MHA - HARDCOIL

The next morning, Dante sat on the edge of the rooftop, exhausted, still wet with sweat from yesterday and painfully aware of the fact that he stank.

His worn and dirty hoodie clung to his skin, sticky with dried sweat and dirt and even some blood. His hair felt greasy and his body itched from training every day in the same clothes without a wash.

Dante grimaced and rubbed his hands on his hoodie, "I'll go clean up… now."

Eating the last of his food, he grabbed his bag and made his way down the fire escape. Dante stuck to the shadows to avoid as many people as he could while he navigated through the alleys.

After a while, he found what he was looking for—a river that ran through the city, hidden behind an overgrown stretch of trees and concrete.

Dante sat by the waters edge. The river wasn't really clean, but he didn't have the choice of choosing anything else.

He stripped off his hoodie and shirt, shivering as the cold air hit his skin. Then, without hesitation, he dived straight into the water.

It was freezing!

Dante clenched his jaw and forced himself to stay in. He dunked his head, running his fingers through his hair to wash out the grime. His muscles relaxed for the first time in a while, the cool water soothing the soreness from his training.

For a few minutes, he sat there cleaning his body as he let the river carry away all the sweat and exhaustion.

Then, when he was as clean as he could possibly get, he climbed out.

Dante wrung out his clothes as best as he could, shaking off the water before throwing them back on, except his hoodie which was put back into his bag.

They were still damp, but atleast he didn't smell like a rotting corpse anymore.

As dante was heading back to the city, something caught his eye—a group of kids gathered in an alley ahead.

Surprisingly, he recognised them.

It was the kid that was calling him cringey and weird names.

Dante slowed his pace, he kept his distance. He knew who they were from school. Bakugo Katsuki, yeah? The loud, aggressive kid that thought he was better than everyone else.

The other people? Just lackeys.

They were all standing near a dumpster, laughing.

Dante frowned, "What's funny?" He muttered beneath his breath.

His gaze sharpened when he saw a small ginger kitten tied to the dumpster with a piece of rope.

Bakugo grinned, tossing a rock in his hand before pelting it at the kitten. The stone struck its side, and the tiny creature let out a pained yowl.

They all began laughing uncontrollablyx

Dante frowned. His body moved before his mind could process it.

His footsteps were slow, deliberate. His body still ached slightly and his clothes clung to his skin, but it was fine.

All he could focus on was the small kitten tied to the dumpster and the smirking bastards throwing rocks at it.

Another stone flew, striking the kittens side. It let out a weak, pitiful cry.

Dante exhaled slowly, forcing down the anger bubbling in his chest. 'Think first. Then act.'

"Oi, what the hell are you doing?" His voice cut through the alley like a knife.

The laughter stopped.

Bakugo turned first, his eyes narrowing as he spotted Dante. "Oh? It's you! The kid from school that went missing, what are you doing here?"

Dante ignored him, walking up to the kitten. It trembled violently, its tiny body curled in on itself. Dried blood stained the fur where the rocks had hit.

Dante reached down, carefully working the rope loose. "Phew, it's breathing." He whispered.

"Oi, dumbass! You deaf or somethin'?" Bakugo stomped forward, sparks crackling at his palm. "This ain't got nothin' to do with you. Beat it."

Dante straightened up, turning to face them. He wasn't scared of bakugo or his boyfriends.

The two stood face to face, they looked fairly similar, only their features were different.

They shared the same hair colour, only Dante's was more golden.

They shared the same eye colour, only Dante's had a white cross in the middle of his.

Their statures were different though, it was like Dante was a whole head taller than Bakugo, his body was more toned too.

"You're picking on a helpless kitten." Dante said flatly. "Is your ego really that fragile?"

The two goons snickered, but Bakugo's expression twisted into a sneer. "You got a death wish, nerd?"

Dante's lips curled into a small smile trying not to laugh at such a comic insult.

Dante looked down, then looked back up. The humour removed from his smile. "You know, I could ask you the same thing."

Bakugo's palm exploded with a burst of heat, sending dust and smoke into the air. "You really wanna go, huh?" He stepped even closer. "You think you're tough or somethin'? You didn't even know what a quirk was 4 days ago. Say that again, see what happens."

Dante rolled his eyes.

Bakugo and his friends barely had time to react before Dante threw a handful of dirt into bakugos eyes, stunning him.

Dante's fist slammed into bakugos stomach.

A sharp gasp escaped bakugos lips as he stumbled back. He seriously didn't expect that.

Before Bakugo could even process it, Dante continued.

He dropped low, sweeping his leg under bakugos, sending the explosive brat to the ground.

The two goons finally reacted, one rushed in with a clumsy punch, Dante caught his wrist, twisting it with brutal ease. A snap was followed by a scream, dislocated.

