(I FINALLY finished chapter 8! Partially because I was procrastinating on homework :/ Some of it is really fluffy and I'm sorry about that. I still PROMISE we're getting to the fight scenes and important parts of the plot soon!
Thanks again to all of my patient and supportive readers! If you want to make fanart or other for this book, you're more than welcome to! Just tag my Wattpad acc and/or my Instagram @ineedamirio in whatever you're posting.
Play this song at the "*'" point to enjoy the next song in the soundtrack. Again, I don't understand how this song fits so well with this chapter but it does.
I appreciate all of you for supporting my work and giving Dabi and some of my underrated favorites some love! Enjoy!)
Chapter 8
Operation Infiltration
Now...
"We can't tell her anything about it?" Akemi Clayton reviewed Emily Stiles's instructions. "Nope. If she hears the wrong words at the wrong time, she'll remember everything from the past seventy-two hours. I have only one backup AM ray, and it's only for emergencies. Even if I could carry it in owl form, I don't know where the yakuza base is and it could fall into the wrong hands too easily. That's not something I'm willing to risk." The half-owl, half-human insisted sternly. "How is that going to work though? We just ask her to teleport Bakugou into the yakuza and not give her the reason for it? Won't she think that's a little suspicious?" Izuku Midoriya interrogated his comrades in skepticism at the idea. His eyes fixed on Jaclyn Perry, who was dozing off on the couch in the corner of Emily Stiles's workshop. "If Dabi tells her to trust him, she'll probably just do it," Emily answered simply. "Why me?!" Dabi raised an eyebrow, hovering over the metalbender. "Because she's in love with you, dimwit." The inventor remarked. "Even I thought it was obvious." Katsuki Bakugou smirked, thoroughly entertained with what he got roped into.
"That reminds me, how long do we have to wait for her to wake up?" Akemi Clayton spoke up. "Just a few more minutes now, Akemi. Don't worry. I've tested the AM ray several times so I know how it works-" The African-American grinned as Jaclyn sat up after she used the amnesia ray on her. "Where am I?" The lass known as Diamond asks with a yawn. "Dabi! Em! Aww, Bakugou and Midoriya are here too! But who's the pretty newbie..." She babbled, making Akemi blush. "We need a favor from you, princess. It's a doozy, and we decided that you'd initiate the plan-" Touya chimed in and gently squeezed her hand. He winced at Emily's death glare with her index finger placed in front of her lips.
"What plan?" Jaclyn slanted her head in confusion. Bakugou huffed and stomped in front of her. "You need to get me into the yakuza headquarters. I thought you were smarter than this." He grumbled. "I am! I just want to know why." Diamond insisted. "We can't tell you, princess. It's important and I need you to trust us. To trust me." Touya pleaded and stared at her. "This means a lot to you, doesn't it? Especially if you're asking me for help, babes." The metalbender giggled and scooted closer to the tense villain. "Okay. Tell me when and I'll do it, alright? I got this." Diamond agreed.
"I told you she'd do it for him," Emily told Akemi and the two UA students smugly. "Ha, simp." Bakugou chuckled. "Do you want me to get you into the-wait. I know why now..." Jaclyn paused in thought. "I was captured by them and if I stay out too long, they'll be suspicious." After a moment, she finished her explanation. The other five let out a sigh of relief and thought the same thing: Good, she doesn't remember the plan. "Shouldn't we give Bakugou a disguise if we're going to the yakuza base?" The lass known as Diamond suggested. "They've never seen me before. If we get any conflict, I'll whoop their asses. Don't worry, this will work. No one messes with me." Bakugou cracked his knuckles with a wicked smirk. "I'm glad that you guys put this together, but can I say bye to you all first?" Jaclyn pouted and glanced back at the fiery blonde.
