Untethered: Bakugou x OC x Todoroki

Chapter 2: Midnight Snack

Todoroki turned his head to face Kaida after hearing Bakugou's question.

"Oi. So, what the fuck is your story, huh?" The crimson-eyed male barked at the raven-haired female between them.

"What do you mean?" she answered defensively. Todoroki noticed how she reached up to rub her palm against the back of her neck, probably embarrassed.

"Don't pretend to be stupid," Bakugou demanded.

Kaida's eyes darted around to everyone else at the table. Todoroki chose not to say anything, as he too, was waiting for her to answer. He watched as she cast her eyes downward, fiddling with her fingers. His curiosity peaked as he noticed that that was the first time they'd seen her act anything less than confident. He wondered if he was the only one who had registered it.

She lifted her chin and opened her mouth to answer, but quickly shut it.

Probably unsure of where to start, Todoroki assumed as he propped his elbow onto the table, leaning his chin onto his palm, silently watching her.

Only a moment had passed when Mina broke the silence, "Yeah, girl, for real, like where'd you learn how to kick ass like that?"

Kaida chuckled, looking into the woman's yellow irises, "I've done a lot of traveling, and a fuck-ton more studying. I took a bunch of different martial arts classes over the last decade or so," she tucked some loose hairs behind the ear closest to Todoroki, his eyes flickered to her stretched lobe and back.

"I guess I didn't want to be weak anymore, " she added, her breath hitched at the end of her statement. Todoroki mentally noted that her admittance seemed to have been an accidental display of vulnerability, though he found it admirable for her to be so open with them.

"That's pretty sick, though, ya know," Kirishima added from beside Mina, his arm draped around her shoulder, smiling down at the grey-eyed goth girl in between his two friends. He hadn't noticed her slight discomfort, "Your quirk seems to be super helpful too, being able to just pop out of nowhere like that. How come you're not a hero?"

Todoroki looked back at the girl beside him, again, curious to see what her answer was. He watched her as she bit the corner of her plump, bottom lip and his eyes focused on the way the stud of her lip piercing pushed outward slightly at the movement while she thought about the question. Her eyebrows knit together and she pondered how she would answer.

"I'd rather take care of myself, honestly, other people have fucked me over too many times, so maybe I'm a little salty," she laughed at herself.

Actually, it's because I was never in one place long enough to go to a school, but good job with the half-truth, Lil. Kaida thought, reminding herself that she didn't need to give too much away to people she only just met.

"That makes sense, I guess," Mina replied. "We're all pro heroes," she said in a chipper tone, gesturing to the boys at the table. "We work at the same hero agency together. Ya know, Bakugou and Todoroki are both neck and neck for the number two hero position, at the mome-"

"How does your quirk work?" Bakugou's stern voice cut her off. He seemed less angry than he'd been all night, but Kaida noticed that his jaw was clenched as he questioned her.

She let out a relieved sigh, as she knew talking about her quirk was way easier than talking about her history.

"So, it's actually kind of complicated," she breathed, turning her chin back toward the fiery blonde. "How 'bout I show you?" Lifting an eyebrow, a slight smirk played at the corner of her mouth and her confidence was palpable.

Everyone silently sat in anticipation, watching her, as she leaned forward over the table, crossing her arms on top of it. Mina was practically bouncing in her seat, she was so excited to learn more about her new friend.