Hello all! Welcome back to this gut puncher :D Thank you so much for sticking around!
Edit: Sorry for two updates! I realized when I reviewed I didn't change the page breaks so when I submitted the chapter it was all one page lol
Song: MAX - Love Me Less (feat. Quinn XCII)
Warnings: Disturbing descriptions of crime scenes and violence
Chapter 22 -Scorched
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Izuku's thoughts were warm and heavy like hot air as they filled his mind.
He sucked in his breath as he let the lukewarm water from the shower head pour down his body, washing away the night. His eyes stayed closed as he envisioned all the things he had seen inside Ground Alpha and what it would mean going forward.
He contemplated the idea that he might end up exposing himself by uprooting the Shigarakis. Izuku knew very well they had the ability to tell the truth about what had occurred four years ago. The robberies—the bomb. But the more he thought about his parents, Touya, and the other victims of Makinohara, Izuku decided it was time to weigh his options with Toshinori before things could get out of his control.
He continued like this as he scrubbed the dirt off his body, sleep crowding his tired mind.
However, the more he thought about Ground Alpha, the worried detective kept seeing the mysterious Dabi in his head.
Green eyes blinked open under the running water to stare in a pensive manner at the water circling the drain in the shower. Like something was under his skin, the creeping feeling of needles prickling his flesh returned the more he thought of the man in the pitch-black gas mask. There was something eerie about his disposition and Izuku would be happy when the raid occurred.
He pinned his nauseated feeling on the fact that Dabi was exactly the type of person he hated.
Dabi was a murderer who locked people in buildings to burn them alive and the man had killed several innocent individuals in Shizuoka City like this. He was no better than the Shigarakis in Izuku's mind. The trauma victim took comfort knowing that both Dabi and the Shigarakis would be locked up soon if everything went correctly. They wouldn't be able to wreak havoc anymore.
But even while considering this, it didn't stop Izuku from lightly touching his golden earring.
He made the unwilling comparison of how Touya used to touch it and how Dabi did.
But he didn't know what he was thinking, or what impossible thought he was trying to voice. Quickly, Izuku shook off the ridiculous feeling. The greenette reached forward to turn the shower handle into the 'off' position and he stepped out to dry his body with a fluffy towel. His limbs were heavy as he lazily put on a pair of grey sweatpants and dark blue long-sleeved shirt.
He reached for the counter that held the puzzle piece bracelet he shared with Katsuki. With eyes full of fondness, Izuku put back on his wrist. A glimmer of belonging filled into his eyes as the weight of the small charm made him feel secure.
With his wild curls still damp, Izuku walked out of the bathroom and down the stairs. He followed the trail of Katsuki's deep voice into the living room curiously, wondering who was talking to. From the sound of his non-casual tone, it was someone in a higher position than him. When Izuku finally reached the living room, there he found the tired blond boyfriend sitting on the couch. The off duty Lieutenant was also freshly showered in sweats and a casual white shirt. The small puppy Izuku had rescued was resting in his lap, seeming like it was thankful for the warmth of another creature after being out in the frigid winter for who knows how long.
"Okay. I understand, Yagi. We'll be there soon," Katsuki's raspy voice said into the phone while he stroked his fingers through the small animal's fur. On his wrist, shining in the florescent light, was his own matching puzzle piece bracelet. A smile twitched onto Izuku's face at the sight. "I informed officers Kaminari and Sero to come and pick up Midoriya and I from my apartment."
Izuku's attention perked up at the mention of his name as he took a seat next to the exhausted looking blond man on the couch. Katsuki gave him a sweet smile of recognition and like always it made Izuku's heart flutter at the sheer handsomeness Katsuki possessed.
The elder man continued petting the dog in his lap while he wrapped up his conversation with Toshinori on the phone. When all was said and done, the Lieutenant tiredly pressed end on the phone call before turning to the young detective beside him with a taut, exhausted look.
"I'm guessing we have to go on site?" Izuku prompted, already knowing what he heard on the other end. Katsuki nodded reluctantly and ran a calloused hand through his messy blond spikes.
"Yeah, everyone in S.W.A.T just arrived to Ground Alpha and they found something reportedly disturbing," the blond mumbled, red eyes distant.
"Disturbing in what way?" Izuku frowned and his face twisted with worry. That's not what he had anticipated hearing.
"Apparently something disturbing enough that Toshinori said he couldn't report it through an unsecured line. Ground Alpha is officially a crime scene," Katsuki whispered. "He wants us in Yaizu immediately to start investigating the crime scene for our own records. He has reason to believe this is tired with The Cremator case. No one else on site can do it because all officers were prepped for S.W.A.T."
Izuku opened his mouth but he paused at the tiny new piece of information about his colleagues.
"Wait, all the detectives at U.A are S.W.A.T certified?" The green haired man questioned, tilting his head.
"Yeah, me included," Katsuki boasted with a small smug smirk. "When Toshinori promoted me to be second in command I immediately made everyone become certified. Can never be too careful. You never know when shit will hit the fan in our field."
Izuku pursed his lips, a small inkling of imposter syndrome sinking in his stomach.
He was surrounded by such top notch, noble officers—and he didn't feel like he came close. He thought about the inevitable conversation he needed to have with Toshinori about his criminal past getting dug up and then glanced at Katsuki, wondering if he should actually tell him first despite Toshinori's warnings.
Izuku figured he must've let his emotions slip into his eyes because his boyfriend tilted his head and looked at him closely.
"What's with that worried look, nerd?"
Izuku gave his trained deflective smile and shrugged it off, covering up his real thoughts. "Nothing! I just never heard anyone mention it before, that's all. I think it's really cool that everyone has multiple certifications. You guys are all very 'badass' for lack of a better word."
It was a half truth. Izuku felt like everyone he worked with was significantly better than he was and it made him worry about how it would go over if his past was to get out.
It made him worry about Katsuki loving him less.
"Hah, damn straight," the handsome blond deeply chuckled and loosely swung his arm around Izuku's shoulders with a signature smirk. He was completely unaware of the inner turmoil mulling in Izuku. "As long as I'm running shit, I'm gonna make sure everyone is at their peak performance. Also, don't worry. I fully planned on getting your cute ass S.W.A.T certified when you get a little more experience under your belt."
"Really? You had plans for me this whole time and never let me know?" Izuku teased lightly, pushing Katsuki's shoulder playfully.
"Oh, I've got a lot of plans for you that you don't know about," his boyfriend chuckled in a suggestive manner before flashing a hungry grin. Izuku felt a smile bloom on his face at the sweetness in Katsuki's eyes as the elder man squeezed his stiff shoulders reassuringly.
"In all seriousness though, I was going to wait until you reached a year in a precinct before beginning your S.W.A.T training," Katsuki said as he placed a kiss on Izuku's forehead.
He pulled back and Izuku couldn't hide the hint of sadness in his heart as he looked at how affectionate Katsuki was being with him. The blond misread Izuku's contemplative being caused by his uncertified status and gave a small smile right as Izuku was about to speak up about his past.
"If a year is too long, don't worry. I can make an exception," Katsuki began again, pulling Izuku in closer to his body's warmth. "If you want to start earlier, we can. I wouldn't mind giving you private training lessons after our shift."
Izuku snapped his mouth shut, looking at his boyfriend with a raw expression.
"...You would do that for me?"
"I'd do anything for you, Izuku," Katsuki reassured in a soft voice, eyes full of love. "But most importantly, I'd do anything to help make sure your dreams of being a good officer are realized fully—especially after what happened to your parents. I know how important it is to you."
As the ember eyes flickered with love, hope, and all the promises Izuku ever wanted in life—he felt himself struck. His mind weighed heavily from the lack of sleep as he felt tears start to gather in the back of his eyes at the thought of possibly losing Katsuki because of his past.
"Thank you, Kacchan," he whispered in the smallest voice. "You don't know how much it means to hear that from you."
