Patrol was going smoothly. Bakugou took Kia on a different patrol route than usual. It went through a busier part of town with large shops and a lot of foot traffic. Bakugou’s intimidating figure split the crowds easily enough for them to pass through unhindered. A few braver souls called out to the hero, asking about his new partner. Kia would stop and introduce herself to the curious citizens. That made Bakugou’s temper rise and he kept threatening to leave her behind.

“Hey, I’m a new hero so I have to get my name out there,” Kia told him as she waved to the people she had just been talking to.

“We are supposed to be on patrol not signing autographs,” Bakugou snapped at her.

“Well, the only one getting asked for autographs is you, so…” Kia said.

“Shut up,” he snarled.

“Hey, it doesn’t kill you to act a little friendly towards them. Gaining the favor of the citizens is one way to become the number one hero,” Kia lectured.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Bakugou said, ending the conversation.

Most of the time they walked in complete silence. Kia would ask questions every so often about the route or the buildings and their owners and Bakugou would always answer her with short, clipped sentences. She tried starting a conversation with him a couple of times but he just ignored her.

It was later in the day as they moved through a street filled with restaurants. Kia’s stomach rumbled at the amazing smells wafting from the buildings. She was just thinking about getting something to eat when Bakugou spoke up first.

“You hungry?” he asked.

“What?” she asked him, surprised by his question.

“Are you hungry?” Bakugou asked again.

“Yeah, I was just thinking we should get something to eat,” she replied.

“Follow me,” Bakugou said, turning to cross the street.

Curious, Kia followed her partner as he moved a few blocks down to a smaller restaurant. When they walked up to the entrance, Bakugou stopped and held the door open for her. Kia stared at her partner, not believing what she was seeing.

“Are you going to go in or not?” Bakugou growled.

“Yes, thank you,” Kia said, stepping through the door quickly. She followed Bakugou over to one of the small two seater tables against the wall. It was a nice little restaurant with a homey atmosphere. The lighting was low and there weren’t very many people, so it was quiet. As Kia looked around as the waitress came over.

“Welcome back!” the waitress said. The woman looked to be in her forties, and gave them both a warm smile. “It is rare for you to bring someone along, Ground Zero.”

“My name is Wildside, I’m his new partner,” Kia introduce herself.

“It’s is a pleasure to meet you. I am Sukimi, my husband and I run this restaurant,” Sukimi replied. “What can I get the two of you today?”

“I will have the usual,” Bakugou said, not even looking at the menu.

“I will have the same,” Kia decided. Bakugou and Sukimi both looked at her with surprise.

“Are you sure?” Sukimi asked. “Don’t you want to ask what it is?”

“If B eats here a lot he must know what’s good,” Kia replied.

“Ok…” Sukimi said, turning to go put in the order.

“I’m the first partner you brought to this place?” Kia asked Bakugou.

“Don’t read into it,” he replied. “I was hungry and this place was close.”

“Sounds good to me,” Kia said as she studied some of the wall décor.

They sat in silence for a little while until Bakugou asked her a question, “So your quirks… what all can you do?”

Surprised, Kia turned her attention back on her partner. Bakugou had never tried starting a conversation before, so she had expected that they would sit in silence and wait for their food.

“You opened the envelope?” she asked.

“Yes, but it didn’t give me any details on your abilities,” Bakugou answered. “I’m guessing you have heightened senses, and I saw the scales and talons at the office. Is there any more to it?”

“Yeah, transforming like I did at the office happens sometimes with really strong emotions,” Kia said, “I do have heightened senses and abilities. They are elevated when I activate my dragon quirk. My scales are like armor, not much can penetrate them.”

“Can you change completely into a dragon?” Bakugou asked.

Kia hesitated, “Yes… I can… but for certain reasons it is unstable, so I only use partial transformations.”

“Why is it unstable?” he continued. Kia’s expression turned vacant as she took a minute to answer. Bakugou could tell she was thinking carefully about her response.

Kia took a deep breath, “My past is not as bright and shiny as you might think. There are things I went through that have left… repercussions. It is nothing for you to worry about and it shouldn’t interfere with our work. If there is something you need to know about, I will inform you, but I’m not ready or willing to tell you all the details yet. I hope you can understand?”

“Is there anything I need to know?” Bakugou asked, irritated.

“I have trained constantly to have complete control over my emotions so I don’t lose control. However, if I ever did completely transform, don’t do anything that could be seen as a threat or a challenge. The best thing to do would be to evacuate the area. If I did attack, my nose is very sensitive and a powerful blast could distract and possibly deter me,” Kia responded. “When I transform my mind functions on a primal level and I start reacting on instinct…I become more animal than human.”

“Now the name Wildside makes sense,” Bakugou said.

Kia laughed, “You know, someone actually called me that name about six years ago. It fit so well that I just rolled with it.”

Bakugou studied his partner, thinking about the information she just gave him. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes as she fiddled with a napkin on the table. She had said her past wouldn’t interfere with their job but he couldn’t help but wonder what exactly her past held. At that moment, Kia didn’t look like the Sunshine he had been working with the last couple of days.

Sukimi came up to their table carrying to bowls and sat them down on the table in front of them. “Here you go, I hope you enjoy!” she said cheerfully.

