"𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚜𝚝
𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔
𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎.
- 𝙲.𝙱.
24.
"HOLY SHIT, DUDE! Where the hell have you been? I COULD KILL YOU! I was worried sick. I've been trying to call, whats going on?!"
Words and questions couldn't stop spilling from my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Bakugou hurriedly making his way over to me. So, I put the phone on speaker.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry, I needed to get out of dodge before I gave you a call. I went underground after I found out about what Ichiro did to Dad..."
I know him and my dad were close... his death must be really hard for Reiji. Its making me feel even worse about not being able to be there to comfort him.
"I... I'm really sorry about dad, Reiji-kun."
"Yeah, thanks..." He murmured "Sorry I went MIA. I've been with the Yoshinori family."
Not surprised.
I don't want him with them, but I know they'll protect him—care for him like he's their own.
"Okay, as long as you're safe. What the hell is going on with Ichiro?"
"Man, I wish I knew. When he came to get dad the other day, he was going on and on about how villains need to open their eyes and see the error of their ways? I don't know, typical Ichiro bullshit. But then, he started talking about some 'new race of heroes' and thats where he lost me."
"New race of heroes...?" I asked, confused
"Exactly. I don't get it either. He said him and dad were working together on something and that I should join them, but I said no. I didn't even understand the concept. He got really pissed off and went on this long rant that made no sense."
"Tch, bastard. Thank God you said no. You probably would've ended up dead too if you hadn't. I just don't understand why he'd kill dad... I thought he was Ichiro's whole world."
"I don't know. He's gone, Reiko-chan. The look in his eyes... that wasn't Ichiro. And I know our version of Ichiro is pretty bad as it is, but this was different. I-I could kill him myself for doing this."
He sniffed and his voice began to shake.
God I wish I could be there.
"I'm gonna find him, and I'm gonna stop him, okay? I'll kill him if I have to. I promise you that, Reiji-kun."
"Be careful, onee-san. He's... different now." He warned
"Nothing I can't handle." I reassured him "So, I guess... I'm not gonna see you for a while, am I?"
"Probably not. But, as soon as I can, I'll let you know. I'll text you once the Yoshinori's set me up with a new phone."
"Promise me."
He sucked his teeth.
"I promise, onee-san." He groaned
"You were so much nicer when you were little, you know that? Cuter too."
"Shutup." He laughed "I'll talk to you soon."
"Okay, kid. Love you."
"Love you too, be safe."
He hung up.
At least I can breathe now, sort of.
"I'm happy for you, nerd." Bakugou said with a crooked grin "I'm glad he's okay."
"Thanks. Me too."
"Who are the Yoshinori's?" He asked
"They're close friends of my dads. They're the lowest of the low—a family of villains and criminals with Yakuza ties. They're old money."
He made a face.
"I know what you're thinking, but they'll take care of him." I sighed "I know they will."
"Good, then. No time to waste. Lets get back to it." He said "We'll look more into your older brother later, see if we can get anywhere on predicting his next moves. The results from the lab samples should be in by now."
I nodded.
Bakugou and I finished up not too long after that. We immediately went into a lesson that eventually just turned into the two of us digging up information on Ichiro.
"Does he have any weird places he likes to hang out? Seems like the type..."
"I don't know, really. To be honest, I don't know much about Ichiro other than the fact that he's an asshole." I replied
Bakugou stifled a laugh as an intern walked into the office. She handed him a big yellow envelope. It was stamped with the word "confidential" in bold red lettering.
"Lab results, Bakugou-sama."
"Thanks." He said
We hurriedly scrambled to open it as she left the room.
"The Analysis Laboratory of Forensic Science has determined the following information regarding sample number 0671104C..." I read aloud "Human tissue...?"
Bakugou and I exchanged worried glances before continuing to read.
"Tissue identified as having DNA from multiple different human subjects..." He read
"Wait, wait. So, those things did come from human flesh...?" I said "But, if thats the case, why was my dad inside of one of the creatures? All the other ones were just full of guts... or whatever the fuck that was."
"No idea... I mean, if he's gotten as far as engineering human tissue, tissue of people with rare or interesting quirks..."
"He's taking people and using them to create... whatever the hell those things were?"
I felt absolutely disgusted. My stomach lurched.
Ichiro...why?
"This makes me fucking sick... what the hell kind of person would do something like that?" Bakugou spat
"Reiji was right... This is a whole new level of fucked up, even for him."
"And who knows how he's doing it? Is he taking whole humans, or just parts? Cells? He must have a team or something—no way he's doing this shit alone."
"Probably. If he's using humans to create these things... where is he getting them?" I asked "I haven't heard anything about people going missing."
"He could be pulling from groups of the relatively unseen—prostitutes, low level criminals, homeless people, drifters. People with no ties."
"People no one would think to look for..." I thought aloud "But why? Why? What the fuck is he thinking?"
"I don't know... but we have no leads. Not a damn single one. Nobody knows where he's operating from."
"So, what? We just sit here and do nothing?"
He shook his head.
"What did I just teach you, dumbass? You don't go running around blindly without a plan. That psycho just killed your dad, and probably would have killed your little brother if he went along with it—he won't hesitate to kill you too, and I can't..." He paused for a second "I can't fucking risk losing you."
The worry in his eyes was unnerving. I took his hand in mine, holding it tight.
"I can beat him, Katsuki."
"I know you can. But we need more information, and right now, we don't have enough. We either need to wait for him to make another move, or wait for the police to come to us with some leads we can follow up on—whichever happens first. And believe me, I'm gonna be on their asses about this."
I know he's right, but I'm just so fucking furious.
"Oi... you listening?"
I nodded.
"I know this is a shitty situation, but don't let this distract you from your goal, okay?" He said "Your provisional hero license exam is in a month. You need to be ready. Your family has taken enough away from you, don't let them take this too."
When he puts it like that...
I took a deep breath, struggling to calm myself down. I looked up at him, in all of his scowl-faced, ash-blonde glory—still wholly puzzled as to why he's so good to me. He could explain it a hundred times, and I still wouldn't understand.
"What would I do without you?"
He smirked.
"What can I say? I'm the best." He replied smugly
I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, at getting on my last nerve." I muttered
"WHAT WAS THAT, EXTRA?! 100 PUSH UPS, NOW!"
"What?! No!"
Bakugou tugged on a black string that was tucked into his hoodie, pulling out a shiny, silver whistle—which he proceeded to blow into. It let out the most shrill, irritating chirp.
"When the hell did you get a whistle?!"
"PUSH UPS—NOW, DUMBASS! DO YOU WANNA BE A HERO, OR DO YOU WANNA RUN YOUR DAMN MOUTH?!"
"Kacchan, yell at me again and I'll—"
He blew the whistle.
"ARE YOU BACK TALKING YOUR TRAINER?!" He shouted "DON'T MAKE ME CHANGE IT TO 200 PUSH UPS!"
Remind me why I like him again?