"It's no problem, dork," his boyfriend chuckled, ruffling his slightly damp hair.
As they were staring at each other, Izuku felt the words on the tip of his tongue again, but they fell back into his throat when Katsuki's phone dinged.
Red eyes dragged away from him and took all of Izuku's weakly built courage to confess with them.
The elder man checked his phone while Izuku let out a shaky breath, eyes darting everywhere trying to figure out what to do—but all he wanted was sleep.
"Denki texted that he's downstairs," Katsuki said, shifting fully and waking up the dog sitting in his lap who gave a short whine. "Go ahead and throw on your jacket and I'll grab the dog. We can have Mina or someone else play with her outside the scene."
"Okay, sounds good," Izuku agreed, pushing down all his worried thoughts as he sunk into his detective's mind set. The tired man rose up from the plush couch with a smile, gazing tenderly at the man he loved holding the small creature.
Right as he turned around to get his coat and badge, Katsuki's deep voice gripped him.
"—And no fucking running off this time, Midoriya," the Lieutenant spat seriously with the heavy usage of his formal name. Izuku turned around surprised, but Katsuki's red eyes were still furious and looked at him in a challenging manner. "I mean it. Pull that shit again with me and I'm gonna put you on desk duty for six months, Deku."
"I was just trying to protect you," Izuku huffed, frowning. "It's not a crime to want to make sure your boyfriend is safe, Kacchan."
"Exactly," Katsuki grumbled. He stood up and gently placed down the small dog who pawed at his pants leg. "It's not a crime that I want to make sure you're safe. Which is why I'm telling you again not to go thinking you can handle everything on your own like you always do."
Katsuki stepped towards him, intensely blazing eyes glancing down at him. Izuku didn't know what to say back. Before he could even form a coherent thought, Katsuki spoke to him very sternly.
"Let me do the protecting for a little while," the blond whispered with a deep look. "Stop always sacrificing yourself."
Emerald colored eyes flickered up at the elder man and he gave a soft sigh. Izuku offered a soft smile and allowed himself to indulge in the warm feeling Katsuki showered him with.
"Alright," Izuku chuckled. "No more running off."
. . .
When they went downstairs to pile into the back of Denki's car, Izuku found himself in a deep slumber within three minutes with his head on Katsuki's lap. A calloused hand stroked through his hair lovingly and lulled him quickly asleep as the small dog licked his face. Izuku tried to hone in on the distant chatter of Sero, Denki and Katsuki but his mind was enveloped in darkness.
When Izuku awoke again, he was looking up at the morning sky upside down from out of the window with a hand still in his hair and around holding him steady in his curled-up position.
The fluffy white clouds passed by slowly as he heard the other officers' radios chime in and out. The tired young detective took a second to study his strange topsy-turvy position, liking the feeling of the sky suddenly being the ground.
Then slowly, Katsuki craned his neck down to look at him with a soft expression and Izuku felt himself grateful to just be in the blond's arms.
"Hey there sleepy head," the blond whispered and cocked his head with a playful smirk. "We're here."
Katsuki lightly pushed him awake and upright, making Izuku hum as he sat up to see the exact building he was inside of less than three hours ago. All four detectives stepped out of the compact car and headed towards the trunk to grab their investigation gear.
They suited up in the proper wear, sliding on bright blue sterile gloves and mouth masks. Each detective grabbed a case full of tools for identification and evidence gathering. Izuku kept a serious face as Katsuki instructed them on the protocol and assigned them specific duties for gathering possible evidence and DNA. Izuku noted how the normally lighthearted Denki had a dead serious look written across his baby face as he was handed the camera by Katsuki for documenting.
The group walked up the outside of the tall building and it was completely marked off with yellow police tape. Yaizu crime technicians were buzzing all over along with several police officers Izuku recognized. Dense crowds of the public population gathered around from distance and Izuku could hear the light shutter of cameras going off in the distance as the crime scene drew chaos towards it.
"Sero. Kaminari. Midoriya. Bakugou. Over here," Toshinori's voice called out to them.
Izuku turned around to see the tall blond standing in his S.W.A.T gear with a notebook in his hand waving them down. The four detectives walked over to the small gathering of U.A officers and Izuku didn't miss the pale, distraught look on Mina's face. There was an even more serious one on Iida's already sternly concerned features.
"Thank you four for coming out here on such short notice," their captain sighed with a ghostly look. "I know you all must be tired from just going back to back but—wait...did you bring a dog?" Blue eyes melted into confusion at the sight of the small animal nested in Izuku's arms. On cue, all eyes in the vicinity turned to the greenette.
"I, um, I found her before I went back to Shizuoka," Izuku explained with a wince at all the prying eyes. "W-We haven't decided on what to do with her, so we just brought her along—"
"—We're keeping her," Katsuki interrupted in a matter of fact tone and Izuku's head whipped around. The blond just shrugged with a small knowing smirk before he turned his attention back to his colleagues. "Is there anyone that needs a break while we're investigating the scene and wants to watch her?"
"Me!" Mina perked up desperately, raising her hand. She stepped forward quickly towards Izuku and held out her arms for the small animal. "Oh, Kami, me please. I need to pet a puppy after what I walked in on in that basement," she harshly exasperated.
"Uh, sure! Here you go," Izuku said quickly as he handed the small animal over to the eager pink haired woman. His mind fixated on the premonition in her words—what was in the basement?
"Thank you so much, Izuku," Mina said, translating a grateful expression through her golden eyes. She cooed to the small creature as she cradled it against her chest before looking back at the four newcomers on the scene.
Her face was as if she saw something she could never forget.
"All of you need to brace yourselves when you walk in there. It's not pretty," she whispered before walking off to the side.
Katsuki and Izuku exchanged weary looks before heading inside.
. . .
Not pretty was an understatement.
What they walked in on was something that looked like a gory scene out of a horror film. All four sets of eyes went wide in silence at the dark red blood that was splattered everywhere. Izuku scrunched his nose at the smell of iron mixing in with body fluids and his eyes darted off to the side. There he found were multiple rows of black body bags and technicians taking DNA samples.
"Holy shit," Denki whispered, eyes wide as he gripped the black camera in his hand tighter. Sero's face dropped with confusion and Katsuki flat out flinched when the sight of bloodied handprints on the wall that looked as if a ghost had tried crawling up the stairs before dying into nothing.
"What the fuck happened here?" Katsuki harshly whispered, staggered by the gruesome scene. He twisted his head down to look at the green haired detective next to him, eyes wild with disbelief. "Izuku, was this how it looked when you were here?"
"N-No," Izuku quickly replied, shaking his head. "Absolutely not. It looked like a normal office building from what I could see. I was blind folded and taken to the basement, so I only saw the lower level and there was no sight of blood."
Green eyes were completely unable to tear away from the scene in front of him as he watched Yaoyorozu and Kirishima off to the side giving out orders and collecting information. The investigative team of officers walked up to the two grim looking sergeants in S.W.A.T.
"Kirishima, where are the Shigarakis?" Katsuki immediately asked, not wasting time.
"In the emergency room," the redhead replied back with a disappointed look. Red eyes briefly scanned all their faces before sighing and relaxing the grip on his assault rifle. "Guys...when we got here, it was a complete blood bath. There were dead bodies scattered up and down this whole building. Not a single person was alive anywhere except in the basement."
"What?" Sero's face twisted in confusion "How many people?"
"Twenty-five and counting," Momo informed. "The only people alive were the Shigarakis—but just barely. We found them bleeding out on the ground nearly unconscious. Their tongues were burned out and their feet nailed to the floor along with other gruesome mutilations."
"They were barely alive," Kirishima sighed. "There's no witnesses to attest to what happened."
"None?" Katsuki hissed and Izuku felt his stomach start to clench into knots. Kirishima shook his head and Momo gave a sour look.
