Part 3

Control

Friday

A force field was set up on the east side of the city.

15 people were taken hostage.

To Eraser Head's dismay, one of them was the biggest lead he had to the guns being smuggled into this city, a murder trial, and potentially an 'in' into the demon gang. She hadn't outright said it, but he had a feeling that she had a solid connection to them. That friend of hers was probably a new member.

And now she was being held at gun point in the middle of the street with 14 other people.

Eraser Head stood next to his friend in the police force, Officer Henry, and watched the situation unfold.

They couldn't get inside the pink forcefield. There was a sniper inside that killed any hero that attempted to get inside. One of their heroes had already died in the attempt.

His body lay dead just outside the barrier.

The demon gang hadn't listed their demands yet. Considering their random shooting that morning and the fires all over the city that day, this could purely be a power move. They just wanted to show everyone that they were in control.

Right now, they did.

"Let Midoria and I go in. We can take these losers out." A familiar hot-heaed voice said nearby, and Eraser Head turned to see two of his old students in their hero uniforms.

Bakugou, as usual, looked angry. He'd heard rumors that Bakugou had cooled off over the years, but judging by the fact he looked ready to beat the hell out of Henry, those rumors were wrong.

"Bakugou, Midoria." Eraser Head greeted, and watched Midoria's face stretch into a grin. Bakugou didn't seem to care. "This is a tricky situation. Last time a hero went in they were shot in the head. They haven't hurt any of the hostages yet."

"If we just stand around, they're going to kill the hostages just like the last two times." Bakugou told him with a glare.

"If their goal was to kill them, they would have already." Eraser Head pointed out.

"If their goal was to let them go, they would have made demands already." Bakugou pointed out.

"One of our friends is in there." Midoria interrupted. "Ayami Toshino."

"Do you know why she was here in the first place?" Eraser Head asked.

"Does it matter? She was probably at the wrong place at the wrong time." Bakugou said agitatedly.

"She's going to be testifying against members of the demon gang. It's possible that they targeted her, and if they did, she might be in danger." Eraser Head said, and watched Bakugou turn to the hostages again.

Ayami had her hands tied behind her back and a gun to her head. Demon Lass was holding the weapon, and the sniper was next to her.

"Fuck this." Bakugou said, and started to go, but Midoria grabbed the back of his costume and pulled him back.

"We need to be smart about this." Midoria argued. "If we run in-"

"If we do nothing, she dies!" Bakugou yelled.

"If we're reckless, everyone including you dies." Eraser Head said.

1.

Friday

Her mother's force field reached to each side of the street, just on the edge of the sidewalk. There was a person to hold a gun to each hostage's head.

Most of the hostages were crying.

There were two big obstacles to the heroes and police officers getting inside: the force field and sniper. Last time someone tried to break in, her mother briefly dropped the force field to let the sniper shoot them. Every other time that an attempt was made to shoot the force field, the bullets couldn't penetrate it.

Ayami was in an impossibly good position. Messing up was death, though.

She was in the middle of the row, her hair held back by Demon Lass, who stood directly behind her. The sniper was to her left (he used to be at the end of the line). In the back, several feet behind Demon Lass, was Moms, who was creating the forcefield.

Demon lass had light pink and purple scales, just like their mother. There was a chance that her scales could break the force field, just like their mother's. If Ayami kicked hard enough, she could send Ashita flying into their mom, and then both of them could hit the barrier. With any luck, that would knock out Moms or at least disorient her long enough to get the heroes and police force in here.

Police were better equipped for guns.

If she was too slow, or her sister too fast, she could end up with her brains on the concrete. Then there were the other dozen armed gang members who could shoot her when they see her move.

She could use her full quirk, but that would out her family…. Shit, I haven't used my full quirk for years. She was so used to not using her quirk that in this emergency situation, she doubted she'd be able to. After all the situations of forcing herself to not use her quirk in dire situations….

Then, she heard a voice.

Over behind the police car barricade, she could see Bakugou yelling. Midoria seemed to be holding back, but then, he lost his grip.

Bakugou was running at her.

"Heroes." The sniper next to her chuckled.

Ayami spit her explosive saliva at his face, just before the barrier went down, and then she twisted her entire body and braced most of her body (not her head) with her quirk. Ashita was slower, the gun going off after she'd twisted and pushed the gun out of the way with her head, and then Ayami kicked her with all of her strength.