"Fine." He muttered back, scratching the back of his neck. "If worse comes to worst, I'll hit up the League for a plan b. They hate that germaphobic fuck as much as we do and I think Shiggy will be smart enough to put any differences aside for the good of the-OW! WHAT THE FUCK PIPSQUEAK?!" Akemi interrupted Dabi with a knee to the crotch. "Don't say too much in front of her. The yakuza have a guy that can make her tell the truth about anything. The last thing we need is them knowing everything about our status." The brunette fussed while the villain bent over and clutched the space between his legs.
"Should I teleport now? I don't know how long it's going to take, since I've never seen the place on the outside. My teleportation depends on distance, and it could take hours if the yakuza base is far enough from here." Jaclyn abruptly proposed the idea. Then, one by one, each of her allies said their temporary goodbyes. "You got this, Diamond!" Midoriya exclaimed cheerfully into the side of her stomach. "I won't let you down, little Midoriya." Diamond crooned back, ruffling his green hair. "Kick some ass for me, alright? I think we're gonna be great friends. The name's Akemi, Akemi Clayton." Akemi gave her new comrade a fist bump, rather than a hug. "Is it weird to say that I already have a crush on you?!" Jaclyn giggled and hugged Akemi instead, earning a scowl from Dabi at the comment. "Uh, okay..." The brunette mumbled.
"Go get 'em, Diamond." Emily encouraged her friend and reciprocated her hug. "I'll try my best, Em." Jaclyn smiled brightly at her words of encouragement. "We don't need to hug! I'm going to surpass you, just you wait." Bakugou scoffed at the pro hero. "I do not doubt that you will, Ground Zero. Let's do our best!" She grinned and nudged the irritable blonde's forearm with her elbow. Touya frowned and stood closer to her when the others finished saying their temporary goodbyes. "You'll be okay, princess?" The scarred fire wielder softened his voice in her ear and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He didn't care if not wanting to let her go seemed selfish. This intense fear of abandonment was too familiar to him.
"Touya...I... You're so sweet to worry about me and care so much about me, but I'll be fine. You aren't alone anymore, and you'll never be alone again. I'm going to be alright, baby. And I know that if something goes wrong, everyone else is going to be right there with you to fix it." The metalbender reassured Dabi softly. Diamond cupped his face with her hands and stood on her tippy-toes to press her lips to his. "You are so strong, I have no doubt that you will be able to do whatever you put your mind to. The way you always have." The California native murmured supportively, wrapping her arms around his neck and nestling her fingers in his hair. The villain hummed at her touch and she held onto him tighter.
"I'll be back before you know it, okay?" Jaclyn whispered to the misunderstood person she loved. Their breaths tingled against each other's faces. "I know," He muttered back. "Don't get into too much trouble for me." She giggled softly. "No promises, princess~" Dabi teased and pressed his lips to hers. Diamond beamed and kissed back, closing her eyes to savor being with Dabi before leaving him behind.
"Blech!" Katsuki and Emily gagged, interrupting the moment. Partially to tease them, partially out of disgust. "I gave Bakugou the earpiece, you two should get out of here soon." The technician advised her friend and the feisty UA student. "Hold on! I still don't know how her teleportation works-" Katsuki yells. "Just hold onto me and I'll teleport us to the room the yakuza kept me in. Don't overthink it, it's a less complex quirk than you think it is. I'm more experienced with my teleportation, so it'll take less energy out of me. If something goes against whatever plan you aren't telling me about, I can back you up." Jaclyn asserted her capabilities and strolled next to him.
"Any day now..." Emily piped up out of impatience. "I love you," The unbreakable antihero lipped to Dabi. "Love you too," The fire wielder lipped back, making the inventor cringe in her knee-high black boots. "You can stop the lovefest now, I'm gonna puke mouse bones if you don't stop soon." She huffed and shoved Jaclyn closer to Katsuki, making their forearms bump into each other. "Ah!" the black-haired American squeaked. "What the hell, owl lady!" Katsuki grunted. "Just teleport to the yakuza already..." The half-owl, half-human ordered irritably. In a matter of seconds, the metalbender compiled and the two of them flickered in the light of the workshop. Until a few minutes later, when they disappeared from the space completely.