"I don't think it's possible to get any sort of confession out of them in the state they're in," she said, casually shifting in her black combat boots. "Both their hands and feet are mutilated so they can't even write out what happened. Anyone that could possibly be a witness is either dead or gone. No one knows what happened here."
"Where's Dabi?" Izuku asked quickly, eyes wide. "He was here when I left, along with a blonde woman named Himiko. They were acting kind of strange."
Katsuki turned to him with a face creased with a deep frown line. "Strange how?"
"Dabi didn't tell the Shigarakis' he killed Yotsubashi," Izuku whispered. "It seemed like he wanted it to be a secret...and…" A vision of Dabi's gas mask appeared in his head and an eerie feeling gripped his bones again. He looked at all the other officers cautiously.
"I know our profession relies on facts and evidence, but there's something extremely dangerous about Dabi besides just the arson," Izuku tiptoed in a light voice. "I can't tell what it is because even I don't know, but he makes my skin crawl—more than the Shigarakis' do. I think I've seen him before when I lived here in Yaizu."
All the U.A officers exchanged heedful glances at Izuku's words.
"Well, you can take a look at the row of bodies in the back and try to identify them," Kirishima offered. "None of them look like the description of Dabi that the bartender witness from Uchi street gave. No one had severe burns."
Izuku pursed his lips at the information and he connected the dots.
"They might've done this then, if they're not here," Izuku said confidently. "Both Dabi and Himiko were here in this building before I was taken away. It was about a thirty-minute drive and that's plenty of time between when I called and S.W.A.T arrived. That's a full hour."
"That makes sense," Katsuki hissed. "Well, shit. What now? No confession. No witnesses to this homicide spree, but I guess we got them. Still, a confession would've been nice. We would've been able to unravel more."
"Actually, despite everything, we found something worth probably more than any confession the Shigarakis could've given," Kirishima interjected, holding his loaded gun a little tighter.
"What?" The blond squad leader asked. Izuku eyed the powerful S.W.A.T gear the U.A squad were all dressed in and dragged his eyes to a very stern looking Katsuki who was on edge waiting.
"We found a vault full of detailed records of every person ever involved in All For One," Momo said while pointing behind her. Izuku only then twisted his body to peer around the corner beside the two sergeants.
There he saw what looked to be a hive of busy, bustling officers going through countless stacks of paper.
Shouto being one of those officers.
Izuku felt his eyes widen and his breath caught in his throat causing him to nearly choke.
"Turns out the Shigarakis were really meticulous about keeping track of everyone they were blackmailing." Momo shrugged. "There's files on people dating back from over forty years ago until now."
Katsuki's face broke out into a satisfied smirk but Izuku's whole body went cold.
"That's perfect," the tall lieutenant responded, his voice shifting to a more optimistic tone. "I want the files sent to my office so I can begin assigning everyone a different section to go over today before putting it in evidence."
The thudding of his heartbeat was suddenly too loud.
Izuku didn't hear what orders Kirishima gave to the officers behind him, and he didn't hear what Katsuki said as he patted him on the back. All he could see was his future possibly being stolen as all the officers worked like busy bees. They marched out of the building holding countless bins filled with files in their hands.
Files that could possibly have Izuku's name inside of them.
The air around him suddenly felt too tight.
. . .
Izuku's mind scattered for a way out. The heat under his collar simmered and scratched his skin thinking of Katsuki possibly finding out about his past like this. He waited quietly, listening to Katsuki take charge of the team and give orders fluidly like water. With each passing second, he found himself both anxious and disturbed as they went around the crime scene.
Whatever had happened in this building, it was a massacre. They found five more bodies, dead and bleeding out inside closets, the dark red blood soaked through the blue carpeted floors. But what disturbed Izuku most to see was the basement that he had just been inside of.
He could see the bloodied holes where he assumed the criminals who murdered his family were pinned down. However, that's not what stood out the most. When they went around the basement for Denki to take pictures and Izuku to do swabs, there was a message written in blood on the wall as a warning.
"The Kings Are Dead"
Izuku could only assume it was the Shigarakis' blood used.
"This is fucking brutal," Denki whispered from beside Izuku as he took a snapshot of the writing on the white wall. "Whoever did this must've seriously hated them."
"Unsurprising," Izuku mumbled as he carefully peeled off a piece of the wall paint for DNA. "They made a lot of people angry. It was bound to come back and bite them."
"Or burn them in this case," Denki muttered, flashing the camera a couple more times near an identified piece of evidence labeled '#2' by Izuku. "Have we even found their tongues?"
"According to Kirishima, no," Izuku answered. "Tongues still possibly around or with whoever seared them off."
The young green eyed detective sealed the paint chip securely in a sterile bag with shaky hands. He could hear Katsuki and Kirishima's voices off to the side as the two large men tried to open up another cabinet. They seemed preoccupied enough that Izuku felt like he could excuse himself and go talk to their captain in private.
When he got the blond man in sight, Izuku felt his panic spike again. His blood swarmed with fear and his mind started to race. He tapped the captain on his shoulder, and lightly pulled him off to the side when Toshinori began asking him what's wrong.
"Izuku," the captain called, but Izuku kept leading them around the corner until they were completely out of sight. "Izuku—seriously. What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
"There's files," Izuku whispered in a shaky voice.
Without warning all his anxieties burst past the seams of the thin threads keeping him together. He thought about possibly being torn away from his new life—a life he recently settled into and felt his chest convulse. He thought about all the U.A officers, his new home—Katsuki.
"The Shigarakis kept private files on everyone that was ever involved with AFO which means they have files on me," Izuku's hoarse voice cracked as he pointed wildly to himself to emphasize his point. "They're going to send them to Katsuki's office. W-What should I do? I think I need to start weighing out my options and I can't afford a lawyer—"
"—First off, calm down, Izuku. I heard, okay?" Toshinori whispered harshly and looked over his shoulder. "I'll handle it. I already have several plans. The first being we're going to try to get rid of your records all together."
Izuku stumbled on his words. "W-What?"
"Yes," the captain harshly whispered. "What good would going through legal processes do now? You're not a bad person, son. I can see that and I have no qualms about getting rid of something that would ruin your future for no reason—especially since it was the Shigarakis that kept pulling you down."
"...And what if we can't get rid of my file?" Izuku prompted, still finding it hard to believe that Toshinori—the symbol of peace—was suggesting tampering with evidence. At this, the captain shifted on his feet and sighed.
"Then we move to my second plan," he replied with his head down. "We talk to Mirio about what options you have legally. I asked my son about something like your situation discreetly and he told me when it comes to someone being blackmailed into doing a crime it's not a black and white case depending on the severity of what happened."
The lump in Izuku's throat only swelled with the info.
"I think robbing several stores and a bank is pretty severe, Toshinori," Izuku whispered, dread increasing in his face.
Along with building a bomb and handing the blueprints over to a drug lord—blueprints that were possibly sitting in his folder for the world to see.
"Yes, you're correct, but Mirio is also an extremely good lawyer," Toshinori said with a sympathetic smile trying to calm the increasingly worried green haired man. "If push comes to shove, I'm sure he'd represent you if this accidentally got out."
"Okay..." Izuku muttered, playing with the hem on his dark blue winter coat.
"Also, I heard all the files are organized alphabetically by the surname of the individual. Todoroki is in charge of them so I'm going to have him send over the 'M' files before they're sent to Katsuki. I'll filter through to try to find your folder, okay? If possible, let's bury this deep."
A large warm hand rested on his shoulder and squeezed affectionately. The heaviness of Toshinori's weight pulled Izuku back to reality enough to snap his sleep-deprived brain from out of his own hurricane of unease.
The fatherly kind blue eyes of his captain made Izuku feel calm enough as he thought about the reality of things.
