Compulsion

Chapter 36: The Aftermath

"Kid!" cried Yu as she rushed over to Midoriya. Her hands landed on his shoulder, shaking and turning around him. A giant sigh of relief rolled out as she laxed. "Oh thank god, you're alive!" Her eyes stared at the asphalt as a dark shadow rolled over her face. "Shiketsu would not have been happy about that."

"We did it?" Ashido pumped her fists into the air. "Woo! All the bad guys are down and we're all okay!" Her eyes darted over to Midoriya. "Probably—are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," said Midoriya, waving his hand.

"You better be..." she muttered. "I need that paycheck in full..." She then stepped back, letting Ashido talk Midoriya's ear off, and her gaze fell upon herself. That acid saved her life, no doubt of that, but it also sizzled her flesh and put a lovely, lovely hole in her costume. "I liked that bra too..." Not to mention, that deactivated acid was now a semi-liquid that was spreading to places that she would greatly prefer it didn't.

She instinctively grasped the sides of her jacket to pull the top closed—only to find that the zipper had... melted. "Of course, it did... All my damned luck..." Despair covered her face as she peeled it off. "No... There were only two of these ever made..." She felt a weight slap upon her shoulders as a bubbling started underneath her skin. "Lose one in the move and the other in this mess... Was supposed to be an easy day... No muss; no fuss... Free lunch..."

"Ms. Takeyama?" she heard from Midoriya before hearing...

Kamui's head turned as sirens grew louder—closer and closer. "The police are on their way."

"They're not the only ones..." muttered Shinso as people began to peek through the shattered windows and piled out the ground-floor doors.

Yu groaned, "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" She let out a laugh as her arms crossed across "Great time for a photo-op! Lovely—fantastic! Of course!"

Ashido's face contorted, "Ooh, uh..."

Midoriya yanked on a cord underneath his left arm, causing three hisses to escape his back. "Shinso, help!" The metal plates of his vest drooped as he bent forward.

"Help with—huh? Oh, I get it!" Shinso rushed over and began to pull on the top of Midoriya's vest.

Metal clinked against metal as a plate met his helmet. "Ow!"

"Sorry!" grunted Shinso as he pulled the vest free.

Ashido pulled her sash from her waist before skipping over to swipe Yu's jacket from her hand. "Yoink."

Yu almost tried to snatch it back. "What're you—"

"Arms up, Miss!" Shinso dashed up to her, lifting the vest overhead.

"Wha—" Yu stepped back, but he was already upon her. "Ah! Watch the horns!"

Shinso's face contorted, "Sorry! I gotta let you handle that. I'm doing my best to not... uh, look..."

"Right—boy, teenager..." Yu tilted her head to fit her horned head through the neck-hole before slipping her arms in. "Ugh, fine..." The plates were still sagging, but it was basically on her – it was actually, surprisingly, heavy.

"Uh... Midoriya?"

"Yep-yep!" Her intern stepped in and pulled a hidden cord underneath her right arm, causing a set of hisses upon her back. The plates were pulled taut, forming the vest to her body. It didn't do anything to the weight of the thing, but made it, at least, presentable. Well, as best as it could be. The vest was clearly meant for someone of a wider stature than hers. The plates were pulled almost too tight to compensate. It didn't make it too difficult to move, but definitely made her worry about doing so.