Kia could smell the hot spices rising from the noodles and shrimp that sat in a red sauce. She looked up to see Bakugou and Sukimi watching her. They were obviously waiting for her to take the first bite. Grinning at them, she picked up her chopsticks, plucked a shrimp from the bowl, and popped it in her mouth. Instantly, her taste buds were assaulted by the flavor. It was very spicy, but Kia loved it.

“This is amazing!” she gushed, “I haven’t been able to find any really good spicy food since I got here.”

“Well, I’m glad you like it!” Sukimi said as she left their table.

“So, you like spicy food?” Bakugou asked as he picked up his chopsticks. “I’ve never seen anyone else be able to stomach this dish.”

“I love spicy food,” Kia said, slurping some noodles. “The hotter, the better.”

“You sure you can take the heat?” Bakugou asked, taking a bite of his own.

“You know, you still haven’t asked me the second most asked question people ask when they find out what my quirk is,” Kia said, taking another bite.

Bakugou stared at her for a few seconds before it dawned on him, “You can breathe fire?”

“Yep,” she replied.

“That’s cool,” Bakugou said giving her a smile.

Kia paused in taking her next bite. Looking at Bakugou with surprise she gave him a soft smile. He couldn’t place the look in her eyes.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“You should smile like that more,” Kia told him.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Bakugou asked even more confused.

“The way you just smiled, it looked really nice,” she replied.

“Tch,” Bakugou turned away, feeling embarrassed.

“And he’s back!” Kia laughed. Bakugou couldn’t help but laugh along with her. “You know, this stuff is pretty spicy, but it is still just only making the top ten of the hottest foods I’ve ever eaten,” Kia said, gesturing to the bowl in front of her.

“Really?” Bakugou asked skeptically.

“Yep, I can make a nine alarm chili that will bring you to tears,” Kia gloated.

“You think so?” Bakugou challenged. “I can handle a lot of heat.”

“I will have to make it for you sometime,” Kia said, taking another bite.

“Now you’re going to have to,” Bakugou replied. As they both sat there eating the meal they talked about the different foods they liked to eat. It turned out they both like to eat raw peppers. They also swapped stories about the hottest foods they had eaten. When they finished their bowls Sukimi, came to take them.

“I’m impressed you ate that whole bowl and didn’t even have to ask for a pitcher of water,” Sukimi said to Kia. “The only customer we have that eats this dish is Ground Zero. He brought Red Riot here to try it once but the poor man was practically in tears.”

“Red Riot? Who is that?” Kia asked.

“We went to school together. He is a hero in another part of town,” Bakugou replied.

“Don’t let him fool you,” Sukimi chimed in. “Red Riot is his best friend.”

“So, when do I get to meet your best friend?” Kia asked. “I need to compare notes on how to handle your moods swings.”

“Shut up,” Bakugou rolled his eyes.

“What, you don’t want me to meet him?” Kia asked.

“No, the red idiot has been bugging me about meeting you,” Bakugou growled.

“Really, why?” she asked.

“He saw the video of what happened with that muscle head at the gym,” Bakugou replied.

Kia busted out laughing. “He saw that and wants to meet me? He must have a pretty good sense of humor.”

“He thought it was hilarious too,” Bakugou deadpanned.

“So, when do I get to meet him?” Kia asked.

“Never,” was his short reply.

“Aww, come on, B, I’m going to have to meet him sooner or later,” Kia prodded.

“What about your other quirk?” Bakugou asked, trying to change the subject.

“Deflecting, are we?” Kia accused.

“Just answer the question,” Bakugou demanded. “What does it mean by nitrogen manipulation?”

“I can manipulate nitrogen by combining it with other elements and create different reactions, even change its form.” Kia replied, letting him change the subject.

“Is that how you’re able to breathe fire?” Bakugou asked.

“In a way,” Kia replied. “We weren’t sure if it was a part of my dragon quirk or not, since I can use it independently from the other. Plus, I don’t just breathe fire. I can shoot it from my hands and feet or cover my whole body with it.”

“You said you can create different reactions?” Bakugou asked.

“I can use it in a gas or liquid form and I can cause it to just burn like a flame or explode. I’ve even been able to use it to bolster other fire user’s attacks giving them more range or power,” Kia informed him.

“So, that is how Jeanist thinks our quirks are a good match,” Bakugou said.

“That, and my scales can defend against your explosions if need be,” Kia added

“You said you could make nitrogen into a liquid form. You don’t mean as in liquid nitrogen, do you?” Bakugou asked.

“Yes, but it is more complicated. It freezes so quickly that it can do too much harm to the target, or even freeze myself,” she replied.

“I suppose rapid heating and cooling can be a problem?” Bakugou inquired.

“Yes, depending on the quantities I use. I also have to have an understanding of how things react or form together so I don’t mess up and cause a huge reaction,” Kia said.

Looking at the clock, Bakugou stood up from the table. “We can talk more about this later. We better get back to work.”

“Do you want to keep patrolling?” Kia asked, standing up.

“We will for a couple more hours, then we can head back to the office to take care of a few things there,” Bakugou replied, making his way to the counter. “I was thinking about doing a few night patrols the end of this week.”

“Sounds good to me,” Kia said, reaching into her belt to pay for her food.

“I’ve got it,” Bakugou said, handing Sukimi money for the meal.

“Thanks, B, you didn’t have to do that,” Kia said.

“Just drop it and let’s get to work,” Bakugou snapped.

They exited the restaurant and headed back down the street, continuing their patrol.