The future might be rocky, but this was the end of it...right? The Shigarakis were in custody and AFO was officially done for. All that was left was apprehending Dabi. This was the last step. He thought about The Incinerator and if Toshinori was correct, maybe he could grab the blueprints and remove them from his name all together.
"A-Alright," he finally said, straightening out. "Alright, that sounds good. You're right. This is manageable."
"Yes, it is," Toshinori said and put back on his serious face. "Now let's go back out there and keep an eye on where those files are."
Izuku nodded and blinked back the worried tears he had. When he rounded the corner, he saw Katsuki's red eyes assess him curiously, but the blond gave him a small smile from the other side of the room that only made Izuku push further in his need of keeping his new life intact.
. . .
The day continued and all the U.A in S.W.A.T wrapped up to leave Yaizu. Izuku's tired state of mind started to make everything mesh together. He felt torn about letting Mirio handle things the right way and handling things the way Toshinori seemingly wanted them handled.
But the more he listened to Katsuki's smoothing voice the entire way back to the precinct, he felt himself leaning towards just doing what Toshinori said. He imagined his life shattering all over again—over the same thing.
Deep down, Izuku didn't know if his already bruised heart could handle another home being torn away from him.
Izuku watched as Katsuki took diligent notes about the crime scene in his notebook next to him in the back of Denki's car. He watched and how the small dog spread across their laps like she already considered them to be her owners. He studied the way Katsuki would occasionally ask "is everything okay?" and squeeze his leg lovingly.
Izuku stayed silent, contemplating this question. Was he okay? He listened to Sero and Denki joke and laugh and realized afterso long he was finally in a good place.
The lonely orphan didn't have the heart to uproot his happiness again.
"I'm fine," he whispered to Katsuki after the blond asked about his silent mood for the fourth time.
The greenette ignored all the worried glances he got from Katsuki and allowed himself to lean against the lieutenant's sturdy shoulder. He fluttered his eyes closed for the second time that day as he indulged in his newfound stability.
When they arrived at the station, everything went exactly how Toshinori planned for it to. The captain gave the order for all files labeled with the surname 'M' be sent to his office and being the highest in command, no one seemed to notice or think it was strange. Ochaco decided that she wanted to hold the puppy as she managed an increase of calls around the city and told Izuku it was stressing her out.
Then finally, Shouto gave him a small smile of recognition as he passed Izuku on the way up to Toshinori's office. The youngest Todoroki was exhausted from being up so long as he lugged the pins of files up to Toshinori's office. Izuku worried slightly when he saw a lag in the tall man's blinking.
Then like clockwork, a loud surprised yelp echoed out. Everyone startled as Shouto stumbled on the stairs, several sealed envelopes flying outwards. Izuku held his breath for several moments as Iida rushed over to help the sleep deprived sergeant off the ground and they quickly shuffled the files back into the bin.
"Ah, Bakugou said everyone on the undercover mission can go home after this is all handled," Iida said with a sympathetic smile to the sleepy Todoroki. "You guys have been up way too long."
"Thank Kami," Shouto mumbled. "This undercover mission was just a bit of a mess." Izuku watched how they didn't pay attention to the folder on the ground and he sighed in relief not to see any strange reactions plastered across Shouto's face.
Izuku felt like he was strangely in the clear when Shouto walked up the stairs fully—but it almost felt too easy. Would that really be it? Toshinori could take his file possibly and then the next thing would just be to continue living normally?
Izuku hoped so. He prayed. He wanted this all to be done with.
However, when two hours painfully stretched by and more files started piling up in Katsuki's office, Izuku grew worried. Toshinori hadn't come down to reassure him and Izuku considered maybe he was stunned by the possible blueprints in his case file. All of his unease made his feet fly like a delicate bird all the way up to the ninth floor to the captain's office.
Sitting there was an image he didn't expect to anticipate. The captain had his large hand gripping his messy locks and his expression was deeply anxious. The greenette felt his heart skip a beat as he stared at all the opened envelopes sprayed across his superior's wooden desk.
"Did you find it?" Izuku whispered and closed the door behind him. Toshinori shook his head but he didn't look up.
"Izuku…" Toshinori whispered. "There's no file for you."
Izuku felt his world come to an abrupt halt.
"What?" Emerald eyes widened in disbelief. "T-That can't be right."
The shaking young detective stepped forward quickly because that couldn't be right. He picked up folder after folder, the weight of something so light suddenly seemed so heavy on top of his finger tips. But each time he just got a different name that wasn't his own. Murakami. Miyazaki. Maeda. Matsumoto.
But no Midoriya.
Izuku shook his head, trying to throw off the feeling of hopelessness creeping up his spine.
"I-I have a folder—I know I do," Izuku tried to rationalize, not understanding. "The Shigarakis alwaysmade sure to let me know they had me by a leash. They threatened to expose me several times—"
"—Maybe they didn't find the robberies you committed for them significant enough to record?" Toshinori explained. "Even though I did find more minor crimes on record for others. It's possible your file is elsewhere but it's not in the section listed under 'M'."
Then something clicked in Izuku's head that he didn't consider before.
"Shit," he cursed. The young detective dragged his hands down his face. Red hair and blue eyes flashed in his mind as he looked grimly at his captain. Izuku covered his mouth as a tear slipped out of his eye. His stomach fell to the blackest pit.
"Toshinori...It might be under T."
This only made the decorated man frown. "Why would it be under T?"
"The boyfriend I told you I dated that was involved with them...it was Todoroki Touya." Izuku sucked his breath in, waiting for the storm to arrive—but there was none. Blue eyes blinked at him once, then blinked again and then finally Toshinori gave a head shake in denial as his nose scrunched in disbelief.
"What? Enji's eldest son? Izuku, he was clearly trouble—"
"—I know." The freckled young adult threw his bandaged left hand up to stop the sentence. He already knew where this was going having been there several times in his own mind. "Trust me—I know. We just...fit together well in the beginning, alright? But, focusing back, what if they might've clumped us together? That's a possibility, right? Since I was associated with him."
"It is," Toshinori whispered, lips pressing in a thin line. "T was originally assigned to Kirishima, but he went home from sleep exhaustion. Todoroki is going to look over case files S and T now. I don't think he's gotten around to them yet, and Kirishima just dropped them in Katsuki's office before leaving. You need to go downstairs and double check that immediately."
Izuku nodded frantically. He didn't need to be told twice as he quickly ran back down the stairs.
When he got back down to the main floor all the office noises felt too loud. The echo of the jammed printer sounded like a fork in a garbage disposal and Denki's yawn stood out way too much on the silent floor. Izuku knew it was his own paranoia that made it feel like everyone's eyes were burning into his freckled skin as he peered around the floor.
He tried his best not to be suspicious as he checked around for Katsuki—but found he was gone. Shouto was too.
He thought it strange for a fleeting moment but took the window of opportunity for what it was and quickly stepped into Katsuki's office when no one was watching him. Sitting there, disregarded on the ground, was a mountain of files that were somehow organized yet chaotic all in the same breath.
Izuku looked over his shoulder as he kneeled down and started carefully digging through the bins. He made a mental note that the Shigarakis were a lot of things and apparently organized to the t was one of them. There wasn't a file not updated or out of place from what Izuku could see.
And it made it easy to find the red folder labeled 'Todoroki Touya' directly right at the top.
Izuku opened the envelope carefully, mindful not to make too loud of a sound. He crept through all the files on Touya, searching for anything related to him—but what he found was anything but. There wasn't a single mention of himself in Touya's file but inside were things much more devastating.
The folder was packed to brim with information Izuku never knew about the man he dated for two years.
Bile crept up the back of Izuku's throat at the first horrifying image sitting top top of the dense stack. It was a dark, twisted up, disfigured burned body lying on the ground. Directly labeled at the bottom was 'Touya's first kill.'