~~~
We made it! Now I need a nap. Jaclyn thought to herself while Katsuki's sweaty hand was clenched around her forearm. "I didn't realize you had a new outfit on." Diamond whispered to the hero-in-training before a loud yawn escaped her lips. "The owl lady gave me the noise-proof boots and they magically adjusted to my foot size." He explained quickly. "You don't have to be scared of me, okay? We're on the same side. We're all doing our part for...whatever we're doing." The black-haired American murmured reassuringly. "Also, I seriously should've brought my suit! Shit!" She was exasperated, annoyed with herself. "Quit whining, will ya?" Katsuki argued and let go of the bubbly lass's arm.
"It's convenient that we teleported into the bathroom of my room here and not the actual room." She observed the familiar tiles and sophisticated space. "Why?" The teenager raised an eyebrow. "While I stayed here, I learned that there are cameras in the main room and I destroyed them before I made my escape. Then I teleported to Dabi's and stayed the night with him. The rest is all fuzzy to me, I don't remember it at all." Diamond answered, "Knowing the yakuza, they probably replaced those and gave them upgrades that'll be harder to break down-" She sighed at another issue that could jeopardize whatever she agreed to. "It doesn't help that they're fucking rich either," Bakugou complained bluntly. "I guess they are." The lass giggled a little, feeling cheered up.
"How do we get out of here without the cameras spotting us?" Katsuki asked after a few moments of silence. "Aha! Our way to break the cameras." Jaclyn beamed and took off her rusted metal necklace. "I can mold this into a boomerang, pull a Sokka, and throw it at an angle that will hit all the cameras at once." She told him and stretched her wrists with the loose metal chain in her hands already changing its shape. "Whoa..." He mumbled at her primary quirk in action, "Why the spikes on the rim?" Bakugou raised a brow. "They'll do more damage. That way if the cameras are better equipped for wear and tear, it'll be easier to destroy them." Diamond informed him. "Geez, that's so much shit you have to do. Aren't you going to feel worn down soon?" The blonde scowled.
"Probably, but we need to keep the element of surprise. The yakuza knows me and my abilities but they haven't encountered you yet. I can just step into the camera view, then you can hide in here. Once I finish destroying the cameras, we start the next part of this plan I don't know about. But I have a feeling you don't do well in cramped spaces." Jaclyn hypothesized observantly. "Ugh. Fine, fine. Pull a Sokka or whatever..." Katsuki groaned and sat down away from one of the doors. "I call this 'pulling a Sokka' because I'm using a spiked boomerang as a weapon. I've gotten better at using it-" Bakugou groaned at another battle lecture. "Never mind. Look, I'll go into the main part of the room first. You stay out of camera view until I give you some kind of signal." Diamond instructed. He nodded reluctantly as the black-haired American stepped out of the fancy bathroom.
The semi-pro hero's heartbeat seemed to spike as she threw her spiked boomerang against the walls. She almost instantly ducked and covered her neck with her hands. The American crossed her fingers and toes underneath her outfit, hoping the spikes on her boomerang hit the cameras instead of her. The sounds of buzzing and falling tech stopped and Jaclyn slowly got out of her snug crouching position. The metalbender noticed the empty tubes in place of where the cameras were and beamed. "We're clear." She mumbled to Bakugou, slightly opening the bathroom door. "Sweet," The blonde boy smirked. "Right?!" Jaclyn exclaimed excitedly. "Your power isn't bad with that move..." He answered hesitantly. "Close enough. We need to plan out how this is going to go-"
The noisy clamor of footsteps narrowed to the door in front of the room. "Shit, I didn't think of that! Hide! Lock the door to the toilet and stay there 'til I say so!" She whispered to a huffing Bakugou who irritably complied as she locked the bathroom door. This wasn't part of the plan at all! Jaclyn thought to herself as she started to panic.