels or loose change from the rich and then teleports himself to another reality straight away. It's no wonder the heroes can't catch him."
"Sounds about right." Bakugou stops and looks left and right, before using his Quirk to boost himself up and grab onto a metal ladder.
"But, none of them? Really? Where the hell is All Might in this world? Well, if the villain spots any suspicious behaviour or any heroes waiting in the theater, he can just cancel his plans and watch the show. I hate to say it, but it's smart."
"Would you shut up already?" Bakugou snaps. "You're starting to sound like Deku with all your damn talking."
"Where are you going?" Kira questions as she just now notices Bakugou climbing to get to the roof.
He ignores her and Kira has no choice but to follow after him, rolling up her hoodie sleeves and boosting herself up with her Quirk to grab onto the ladder. With a heave, she manages to get a good grip and follows after Bakugou.
When she hoists herself over the top, Bakugou stands with one foot on the wall by the edge, his elbow resting on his knee as he glares down at the theater building. The wind plays with his hair and ruffles his shirt and Kira finds herself oddly starstruck. He looks like he's posing for a photograph, without even trying. It would be nice to get proof to show the rest of class A that they were in alternate reality.
"So, what now?" She joins him beside the edge. "We wait?"
He grunts quietly, peering down the side of the building and Kira wonders what exactly is going on in his mind. What thoughts are playing out right now? When he looks over ths edge of a building, is he going to think about Midoriya, or even Kirishima? As Kira stares down the side, her hair covering her eyes, she definitely does.
They wait an hour or two, until the guests start to arrive. Some arrive by car, limosine, others walking hand in hand from random streets. Kira's eyes dart over each couple, struggling to pick out one that has an outfit her size. She was absolutely dreading wearing a dress. Almost as much as Bakugou was dreading wearing a suit.
"How about them?" Kira points from the roof.
"No," Bakugou says simply. "I'm not wearing that."
Kira looks down at the man walking beside his female companion, dressed in a finely print suit, with light pink frills down the chest. She stifles her laughter, picturing Bakugou wearing it.
"Shut up," he snaps, spotting her fit. "Down there."
Kira follows his gaze, after having settled down. "Red isn't really my colour, but if you say so," she sighs, approaching the far side of the building and using her Quirk to leap down and cushion her landing.
She runs the plan through her head repeatedly. If she screws up, they may never get back home. Kira and Bakugou lie in wait in the dark alley, despite it being the middle of the day and hide behind a couple of large bins. The chatter coming from the couple grows louder and louder and Kira looks to Bakugou for confirmation. He nods slightly and Kira readies herself to pounce. Cover her mouth first so she doesn't scream. Kira tells herself. They're dangerously close to the theater to be grabbing someone. If they get caught, it's over.
Kira hears the clopping of heels on concrete and she tenses as the couple come into view at the mouth of the alley. Bakugou and Kira move in unison - she grabs the female, wrapping a hand over her mouth and scooping her out of sight of the growing crowds around the theater.
She writhes in her grip, but Kira keeps strong, one hand around her mouth and the other around her neck. This felt so horrible to her, so villainous. She feels sick to the core. She just has to keep reminding herself that this isn't her world. She has her friends to get back to and her school and her father.
Finally, the female begins to cease her wriggling, her body eventually going limp in her grip. Kira checks her neck for a pulse, breathing heavily in relief at just knocking her out. She then drags the strangers unconscious form down a separate alleyway strand and strips her of her clothes. Kira mutters her apologies the entire time, bile rising in her throat. She wonders if this is as hard for Bakugou as it is for her.
Kira slips her feet into the heels, nearly tripping straight away. She takes two steps, shrugging the purse onto her shoulder but stops. She curses to herself before facing the female again, where she clothes her with what she was just wearing. It's bad enough she robbed her of her clothes, but leaving her in her underwear was just wrong.
Kira combs out her hair and paces out of her section of the alley. Bakugou waits at the end of the alley, peeking out to glare at the crowds as they passed by. Careful not to stumble, Kira taps him on the shoulder and he turns, not making any reaction to her in a dress.
"About time," he says.
"Hey, it's not easy wearing heels," she bites back. "You wanna swap or something?"
He ignores her and marches across the road. As they get nearer to finding this villain, he's grown a lot more eager. She just hopes that doesn't make him reckless.
They join the queue, flashing the security guard their tickets and enter the theater. It's bright with high ceilings - a wide chandelier in the centre. Bakugou isn't even phased by his new surroundings.
"Would you slow down?" She says, grabbing him by his sleeve. "You're making me anxious."
He shrugs her off, but slows to match her pace.
"What's the plan?" She whispers. "We had an idea to make it this far. I'm just surprised it worked."
"I'm gonna find him."
"You don't even know who he is," she hisses in his ear. "If the pro heroes can't find him, how do you think you're gonna fare?"
"I'm better than these damn heroes," he argues.
"Be reasonable for once, Bakugou," she says sharply. "It's not just your life on the line here."
He tenses at her words, as they follow the crowd up some steps and to their seats. The both of them scour the crowd, searching for any suspicious behaviour, but everyone seems normal. He might not even be here to begin with.
As the chatter calmed and the show started, Kira was starting to lose hope. Beside her, Bakugou was searching the audience, his eyes narrowed in the dim theater lighting. A certain anxiety had started to rise in the pit of Kira's gut - a million things could go wrong. Starting from the couple they left in the street, to missing the villain completely. What if they encounter him and she screws it up somehow? Bakugou would never forgive her.
Kira raises a hand to her throat, feeling nauseous. She excuses herself to the other audience members, without uttering a word to Bakugou in search of the toilets. The theater is like a maze, however and Kira makes a few turnings before finally finding them.
"What the hell are you doing?" Bakugou says behind her and she turns to him, her heels starting to bother her ankles.
"Toilet," she manages to say.
"We might have only one shot at this," he argues, advancing on her. "You really are weak."
"This just feels wrong, Bakugou."
He grumbles in frustration. "Once we get back, you can complain all you want to the extra's. I don't wanna listen to you."
Behind Bakugou, that familiar blue bubble forms behind him and Kira barely has time to warn him before he boosts himself out of the way to avoid the villain's attack. Bakugou comes to a halt in front of Kira, his blazer coming undone, the wind from his Quirk blowing it behind him.
Kira wipes the tears from her eyes and drops her - or, well the stranger's purse - and faces the villain, readying her own Quirk.
"You dumb villain," Bakugou grins. "You fell for it."
~~~