Nausea quaked Izuku's body and he stood up from his crouched position, eyes raking over the image repeatedly. The greenette soon found himself sitting down on Katsuki's couch quietly and he let out a shaky sigh. His hand quivered as he was compelled to flip to the next page in Touya's file. His heart sunk when he found more of the same.
Izuku kept on, his mind reeling as he sifted through the rest of the thick file condensed with photos and reports of crimes. Each new paper held a photograph more visually disturbing than the last as Touya's timeline in AFO progressed forward. With each body he saw, with each description of all the people Touya had murdered in cold blood—the romanticized version of the redhead in Izuku's memory was harshly shattered.
The soft memories of Touya loving him and sleeping by his side in their apartment distorted darkly when he realized he never actually knew Touya.
Touya had been more than just involved as a drug dealer with AFO—he murdered for them.
The boy with rose colored hair Izuku knew was ripped out of his memory like a rotten tooth and soon found himself on the verge of tears as he realized he fell in love with someone he didn't know. He looked up at the top of the file to see a clipped mugshot in the file of Touya dated before they had started living together.
Who was looking back at him wasn't anyone he knew. The person in the photograph was an angry, violent young adult with an unnamed hunger in his cold blue eyes.
There was one last page Izuku didn't check in Touya's case and Izuku found himself dreading it—but he knew he needed to see it. Part of him hoped this would be information on himself, but he didn't get his wish. The last page of information in Touya's file showcased the tall redhead smirking with Jin.
They both were on either side of a bloodied, lynched dead police officer's body who was still in his 'Yaizu Law Enforcement' uniform.
Izuku snapped a hand over his mouth to stop the horrified gasp from escaping from his body. He slammed the other papers on top of the last page as his body began to shake. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to get rid of the vision, but he was unable to remove the sight of whoever's body swinging from that rope.
"Touya...Touya why…" Izuku whispered brokenhearted as he stared down at the mug shot. Several of his tears escaped from his eyes and landed on top of his ex-lover's photograph.
He hadn't found his file, but he had found something much, much worse.
His green eyes glanced over all the basic information the Shigarakis had on the inside underneath the mugshot. They carefully recorded everything. The recorded Touya's eye color, hair color, even his blood type. They recorded his height, his weight, his birthday and even his—
As he was reading along the plain black and white dotted lines, all of Izuku's thoughts paused at the lack of information in one very important section.
Deceased: ***
The world stopped.
He read once more. Then he read it again.
Izuku's dark brows furrowed at the lack of an exact deceased date in the Shigarakis' personal records. That small piece of missing information made Izuku reel himself back to reality long enough to feel disquieted.
Why didn't they record the date of his death? Izuku questioned, finding it odd. If these files proved anything, it was that neither Shigaraki was sloppy.
Suddenly, he heard Himiko's taunting all over again.
"That's not possible. He's dead. I watched him die because of you all—"
"—Are you sure? Completely sure?"
Unreasonable doubt trickled into the back of Izuku's mind and planted a small seed of suspicion. It would grow in the upcoming months but for now it stayed rooted, trying to fight against the three years of trauma and grieving the greenette had gone through that kept it pushed down.
Viridian colored eyes cut to the side at the stack of files and Izuku reached forward quickly to pull out a random folder from the stack. When he ripped open the envelope, he paid no attention to the disturbing information inside and his eyes zeroed in on the deceased date. This one was before Makinohara.
The young detective felt compelled to reach for another and then another until he found a file that showed a deceased date listed after Makinohara. Then he found one for another member that didn't have a deceased date—but it looked different. There were no asterisks in place of a date, just blankness.
Izuku scrunched his face in confusion as he opened Touya's folder again and his eyes stared down at Touya's strange deceased date again. He kept trying to find a conclusion for why three asterisks were there inside of a proper date.
Then like clockwork, he felt the ghostly feeling of both Dabi and Touya touch his earring.
"What the hell are you doing?" Katsuki's rough voice cut through his racing thoughts. Izuku jumped out of surprise, having completely forgotten where he was—lost in the abyss of Touya yet again.
Green eyes whirled around to the entrance of Katsuki's office to see both Shouto and Katsuki standing there with unreadable expressions. Both men were intensely watching him and it made Izuku jump off of the leather couch as if it was on fire.
"S-Sorry!" Izuku stuttered out, trying to regain his balance as he quickly tried to hide Touya's folder that was in his hand. But he wasn't quick enough because Katsuki stepped forward and snatched the piece of evidence away from him.
Izuku was stunned by the harshness of the action and held his breath momentarily. Nervousness crept into his limbs as he watched Katsuki's upper lip curl with what seemed like disgust at the name on top of the folder. A deep, unhappy frown sunk into Katsuki's face.
Those fire filled eyes stared down at him with an unknown intensity.
"Why are you looking at Touya's folder?" Katsuki whispered in a low, cautious voice.
Izuku swore he misheard the distrusting tone and he accounted it towards the fact that he was just caught going unpermitted through evidence he wasn't assigned to.
"I was curious...after everything," Izuku was half truthfully, looking between the two elder detectives who were still giving him rather odd looks. Izuku furrowed his brows at the treatment, but neither higher ranking officer said a word. They just stared, watching him closely.
Shouto glanced his eyes at Katsuki who flared his nostrils in irritation the longer he seemed to think. The blond Lieutenant closed his eyes for a deep breath in to regain some sort of center before speaking.
"Midoriya," Katsuki began in a low voice. "Exit my office and do not go through evidence unauthorized again."
The tone was even, strained and it lacked the usual warmth the greenette had grown accustomed to in his boyfriend's voice. That alone was enough to make Izuku look at Katsuki confused, waiting for an explanation. However, none came.
Instead of meeting his eye, the Lieutenant turned away and stalked towards his desk with Touya's folder clenched tightly in his hand. Katsuki tossed the red folder down like he was annoyed by the mere presence of it before taking a seat in his office chair.
Izuku began to open his mouth but Katsuki cut him off again, glare fully equipped.
"I said leave," the blond hissed. "Both of you. I have work I need to do."
All the words Izuku was about to conjure dissipated in his throat as one of the most heated glare he's ever seen was tossed his direction. He froze up the longer Katsuki's vicious stare was set on him because he had never been on the receiving end of such intensity.
He had seen several other people take Katsuki's ungiving gaze. Monoma being one of those people, but Izuku couldn't recall a time where Katsuki ever looked this angry at him.
Then as quickly as the purely rageful look came, it left. An expression of deep conflict soon replaced it. Red eyes darted around as if unsure about something before Katsuki turned away, not sparing a second glance.
"Yes, sir," Shouto said without missing a beat but Izuku frowned, wanting to say something more. The tall sergeant lightly pulled at Izuku's elbow and glanced down at him with a sympathetic stare. "Midoriya, I think we should leave the lieutenant alone for a while. He has to sort through putting in files for the crime scene today."
Green eyes glanced up at Shouto and back to the blond at the desk who was actively not looking in his direction.
Something happened.
Izuku could feel it in his bones that something was off but as he glanced down at Touya's folder and back up to Katsuki—he didn't know which issue was worse.
. . .
Izuku sat at his desk the rest of the day after talking with Toshinori and informing him that his file was nowhere to be seen. The blond captain began to chalk it up that the files the Shigarakis kept on him were possibly elsewhere. Which helped Izuku's anxiety none considering neither Tomura or his father were in a physically capable state of possibly pointing out more of their secrets.
As the rest of the day progressed, Izuku noticed articles and phone calls about homicides all over Shizuoka City flowing in.
Momo seemed even more stressed when a woman came inside the station, distraught about her son being shot in the head by gang members he was reportedly involved in. Yotsubashi's gang specifically. It was then all the officers noticed the pattern as more deaths were reported.
"Someone took out all the AFO members in Yaizu and all of Yotsubashi's gang in Shizuoka City," Iida commented as they all sat around for a midday coffee break. "There's hundreds of bodies scattered all the way from here to Yaizu."