Bakugou started taking out the other people with guns.

Ashita went flying backwards, smashed into their mother, and both of them went rolling back several meters.

The demon gang started to retreat. Shots rang out, the SWAT team came in in full gear, and the person with the teleporting quirk took away most of the gang.

During the shots, Ayami ducked down and ran, and was pulled over by Eraser Head on the sidelines.

2.

Saturday

Ayami woke up on a cot, in the police station, and pulled out her phone.

3:22 AM.

She was in the break room. After talking to people for hours about what happened, they'd let her sleep in here, with the promise that she'd answer more questions after she woke up.

Ayami called Ashita.

To her surprise, she answered.

"The fuck was that about?" Ayami asked, and let out a sigh as she looked around the room. There was no one else there.

"We weren't going to hurt you. You messed up everything." Ashita said on the other end of the line.

"You tried to kill me and Bakugou. You-"

"Bakugou is a lost cause. He's a moron. If no one had interfered, then we were just going to make an announcement, kill some of the people, and let the rest go. The unnecessary casualties were because of other people messing up."

"You've been messing up, too. You lied to Eraser Head even though you didn't have to. I know that you switched out the Zio metal in the sculptures." Ayami told her.

"The records burned up. You can't prove what materials were in what sculptures."

If Ayami told her that not all the records burned up, then she would definitely come here to kill her.

"If you come out with your quirk, we'll just claim that you're adopted. Mom and Dad have already forged the paperwork, and I already told Tenya. Everyone will just think that you're a misfit related to a demon family. No connection to me."

"... I've spent my entire life trying to keep you safe." Ayami said, and watched as an officer entered the room. He nodded to her and went for the coffee on the counter. "I'm sorry for not being better. I'm sorry you ended up this way."

"I'm not. I'm stronger than you." Ashita said. "And I'm just getting started."

She hung up.

Ayami sighed and turned to lay on her back, ignoring the aches and pains. As she closed her eyes again, she slowly breathed in and out, and fell back asleep.

3.

Tuesday

For several days, Ayami worked with Eraser Head and the police force to compile evidence against the demon gang and Ashita. Ayami provided plenty of evidence, however, she couldn't provide the biggest of them all. She just couldn't do that.

She couldn't tell them that she was related to the Demon Family, or what their real identities were. After keeping them secret for her entire life, she couldn't do that.

Today was the day that Katsuki would move in next door.

He already had the key. Both of them. One to get into the building and the other to get into his apartment.

In the meantime, she needed to sort through the equipment delivery. She'd already moved some of the biggest pieces in, and her Zio delivery came in, too. That meant that she could start new costumes.

4.

Tuesday

Moving in didn't take as much time as he thought it would.

Moving provided a very surreal and odd experience for him. Packing up all of his belongings and moving them to a new location was odd, because he realized a lot of things about his life. Being on probation also added to the new perspective.

Outside of work, he had nothing.

He had a bed. Sheets. Laptop. Phone. Clothes.

His apartment had been completely devoid of decoration and objects for years, and he never noticed or cared. He probably spent more time in his apartment packing than he had on any given week while he lived there.

When he read books, he checked them out at libraries, so he didn't have any of those. His clothes were limited to what he needed.

Even with moving, he had excess energy, and he realized just how much of his physical, mental, and emotional energy went into work. Until now, he never really realized why people didn't understand his schedule or why he didn't date or have aspirations for a family. Now that he had so much free time and saw how little of a life he had… he was a little startled.

Maybe his dad had a point about asking Ayami out.

He was still more interested in beating people up than having a love life, but maybe being around Ayami more often would make his life a little less… simple. Out of all his 'friends', he'd actually rather be around her than them. Most of his 'friends' were idiots or annoyed the living hell out of him.

After getting his belongings inside his new place, he went back to the big room downstairs, and wasn't surprised to see Ayami down there. She was organizing things and seemed to be getting ready for working on costumes.

As he walked down the metal steps, she looked up and flashed him a smile. He smiled back.

"Hey." He greeted, and met her on the main floor. "How's it going?"

"Good. Busy. But good." She said. "I like the distraction. I've been tense ever since the hostage thing."

"Yeah. Same." Katsuki said with a nod. "Do you, uh… want to get lunch?"

