Mortem ad Wrens

Chapter 23: Can We Live with the Knowledge

Summary:

tw: human trafficking, blood

Notes:

'text' JSL
Text thoughts

Half an hour before their study session, Akira was surprised to see Bakugo, Kirishima, and Kaminari already at the table as they walked in.

"Honey, someone left a note for you," Hisano, one of the librarians, said as they signed in the group. "He said something about fire?"

Akira nodded, thanking the lady as they slipped the note into their jacket pocket. 'You're early.'

"Yeah! We wanted to check if we could join your study group," Kirishima beamed at them.

'Sure, just try to limit your pops, Murder God,' Akira shrugged. 'Hisano and Hotaru don't mind noise since we're technically an after-school program, but explosion- and fire-based quirks are discouraged. If you need something to keep your sweat from building up, they have towels at the desk.'

Bakugo looked about to protest, but at a soft hand on his arm from Kirishima, he snapped his mouth shut and took their suggestion.

'I'm assuming you're the one who needs help between you and Murder God?' Akira asked Kirishima after Bakugo came back.

He chuckled and said, "Yeah, he's been helping me with Math, and when we talked with Kamibro, explaining some of it helped me learn, you know?"

Akira nodded thoughtfully. 'If your system has already been working, I'd suggest continuing with it and adding explanations if you or Electric Rat get stuck. I usually spend the first two hours working with Raven and Dark Shadow on English after setting Electric Rat up with visual aids. Murder God, is there anything we can help you with or do you want to take over helping with math?'

"I don't need any fucking help," Bakugo snapped, curling in a bit.

Akira blinked, remembering why they usually didn't bother. Wait, isn't that like...they startled at the realization. 'I struggle with History, personally. The dates and order of events always get mixed up in my head. I don't sleep much, so I usually wait till the evening to study. I'm pretty sure everyone has something they're not good at. Like how All Might is learning to teach.'

Some of the tension bled out of Bakugo's shoulders as he grumbled, "Nicknames are easier than names."

Akira offered a lopsided grin, 'Sounds like a good match, then. If you don't mind helping either Math or English for the first half, we can quiz each other on History the second half.'

The rest of the session went pretty smoothly, Bakugo only popping a few times in frustration and using the rag to keep down the size. The blonde's excessive use of nicknames was starting to make sense as he barely recognized most of the names Akira threw at him. They were surprised Bakugo remembered their name, but they made a breakthrough realizing it was the sign that stuck with him. By the end of the session, Akira's world map room was even marginally more organized.

Excusing themself a few minutes before Aizawa picked them up, Akira slipped into the bathroom and checked the note. Their breath caught at the list of names and pronouns: Sensei, Tomura Shigaraki, Kurogiri, Dabi, Himiko Toga, Spinner, Twice, Mr. Compress, Mustard. Recruiting on Stain. Trial run August.

That night, a bad feeling settled in their gut as Mortis watched the drugs be exchanged. Nothing in particular seemed off, Eraser Head not even stopping by to check on them. As they watched the gang for tails, though, they caught sight of two people stumbling while running through a nearby alleyway. Silently roof hopping closer, Mortis tagged them as emaciated, filthy, and... their eyes widened as they spotted bloody wrists. Mortis practically flew over the roofs in the direction they came from, warping a few times as their legs buckled, but didn't spot anyone. Still not seeing Eraser Head, they made their way back to where the people were headed.