"What the hell?" Sero muttered confused. "Was everyone who was reported dead today a gang member?"
"It seems so," the navy haired man muttered the longer he stared at the several new case files stacking up in his lap. "This was a targeted wipe out. It seems like the only survivors were the people Monoma arrested during the undercover operative last night before Izuku was taken. He's on his way here to talk about the members they arrested with Bakugou."
Izuku felt the air around him weigh down again. He fiddled nervously with his phone and glanced back out at the floor to Katsuki's office that was locked with the blinds closed—something the blond hadn't done in six months.
"Is he okay?" Izuku whispered to the room. "He seems aggravated about something."
"Probably the fact that this terrible ass day hasn't ended," Denki sighed. "We've been awake for over twenty-four hours. Every time I think I'm about to go home, something else comes in! First that horror show in Yaizu and now over fifty reported murders—it's like a never-ending nightmare."
"I agree," Iida chimed in. "With Bakugou being second in command I can only imagine he's going through a lot more headaches and phone calls."
Izuku bit the inside of his cheek and looked down at the dark liquid in his coffee mug. His co-workers weren't wrong. Sometimes he forgot how stressful Katsuki's position was because the blond took everything in stride and was so organized.
But even this mess of an operative was bound to get to someone, even an individual as dutiful as Katsuki.
Monoma soon showed up at the precinct and the two blond lieutenants went inside of Katsuki's office to compile all their evidence for the day.
While sitting at his desk, helping Ochaco handle the incoming influx of calls, Izuku kept an eye on the news articles popping up all over Shizuoka City. One after the other as the day moved into the evening, murder after murder of gang members were reported. However, when the day neared its end, one non-homicide article caught Izuku's eye.
NHK WORLD - JAPAN
Long awaited Headway on Reopened Hero Killer Case
Investigations from the last six months have shown new evidence that the Hero Killer was not working alone. The investigation was being led by Lieutenant Monoma of the sector 1B precinct who was keeping it private until recently.
In a recent quote when asked why he had reopened the case he simply answered "It's about justice for my fallen squad members. I have a lot of reasons to believe there's a dirty cop working amongst the Shizuoka City force and that person is equally responsible for it." …
...Read more
Monoma walked out of Katsuki's office and Izuku frowned.
Green eyes sharply turned towards the decorated officer passing by his desk.
"Excuse me," Izuku called to the dirty blond haired man. Blue eyes turned around to him curiously and quirked an eyebrow, prompting him to continue. "Lieutenant Monoma, I hope you don't mind me asking but what is this about opening the Hero Killer case again?" Izuku asked carefully.
"It's a well needed investigation," Monoma replied, condensing tone completely intact. "I thought you would be a little bit brighter than that detective."
"I get that," Izuku replied, ignoring the blow. "I mean, what is this you're saying about dirty cops in Shizuoka City?"
"The truth is what it is. I knew something was wrong about the Hero Killer case four years ago. Something always seemed off to me—how did he know exactly where all the officers were stationed constantly if not with the help of an inside man?"
Blue eyes looked down at the puzzle piece bracelet wrapped around Izuku's wrist.
"I just have to put in the last puzzle piece and I'm sure an arrest will be made on whoever is responsible," he snarked, lip curling. Izuku froze at the implication and quickly slid the hand with his bracelet in his lap out of view.
He didn't say a word back because he knew what that meant.
Monoma thought it was Katsuki.
Without sparing him another waste of breath, Monoma left the U.A station not bothering to acknowledge any of the other police officers. In his wake he left a frozen Izuku whose eyes were wide. Green eyes looked towards Katsuki's closed door and felt ice touch his veins.
The young detective quickly stood up from his desk and hurried to find Shouto in the backroom going through case files by himself. Izuku carefully locked the door behind him, still shaken by what Monoma had implied.
Heterochromatic eyes assessed him carefully. "Is there something wrong, Izuku?"
"Shouto, did you know about this case opening back up?" Izuku whispered slowly as he held his phone up. He showed the sergeant the article he found and immediately Shouto's head tilted as if he was baffled.
"I did," he replied. "I noticed it when it first reopened during the weekend of the police picnic. To be truthful, I completely forgot about it. I was sure it was going to go nowhere but…" Shouto paused and sighed, leaning against the heavy rack of evidence by his side. "I guess Monoma is pretty convinced that there was a dirty cop working with the Hero Killer."
Izuku glanced down at the bracelet on his wrist and grimaced. "I think he's insinuating it's Katsuki, Shouto."
At this the half and half sergeant gave an amused chuckle.
"Of course that's what he thinks. That's going to go nowhere, don't worry," Shouto dismissed. "He's had a vendetta against Bakugou the last four years, but Bakugou is about as clean as they come in terms of officers. So that's a silly notion in itself. He fumbled the coordinates, but he didn't disclose officer whereabouts to a serial killer to have them murdered."
Izuku pressed his lips in a thin line and gripped his phone tighter as he reread the quote by Monoma over and over.
. . .
When everything seemed to die down and the night shift officer on the floor below began to clock in, all the U.A officers started to leave. They said their goodbyes to each other after such an exhausting non-stop day. Izuku retrieved the small puppy back from Ochaco who made a saddened expression and begged Izuku to bring her back once per week. Izuku smiled and nodded, liking the idea.
He carefully walked over to Katsuki's locked office and knocked lightly on the door. When the wooden frame swung open, standing there was his lover who still had a stone like expression on his face. Izuku pushed down his nervousness at the blank look in those red eyes that was glancing between him and the puppy in his arms.
"Hey, Kacchan," Izuku said with a soft smile. "Are you ready to walk home? It's getting late and I want to discuss something about Monoma with you."
"You go ahead without me. I need to look over something," the blond muttered distantly, not paying attention to the latter half of the statement.
Izuku froze, confused. "I can wait on you. I-I think we should talk about what Monoma said to me. I don't mind waiting, it's not a problem—"
"—Just go home, Izuku," Katsuki reinforced. "I want to be alone right now to wrap up, I can deal with whatever hissy fit Monoma is throwing later. Have Shouto drive you back to my place."
There was a long pause between the lovers as Katsuki sighed and looked down at the ground. Ruby eyes were heavy with an unknown weight and it made Izuku feel uneasy as if he was on a rocky sea.
"Um, I can just walk by myself if that's the case. I don't want to inconvenience him—"
"—No," Katsuki snapped and it made both Izuku and the unnamed Shiba Inu jolt. Fire filled eyes shot their heated glare into perplexed green irises without hesitation. "Do as I say and go ask Shouto for a ride right nowbefore he leaves."
Izuku stood there, shocked.
He didn't know what to do and gave a hesitant, soft "okay" and backed away. The door slammed and the freckled detective tried to ignore the bruise on his feelings.
Conflicting emotions suffocated his exhausted mind as he held on tighter to the soft animal as he conjured up an answer for the sudden harsh treatment. He tried to repeat to himself that Katsuki was just stressed—this was a stressful string of events and the workaholic was still his hot-headed self at the end of the day.
No matter how much he loved Izuku.
He did as he was instructed, not wanting to push the lieutenant's buttons any further. When he asked Shouto for the ride back to Katsuki's apartment, it almost seemed like the sergeant was anticipating it.
They got into the small car quietly, and Izuku felt a pensive mood rolling off of Shouto as they drove back in silence with the radio playing in the background. Izuku couldn't get Katsuki's vexed expression out of his mind.
"Did something happen with Katsuki between the time we got back to the precinct and now?" He asked, fearful. Shouto glanced at him quickly, eyes still assessing him as if he was seeing him in a new light.
"Why do you say that?"
"He suddenly started acting like I annoyed him," Izuku muttered, looking down at his feet. "I mean, granted, yes. He's naturally annoyed by everything but this time it felt...different."