"I just ate. Thanks, though."

"Are you free for dinner?"

She seemed confused at first, pausing, and then her eyebrows rose.

"Are you asking me out on a date? Or are you asking as a friend?" Ayami asked.

He shrugged. "Either."

"You're usually not indecisive." She commented.

"I dunno. People keep saying that I like you and that I should ask you out." He said indifferently.

"... do you like me?"

"I dunno." He shrugged.

"Do you go out with girls very often?"

"No. I don't really date."

"Then how about we hang out as friends and see where things go from there?" She suggested. "And dinner sounds good. Can we eat in? Maybe order a pizza and hang out in your new place?"

"Sounds good." Katuski said, and didn't realize just how much he was smiling until he walked away.

5.

Katsuki masterbated for the first time in years.

He rarely thought of people in that way.

6.

She was pretty sure he liked her.

For the first time in a while, she suspected that she had a small crush on him, too. Usually she pushed people away when she felt that way to her, but this time, she couldn't just ignore him.

But then again, she always kept people at a distance for a reason. She didn't want them to be in danger.

7.

Katsuki didn't have work in the morning.

That wasn't good.

Katsuki was good at channeling all of his energy into his tasks and goals, no matter what that goal was. When he trained, he put everything into that. When he studied for tests, he read night and day.

As of the last few years, he focused all of his energy into work. He had a system. He had a schedule. He had specific tasks and plans in order to achieve his goals.

Now… that goal was gone, and he needed something else to focus the entirety of his energy on.

His goal that day: figure out new goals, configure a new plan, and execute that plan.

8.

Wednesday

Ayami took a break for the first time in hours. She went over to her kitchen upstairs, got food, and came back down to eat. Since some of the materials she worked with made strong smells, she opened up the entire wall to let in fresh air.

The space opened up to a small parking area.

She casually ate her sandwich, drank her water, and glanced over at the costume in progress.

9.

Wednesday

Katsuki was going to make her his training partner.

When he wasn't working and training with his coworkers, he could train with Ayami in their soon to be constructed personal gym. There was also enough space in the small warehouse for them to practice hand-to-hand combat. He could even buy them mats to put in.

That night, after not finding her in the shop, he went over to her apartment and knocked on her door.

When she answered, she was dressed in her usual casual clothes.

"I think we should date and train together. We'll live next door to each other for now, set up the gym downstairs, train together, and in a few years we can get married and start having children. You can still stay home to take care of the children while you work on my costume, and I'll continue working as a hero full time." Katsuki explained, still standing in the hallway.

Ayami bit into an apple she was holding, and slowly chewed and swallowed her bite.

"Did you just propose to me?" She asked.

"... no?" He responded.

She bit into her apple again, staring him down, and he suddenly felt awkward. She hadn't invited him inside yet.

When he had planned this beforehand, she'd been much more enthusiastic. He was thinking that she'd be excited like she was when planning his costume.

"No." She said. "I'm testifying against the demon gang soon, and I don't want to get involved with anyone right now."

"You're turning me down because you think I'm weak?" Katsuki seethed and stepped forward, causing her to step back.

He wasn't entirely sure what happened after that. There was a punch thrown, their hands moved every which way as they tried to land a hit, and somehow, Katsuki ended up on the ground with his hands pinned above him. If he wanted to, he probably could have pushed her off, but he instead let her keep him there.

Ayami looked pissed as she loomed over him, holding down his wrists. Then, her anger flickered to confusion, and she looked down at his pants. Her body tensed.

He looked down, too, and was surprised by the discovery. That had never happened in sparring before.

The hands holding his wrists felt nice.

Katsuki was painfully aware of how close they were, and he wanted to bridge the gap between their faces. Her cheeks turned an adorable shade of red, her breathing was rushed, and her chest moved up and down with each labored breath. He wanted to kiss those delectable parted lips.

He loved the hands on his wrists. For some reason, being pinned like this made him unbelievably relaxed. His entire body turned to putty for her, and he so desperately wanted her to mold him to her whim.

Letting her have complete control over him gave him an insurmountable amount of pleasure.

He wanted her to do unspeakable things to him, but couldn't verbalize his thoughts. He wanted her to ravage him, do whatever she wanted to him, and keep him on the ground. He wanted her to have complete control over him, and he had an illogical amount of trust and faith in her.