The other hesitated. "Don't hesitate." Dante muttered as his momentum stayed persistent.

Dante's knee rammed into his stomach. Air rushed out of the kids lungs as he doubled over, wheezing.

Bakugo roared, his hands lit up with an explosion as he pushed himself off the ground. "YOU PIECE OF SH—"

Dante spun around with the same momentum, not slowing down for a second.

He grabbed bakugos wrist, his hand changing shape, his hands became larger, harder. Then, using Bakugo's own momentum from the blast, he twisted.

BOOM!

The explosion went sideways instead of at Dante, sending Bakugo flying into a pile of trash.

Dante stood over them, completely unharmed.

Silence.

The three of them were groaning, clearly stunned.

Dante rolled his shoulder, exhaling slowly. "That felt better than it should've, who knew a book about combat could be so helpful."

Then, he crouched down and started rummaging through their pockets.

"Wh-what the hell are you doing?!" Bakugo snarled, still dazed.

"Well, I'm robbing you, duh." Dante said flatly, yanking a wallet out from his hoodie. 'Damn! This kid is carrying a LOT of cash? Is he rich?'

He then went and did the same to the others, pocketing everything useful.

Then he ripped off Bakugo's hoodie and threw it over his shoulder. "Hey, it's really warm. I'll keep it company from now on."

One of the kids tried to resist as Dante stole his jacket too. It really didn't matter though.

Dante stood up, wearing his brand new 'borrowed' wardrobe!

Bakugo was enraged, sparks flaring at his palms as he tried to push himself up one more time. "YOU—!"

Dante kicked him in the face.

"Next time," Dante said, voice eerily calm, "dont pick on things weaker than you."

Then Dante walked off, new warm hoodie equipped and kitten saved.

Dante couldn't hold himself back from smirking, 'I bet I looked cool as hell walking away there…' he thought to himself with a giggle.

…

Dante walked through the streets of the city with his hands in the pockets of his brand new hoodie, the warmth felt like a quiet victory. The kitten, now curled up inside the hoodies front pocket, let out a soft purr.

Dante finally had money.

His stomach growled, he had used his power earlier so the small amount of food he had eaten in the morning was all burnt away.

He wasn't going to just buy food, but he was going to stock up. If his quirk burned calories like a furnace, then he'd just get enough fuel to keep himself going. That meant high-calorie, filling and also cheap.

Dante looked around the streets, eyes locking onto a small convenience store.

"Perfect."

Dante walked in and went straight to the snack aisle.

Rice balls. Cheap, easy to carry and dense with carbs. He put six into his basket.

Ready made sandwiches. Light, but filling. He grabbed five.

Protein bars. Expensive, but packed full of energy and calories. Three should do for emergencies.

Along with this, he grabbed a huge load of bread, a couple cans of tuna and a large bottle of water. He debated getting some vitamins, malnutrition was NOT an option, but… he held off anyways.

For now, this would do.

Dante walked up to the counter and placed some of the stolen cash down.

The cashier, an old man with a tired expression, barely even looked at him as he bagged all of Dante's items.

"Whole Lotta' food for a little guy like you," he muttered.

Dante met his gaze, deadpan. "I eat a lot."

The man grunted. "Ain't my problem. Just don't go messing around."

Dante grabbed his bag, thanked the man and left.

Now was a place to eat.

A park wasn't an option—wayyyy to many people.

His rooftop? Hell yeah.

Dante adjusted the kitten in his pocket and made his way back.

…

…

Back to the rooftop, Dante sat beneath the stars. Today had been the least tiring, but probably the most eventful.

He pulled one sandwich from his bag, just bread and a thin layer of tuna. Nothing heavy. Just enough to keep him from feeling lightheaded while he saved the other food his tomorrows training.

Each bite was slow, survival wasn't about indulgence.

Once he finished the sandwich, he wiped his hands on his hoodie and turned his attention to the ginger kitty, still curled up in his pocket. The poor thing had finally stopped shivering and was breathing steadily.

That's when he lifted up the kittens head and saw a collar.

Dante carefully pulled it off, examining the small tag attached.

An address!

"So the kitten wasn't a stray? Interesting." Dante mused.

He leaned back against the ledge, checking the tag between his fingers. Returning it would mean interaction, he didn't really like that. The more people that see him, the higher chance of him being brought in as a missing child. He did NOT want that. But leaving the kitten out here wasn't an option either.

He sighed, "Well… I'll bring you home tomorrow I guess."

For now, Dante just wanted to sleep.

He shifted to a comfy position, tucking the kitten inside the stolen hoodie for warmth. His stomach still ached with hunger, but he ignored it. Mind over matter.

He closed his eyes.

Tomorrow, he'd take the kitten home. Then, he'd get back to training with his quirk.