There was a long stretch in silence as Shouto didn't say anything back. The low melody of the song filled Izuku's thoughts as he wondered what gears were turning in the youngest Todoroki's mind.
"People are complex," Shouto's even voice finally spoke, eyes locked on the dark road. "I think we're all still learning that."
Izuku didn't reply as he thought deeply about what Shouto said in combination with what he saw in Touya's file.
. . .
Izuku let himself in the large apartment with the spare key and put the Shiba Inu down. Green eyes fondly watched as the puppy immediately started walking around with an excited wagging tail. She still had a small limp but the dog seemed fully rested after sleeping all day. Izuku smiled gently, happy to see the small animal slowly recovering and thought it was a good thing that at least someone got decent sleep today.
Izuku shrugged off his coat and walked to the kitchen with tired footsteps. He turned on the gas stove to prepare tea, thinking it would possibly help his boyfriend's mood for Katsuki to come back to a full meal after such a stressful twenty-four hours.
As he chopped vegetables in the kitchen, the slow rising of the kettle's whistling filled the quiet apartment, signaling that it was close to its boiling point. The door creaked open and he heard the telltale jingle of Katsuki's keys being placed on the dining room counter.
The green haired man looked up when the footsteps approached him, and the kettle finally boiled over with a loud chime.
But before Izuku could greet his lover, Katsuki's hand slammed down a red folder right beside him.
Sitting there inside was a copy of the sketches from over four years ago and the name 'Midoriya Izuku' in bold, unmistakable font.
Izuku dropped his knife.
Green eyes whirled upwards to meet Katsuki's awaiting harsh expression. Bloodshot eyes. Flared nostrils and a fist was curled tight on his side.
"Katsuki—"
"—Tell me this isn't true," Katsuki said in a broken voice. His eyes were both wild and hurt yet his rage was at full boil—completely in sync with the steaming water in the background. "Tell me the shit inside this folder isn't fucking true. Tell me you're not some goddamn criminal, Izuku!"
The hurt lieutenant's voice boomed and Izuku felt all his worst fears slam into his body quicker than he could process. His fears choked him like he was drowning and he felt Katsuki slipping through his fingers the longer those heartbroken ember eyes stared him down.
Katsuki stared at him like he didn't know who he was.
Izuku tried to push the words out but distrusting red eyes scratched into him worse than any nightmare he'd ever experienced.
"I-I can explain," Izuku's unstable voice whispered weakly as he turned off the teapot. He shook his head desperately as tears immediately poured out of his face when Katsuki gritted his teeth together in an unforgiving snarl. "It's not entirely what it looks like—"
"—True or not!? Answer my fucking question!" Katsuki screamed into his face and Izuku stumbled backwards.
Katsuki's nostrils flared as he roughly pushed the file across the counter towards Izuku. The papers spread apart across the dark garnet in a mess. Green eyes zeroed in on the thick stack of papers and sitting there for Izuku to see was all the incriminating evidence.
The bomb blueprints. Written evidence of the robberies. There was even a photograph of his bloodied bruised face directly after one of the early robberies inside one of the Ground Betas. He was unmistakablely holding a duffle bag full of stolen yen.
Izuku felt his lip quiver and he sobbed as his world came crashing down.
"It's true," his voice cracked and Katsuki made a painful look and stepped away from him like he had been burned. Izuku felt desperation grew as Katsuki looked at him like he was a stranger. "B-But it's not what it looks like on paper! There's a lot more to the story—"
"—So you did it," Katsuki whispered, letting out a hoarse sob. The lieutenant curled his fist up as he backed away as if he was trapped in some nightmare. "You built that fucking bomb. You built that terrorist weapon that psychopath is running around with and you didn't think to say a goddamn word about it for the last six fucking months!?" Katsuki yelled, voice full of betrayal.
Izuku started muttering a litany of sorrys as he rushed towards his quickly unhinging lover. He reached out to touch the blond but Katsuki snapped his body away from him as if the contact scorched his skin.
"—Don't touch me," Katsuki hissed. He finally opened his eyes and his ember eyes were full of tears. "Don't you dare fucking touch me right now. What would've happened if someone besides Shouto had found this!? Hah!? Did you ever fucking think, Izuku!?"
Izuku's heart sank at the information and all the peace from his body was stolen.
"Shouto found it—he saw your name after the files had fucking fallen to floor," Katsuki sobbed out pointing to the papers sprawled across the counter. "He originally thought it was the information about you being the anonymous tip but imagine both of our fucking surprise when we saw bomb blueprints in your fucking handwriting! Along with information that you were involved in those robberies in Yaizu four years ago!"
"Katsuki, please, wait," Izuku begged, hands shaking as he tried to hold onto the pieces of everything. "It's not that simple. I didn't…" I didn't willing do it is what he originally meant to say, but the phrase died off the second it reached his tongue because it wasn't true.
No one held a gun against his head when he built that bomb—he did it on his account when he was backed against the wall. It was his idea. And now he was reaping the consequences of his actions for over four years.
Izuku felt his body start to tremble as he dove deeper into a helpless spiral watching the one person he loved stare at him like he was broken.
"T-This doesn't make sense," Katsuki whispered through a broken cry. He gripped his hair and dragged his hands across his face in disbelief. The hurt blond turned away and blinked hard once and blinked again trying to wake himself up.
"This isn't—this isn't how this was supposed to be—why?" Katsuki whirled around again, eyes streaming tears. "Why, Izuku? Why would you do something like this?"
"I did it to protect my parents," Izuku said honestly between small sobs. "I-I needed to give the Shigarakis money to leave us alone—but I didn't want to. I really didn't, please believe me."
Conflict danced across Katsuki's face as the air between them grew stagnant similar to the way time stood still before a terrible storm. The trepidation between the two lovers swelled like rain clouds and the static of their quiet exchange shook the ground like an earthquake waiting to happen.
Then Izuku's deepest fear occurred.
Katsuki shook his head again and screwed his eyes shut. The tall blond backed away and marched over to grab his coat like he couldn't handle being around the small freckled man anymore.
Izuku lost his last thread of composure and all the alarms inside his head went off when Katsuki reached for the door's handle.
"I'm sorry!" He called out, rushing behind the quickly retreating blond. "W-Wait, I can explain it more, please don't leave! I didn't want to do it—" Izuku rushed over to grab the elder man's arm and pulled him back inside with all his strength. "Kacchan, wait!" His voice cracked. "Kacchan, please—I'm sorry—don't leave me—"
"—I said don't touch me!" The blond yelled as he shoved Izuku away out of reflex.
The greenette stumbled back into the wall and they both held their breath. Both green and red eyes were wide with tears and Izuku felt himself break down gradually into the darkest part of his mind.
"I-I need space to think, Izuku. I'm sorry," Katsuki whispered while gritting his teeth and he looked away shamefully.
And with that Katsuki ripped open the door and left.
Izuku stared at the wooden door, waiting for his lover to come back—but he didn't. Izuku stood there alone and all of his fears grew louder, mocking him in all his shame.
His brain repeated the explosive moment and his heart twisted into formations it shouldn't. It felt like the cruel mistress of fate reached her hand into his ribcage and squeezed his heart too tight to the point no other part of his body could function.
The ground beneath his feet felt like it began to shatter underneath all the weight of his mistakes. Mistakes he couldn't take back. After all his running, trying to leave everything behind, his past finally caught up with him and it was smiling in a devilish way, reminding him that he would always be his mistakes.
A devastatingly heartbroken sob was torn from Izuku's trembling lips and his knees buckled.
He slid down the wall, crumbling into himself. His scarred hand clutched his shirt directly above his heart as the pain of losing Katsuki scorched through his chest.
. . .
Izuku doesn't know how long he was crying while sitting on the ground. His knees were pulled to his chest and his head was buried deep into his arms as a river of salty tears flowed from his eyes. He listened to the long stretch of nothingness and felt the cold absence of Katsuki cradle him like a lost child.
Katsuki was gone.
Katsuki had left—even after he begged him to stay.
Time melted into an illusion in the depths of night as his body felt like it aged on the spot. His limbs were weak, his voice was hoarse and he couldn't stop shaking. He imagined that if anyone walked by the door, they probably would've thought they heard the haunted howling of a ghost because that's exactly how Izuku felt.
He was a stranger in his own skin because nothing about his life felt like it belonged to him—even now with the Shigarakis arrested he had no control.
Izuku lifted his head and stared out of the large living room window. The winter night in Shizuoka was decorated in bright lights and snow and he wondered where the man he loved had gone. Did he go to tell the rest of the team? Would police come in and arrest him and he would be detained as a terrorist?
Izuku felt sick as his mind conjured up countless terrible scenarios.
When the moon was in full view above the shining city of Shizuoka, the door creaked back open.
Izuku turned his head back towards the door and standing there with only sadness in his eyes was Katsuki with trembling hands as he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Izuku held his breath as the lieutenant wordlessly sat down beside him on the ground, not bothering to take off his shoes. Katsuki leaned his tired head back against the wall next to Izuku's and squeezed his hands together.
"Tell me everything from the start," Katsuki said in a hushed whisper, all the anger drained from his ragged voice. "Don't leave out a single detail, Izuku. Be fully honest with me so I can try to understand."
So Izuku did.
The words flowed out of his lungs as he told the story from the beginning.
With each shaky breath he shaped the story of how his life fell apart. He started with his first encounter with Touya all the way up until when he was shoved into a closet by the deceased redhead in Makinohara. He told how he attended all the funerals and how he tried to piece his broken life together they best he could. Then he explained the real reason he moved out of Yaizu was because he feared the Shigarakis so deeply.
When Izuku finished lying his soul bare, the space they were in was uncomfortably silent.
The quietness gripped the two lovers in the way a room sounded directly after a television was abruptly turned off. The small echoes of Izuku's story were left ringing in both their ears and Katsuki was rendered speechless.
It took the last drop of Izuku's courage to turn and face the quiet blond next to him.
Katsuki's eyes were streaming tears and his arms were crossed with a hand over his mouth in disbelief. Red eyes were studying the wall in front of them wide, trying to take in all he just heard.
"Izuku…" Katsuki's weak voice finally spoke after several long moments. "Fuck...Izuku..."
There was nothing more he could say about what he had just heard and it made Izuku's heart ache excruciatingly.
"I'm so sorry," the greenette cried, his nails sinking into his biceps as he held himself tighter. "I-I didn't know how to tell anyone," Izuku sobbed, hiccuping as he hung his head away in shame. "I never knew how to come out and explain everything. I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry, Katsuki."
Red eyes were still wide, and a pained expression washed over the elder man's face. The blond cursed under his breath at the severity of the situation.
"I never wanted to involve anyone," Izuku continued on in a weak voice. "Not you or even Toshinori. Especially not anyone at U.A. The Shigarakis—they scare me," the freckled man muttered truthfully as he stared down at his bandaged hand hiding his ugly burns. All the visions of blood, gunshots and screams raced into his mind again.
"They took everything I loved away from me and I've always been afraid that they're going to do it again," Izuku said as he squeezed his eyes shut. "I didn't want to lose you too."
Katsuki sucked a deep breath in before lifting himself up without a word. Izuku blinked up at him, confused. Tearful green eyes watched the man saunter into the kitchen with the file filled with all the darkness of Izuku's past.
The greenette hoisted himself up with his last bit of strength as he followed behind Katsuki's tense shoulders, scared of what he was going to do.
Red eyes looked at him with a sudden spark of deep resolve as he picked up the copy of the bomb blueprints in his hand.
"Just to be clear, Toshinori doesn't know about this, right?" Katsuki whispered and Izuku shook his head.
The green eyed man expected another berating, to be on the receiving end of Katsuki's rage, but was dumbstruck when the blond instead nodded in understanding. Red eyes turned their attention to the stove before Katsuki ignited it.
The Lieutenant placed the paper over the flames without an inkling of hesitation.
Izuku's mouth opened in disbelief as the orange fire took to the delicate paper and ate it steadily out of existence.
"Katsuki—no.W-What are you doing?" Izuku said harshly as he stepped forward to stop the other, but another heated glare pinned his feet in place. Green eyes watched as the evidence curled and bent in Katsuki's hand and soon the elder officer was tossing it in the stainless-steel sink to burn up completely.
Then Katsuki did the exact same thing with the next paper in Izuku's file.
"I'm putting an end to all of this mess once and for all. This is done."
"Katsuki, stop—you shouldn't burn those—"
"—Shut up Izuku," the blond barked at him, eyes both furious and caring. "You spent the last four years expending yourself—you were abused by fucking Touya and exploitedby those drug lords to the point you have had several metal break downs."
"But you shouldn't be burning evidence," Izuku reasoned, afraid of what might happen if this were to get out. "You could get in trouble and I just told you I don't want anyone involved anymore."
"This is my own choice and I'm involving myself," Katsuki pushed back as he began burning another paper. "They said they wanted to see you suffer—right? That's why you said they didn't kill you. Well, this is me giving them a fuck you. They don't get to win anymore. This is over if I have any control over it."
Izuku watched as each paper was scorched and all evidence of him being connected to AFO was incinerated down to nothing.
"I know the system isn't fair, Izuku. I'm not stupid," Katsuki said in a softer tone. He looked away as he continued disassembling the thick file. "The law isn't always fair when it comes down to who's a good person or who's a bad one. Decent people go to jail all the time. What good would sending you to jail do? Tell me, what actual fucking good would come of it besides Shizuoka City losing one non-crooked officer who genuinely gives a fuck about his job?"
When Izuku couldn't answer, Katsuki continued.
"If this gets out and goes to court, the jury isn't going to see what we see," the lieutenant whispered sadly. Izuku hung his head because he knew it was true. Everything in their world was based around facts on paper. "If you get up on that stand, they're not going to see a complex, multilayer person. They're not going to see the stupidity self-sacrificing Deku I love who just wants to be a cop like his dad and an artist like his mom."
Katsuki ripped up more papers and lit them aflame.
"The public isn't going to see an orphan who lost his parents because the goddamn Shigarakis punished him for stopping a bombing. They're going to see you as someone who built a deadly weapon for one of the most powerful drug lords in Japan and then covered it up for four years. I know it. Toshinori knows it. That's why he's fighting so hard to keep this shit buried. Don't you see? This isn't a grey area."
Red eyes looked towards him with deep concern and it was then that Izuku weighted the full gravity of everything coming to light. He had known it for a long time, but always ignored the ugly truth.
"You will go to jail if any of this gets out," Katsuki rasped through his hoarse throat with tears in his eyes. "All you do is protect people, Izuku. You protected Touya. You protected your parents. You protected Yagi and Mirio. You protected me. You protect people every day you put on that badge. But you protect people to the point it's at your own fucking expense—all the time."
Katsuki turned away from him, shoulders strung tight with hurt as he picked up the last piece of evidence inside Izuku's red floor. It was a photo of him with Touya. Calloused hands gripped the picture tightly and Izuku could see resentment leak out of ruby colored eyes as Katsuki focused on Touya's face.
The blond held the photograph of the ex-lovers over the stove and watched with empty eyes as it torched at his hands.
Both officers stayed silent as they studied the very last piece of evidence tying Izuku to his past shrivel and curl up in the sink, leaving behind nothing.
It was then, when all that was left was ash, that Katsuki let out a shaky breath. He pushed himself away from the kitchen countertop and turned around towards Izuku.
The embers in his eyes were a full-blown fire.
"From now on we protect each other."
Thank you so much for reading and I please let me know what you think!